How the Prohibited List works
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) publishes the Prohibited List as an international standard under the World Anti-Doping Code. A new edition is published every autumn and takes effect on 1 January. The list is organised in classes: S0 to S5 are prohibited at all times, S6 to S9 only in competition, M1 to M3 are prohibited methods, and P1 covers substances banned in particular sports. A substance can appear by name, or be caught by a class description that ends in 'and other substances with a similar chemical structure or similar biological effect'.
Two principles shape how the list bites. First, strict liability: an athlete is responsible for whatever is found in their sample, whether or not they meant to take it. Second, the burden is on the athlete to check, which is why anti-doping organisations run lookup tools such as Global DRO and, in the Netherlands, the Dopingwaaier.
Where peptides sit on the list
Most research peptides are covered by class S2, peptide hormones, growth factors, related substances and mimetics, which is prohibited at all times, in and out of competition.
- S2.1, erythropoietins and agents affecting erythropoiesis: EPO and its analogues, HIF activators and related agents.
- S2.2, peptide hormones and their releasing factors. This holds the testosterone-stimulating peptides, prohibited in males only: chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG), LH, GnRH (gonadorelin) and its agonist analogues such as triptorelin, and kisspeptin and its agonist analogues. It also holds corticotrophins and the whole growth hormone axis: growth hormone itself, its fragments such as AOD-9604 and hGH 176-191, releasing hormones such as CJC-1295, sermorelin and tesamorelin, and secretagogues such as ipamorelin, GHRP-2, GHRP-6 and hexarelin.
- S2.3, growth factors and growth factor modulators: IGF-1 and its analogues including IGF-1 LR3, mechano growth factors, fibroblast, hepatocyte, platelet-derived and vascular endothelial growth factors, and thymosin-β4 and its derivatives, which is where TB-500 falls.
- S0, non-approved substances: any pharmacological substance not currently approved by a government health authority for human therapeutic use. Research peptides that have never been registered as medicines fall here; the list names BPC-157 as an example, and melanotan II is covered without being named.
- S4.4, metabolic modulators: outside S2, but worth knowing because insulins and insulin-mimetics, the AMPK activators AICAR and the peptide MOTS-c, and SR9009 sit here, and several of them are sold alongside peptides. From 1 January 2027 the list also names the ERR agonists SLU-PP-332 and SLU-PP-915 in this class.
Peptides that are not on the list
Being a peptide is not what makes a substance prohibited; belonging to a listed class is. GLP-1 receptor agonists such as semaglutide and tirzepatide are registered medicines outside every prohibited class, and so are oxytocin and bremelanotide (PT-141). Registered medicines that a sports doctor prescribes for a genuine condition can be covered by a therapeutic use exemption, which in the Netherlands is applied for through the Dopingautoriteit's Geneesmiddelen Dispensatie Sporter (GDS) procedure.
The edge of the S0 class is the hardest to read. A peptide that is approved as a medicine in a single country, however small the market, is not a non-approved substance; one that is approved nowhere is. The list changes every year and substances move between classes, so the current edition and the lookup tools are authoritative, not a summary written on the date above.
How the Dopingautoriteit applies the list
- The Dopingautoriteit is the national anti-doping organisation, an independent public body established by the Wet uitvoering antidopingbeleid. It adopts the WADA list unchanged as the Dutch dopinglijst.
- Sports federations affiliated with NOC*NSF bind their members to the Nationaal Dopingreglement, which is the Dutch implementation of the World Anti-Doping Code. That is how an amateur competitor can be subject to testing.
- Testing is carried out in and out of competition, and samples are analysed by WADA-accredited laboratories. Results and sanctions are handled by the Instituut Sportrechtspraak or the federation's own disciplinary body.
- The Dopingwaaier app and website let athletes check whether a medicine bought in the Netherlands contains a prohibited substance, and Global DRO does the same for medicines from several other countries.
- The Dopingautoriteit also runs prevention programmes for gym users, who are not subject to testing but are exposed to the same substances.
Doping rules and research-use-only products
The doping list and the research-use-only category answer different questions. The list says what an athlete may not have in their body; the RUO category says what a product is sold as and what claims its seller may make. A peptide sold as a laboratory reagent is still a prohibited substance for an athlete, and a registered medicine is still a medicine whether or not it is on the list. Products on this site are sold for research and carry no instruction for use in humans, so the question of a doping violation does not arise from the product itself but from what a person bound by anti-doping rules chooses to do.
This page summarises the public rules as they stand on the date above. It is general information from a seller of research peptides, not legal or anti-doping advice. Athletes and their support staff should rely on the current Prohibited List, the Dopingautoriteit and their federation.
Frequently asked questions
- Does the doping list apply to everyone?
- No. Anti-doping rules apply to athletes who are bound by them through a sports federation, from elite level down to amateur competition in federations that have adopted the Nationaal Dopingreglement. For everyone else the list has no legal force. The rules on selling and marketing peptides come from the Geneesmiddelenwet, which is a separate matter.
- Is BPC-157 on the list?
- Yes, by name. Class S0, non-approved substances, covers any pharmacological substance without current approval for human therapeutic use, and the 2026 list names BPC-157 as one of its examples. It is prohibited at all times, in and out of competition.
- Are GLP-1 peptides such as semaglutide prohibited?
- Not on the 2026 List, nor on the 2027 List that WADA published in September 2026 and that takes effect on 1 January 2027. Semaglutide, tirzepatide and the other GLP-1 analogues are registered medicines that WADA has not placed in a prohibited class; semaglutide (since 2024) and tirzepatide (since 2026) are on its Monitoring Program, which tracks their use in sport without banning it. The list is renewed every year, so the current edition and the Dopingwaaier are the places to check rather than this page.