Independent · non-commercial · publishes on a quarterly cycle|Current cycle 2026 Q3
Compound Evidence InstituteEvidence synthesis · established 2023Graded assessments of compounds, trials, methods and supply
Document set current to 30 July 2026
Compound monograph · §2

BPC-157 — pharmacology

Molecular targets, mechanism of action, pharmacokinetics and interactions as characterised in humans.

Document identifier
CEI-MN-030/2
Series
Compound monograph
Version
1.2
Published
11 Jan 2023
Last reviewed
11 May 2024
Next review
11 May 2026
Identifier
10.71829/cei.mono.30
Certainty
Very low
Cycle
2023 Q1

§2Pharmacology

§2.1Molecular targets

Table 2. Molecular targets recorded for BPC-157, with the character of the interaction and the potency where the Institute holds it.

TargetInteractionNote
Mechanism not establishedNo defined receptor identifiedPreclinical work implicates VEGFR2 transactivation, nitric-oxide-pathway modulation and FAK–paxillin signalling; none has been confirmed as a primary molecular target in human tissue

§2.2Mechanism of action

The proposed mechanism is angiogenic and cytoprotective action through VEGF receptor 2 transactivation and nitric-oxide-pathway modulation, described extensively in rodent models of gastrointestinal, tendon, muscle, nerve and corneal injury. The Institute records that this literature is unusually concentrated in a small number of collaborating research groups, that independent replication outside that network is limited, and that no molecular target has been established by conventional target-validation methods. The mechanistic account should therefore be read as a hypothesis with preclinical support, not as established pharmacology.[1,2]

§2.3Pharmacokinetics

No human pharmacokinetic characterisation of BPC-157 has been identified. In the absence of a half-life, a volume of distribution and a clearance estimate, no dosing interval used in practice can be related to any exposure that produced an effect in any study, and the Institute records this as a first-order gap rather than a detail.

§2.4Interactions

  • Not characterised

References cited on this page

References are numbered in order of first citation in this document. Each superscript in the text links to its entry below.

  1. Sikiric P, Seiwerth S, Rucman R, Turkovic B, Rokotov DS, Brcic L, Sever M, Klicek R, Radic B, Drmic D, Ilic S, Kolenc D, Aralica G, Stupnisek M, Suran J, Barisic I, Dzidic S, Prkacin I. Stable gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157: novel therapy in gastrointestinal tract. Current Pharmaceutical Design 2011;17(16):1612–1632. doi:10.2174/138161211796196954 · PMID 21548867
  2. Bhattacharyya S, Wang J, Kaplan RM. Quality of peptide products obtained from unregulated online suppliers: an analytical survey. Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences 2024;113(4):1102–1110. doi:10.1016/j.xphs.2023.11.021 Cited by the Institute as an indicative analytical survey; sample frame was not random.

Identifiers are reproduced only where the Institute holds them. Where a digital object identifier or PubMed identifier is not shown, the Institute has recorded the journal and year and has not constructed an identifier.

Nothing published by the Institute is medical advice, a diagnosis, a prescription, a treatment recommendation or a purchasing recommendation. Compounds supplied for research use are not approved for human or veterinary use in any jurisdiction, and a favourable analytical assessment of a supplier is not a statement that any product is safe or effective. The Institute publishes certainty ratings and never recommendations. No telephone number, messaging handle or ordering channel appears anywhere on this site.