PeptideSearch

HCG

Approved medicine

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The FDA has approved a version of this as a medicine, so it has been through large studies in people.

Compiled and reviewed by the PeptideSearch Editorial Team · Status checked 2026-08-04

Also called Human Chorionic Gonadotropin / Pregnyl / Ovidrel / Novarel

An approved fertility drug. Also used alongside testosterone therapy. Not approved for weight loss.

Official status: Pharmacies may compound it · Checked 2026-08-04

Can a doctor prescribe this?

Small pharmacy (503A)
Never put forward to FDA
Large outsourcing facility (503B)
Never put forward to FDA

Approved for fertility uses and prescription-only. The FDA requires labeling stating it is not effective for weight loss.

Why both lines above can be true: this compound is the active ingredient of a drug the FDA has already approved, and a pharmacy may compound with a bulk substance that is “a component of a drug approved by the Secretary” — a separate route in the law from the list of substances put forward for review. So it never had to be nominated for that list. The wording is in section 503A(b)(1)(A)(i)(II) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 353a). The substance must also be made by an FDA-registered establishment and come with a certificate of analysis for each lot.

503A is a pharmacy making a single prescription for one patient. 503B is a facility making batches. They are governed by separate lists. Where a category is shown, it is a position on the FDA's list of substances that have been put forward and are still being worked through — not the final list, which is set by rulemaking. Category 1 means the FDA does not plan to act against a pharmacy that makes it while the review runs.

Lab suppliers we list: 2

Doses used in research

Taken word for word from the studies and trials listed on this page. This is not a recommendation and not a dose for anyone to take.

This is a sample, not the whole literature.

About 84,000 papers mentioning this compound have been published. We show a selected sample of 144 of them, not the full literature. How we choose them · count checked 2026-08-23

Spot an error? corrections@peptidesearch.org

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