"BPC-157 vs GHK-Cu" is searched by people choosing between two peptides that are often discussed for repair and skin, and sold side by side, sometimes in the same vial. On paper they look similar: both are unapproved, both are injected from research vials, and both are measured on an insulin syringe. In the figures they are very different. This page sets the two records next to each other: the amounts in circulation, the vials, the number of molecules a draw contains, what is known about how long each lasts, the human and registry record, and the regulatory position, each figure sourced and dated. It reports; it recommends neither.
The single-compound records are on the BPC-157 dosage page and the GHK-Cu dosage page.
Side by side
| BPC-157 | GHK-Cu | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Synthetic 15-amino-acid peptide | Glycine-histidine-lysine bound to copper; GHK occurs in human plasma |
| Molecular weight | 1,419.5 g/mol (PubChem CID 9941957) | 402.9 g/mol (GHK 340.4 + copper) |
| Approved label | None | None for injection; a cosmetic ingredient |
| Amount on clinic and protocol pages | 250–500 mcg | 1–2 mg |
| Common vial sizes | 5 and 10 mg | 50 and 100 mg |
| Measured half-life | Rats 15.2 min, dogs 5.27 min (IV); under 30 min IM | None; rapid breakdown in rats, no figure in the abstract |
| Human record | PubMed 235 records, 0 tagged randomized trials (2026-10-29) | Topical studies only (Mateescu 2026 review) |
| ClinicalTrials.gov (2026-10-29) | 4 studies; 1 recruiting injection trial | 4 studies; none injects |
| FDA compounding position | Committee vote 8–6 in favour, 2026-07-23 | Not on that meeting's list |
| Copper per milligram | None | ≈0.16 mg |
The amounts are the ones recorded on this site's dosage pages from clinic and protocol pages; neither is a dose from a label or a trial, and neither is a recommendation.
Milligrams, molecules and syringe marks
The two compounds are quoted in different units, and that hides how far apart they are. A milligram figure for GHK-Cu and a microgram figure for BPC-157 put the GHK-Cu amount two to eight times higher by mass. Because a GHK-Cu molecule weighs 402.9 g/mol and a BPC-157 molecule 1,419.5, the gap by number of molecules is wider again.
| Amount | Micromoles | Molecules relative to 500 mcg BPC-157 |
|---|---|---|
| BPC-157 250 mcg | 0.18 | 0.5× |
| BPC-157 500 mcg | 0.35 | 1× |
| GHK-Cu 1 mg | 2.48 | 7.0× |
| GHK-Cu 2 mg | 4.96 | 14.1× |
From the low end of BPC-157 to the high end of GHK-Cu the ratio is 28 to 1. The arithmetic says nothing about potency; the two act on different targets, and no study has compared them.
The syringe makes them look alike. Both vials are commonly mixed with 2 mL of water, which gives 5 mg/mL for a 10 mg BPC-157 vial and 25 mg/mL for a 50 mg GHK-Cu vial.
| Amount | Vial + water | Concentration | U-100 units |
|---|---|---|---|
| BPC-157 250 mcg | 10 mg + 2 mL | 5 mg/mL | 5 |
| BPC-157 500 mcg | 10 mg + 2 mL | 5 mg/mL | 10 |
| GHK-Cu 1 mg | 50 mg + 2 mL | 25 mg/mL | 4 |
| GHK-Cu 2 mg | 50 mg + 2 mL | 25 mg/mL | 8 |
| GHK-Cu 1 mg | 50 mg + 5 mL | 10 mg/mL | 10 |
Four times the mass lands on almost the same mark, which is exactly the situation in which a figure copied from one vial onto the other goes wrong by a factor of four or more. The BPC-157 vial arithmetic and the GHK-Cu calculator work any other vial and volume, and the insulin syringe units page shows the marks on each barrel size.
How long each lasts
BPC-157 has the one measured record of the two: a 2022 study in rats and beagle dogs (He et al., PMID 36588717) found an elimination half-life of 15.2 minutes in rats and 5.27 minutes in dogs after an intravenous dose, under 30 minutes after intramuscular doses, and no build-up over seven daily doses. That record is set out on BPC-157 half-life.
GHK-Cu has no figure. The one pharmacokinetic study, in rats in 1997 (PMID 9187381), reports that GHK "was rapidly degraded" to histidyl-lysine, and a 2026 review calls a short half-life "expected", not measured. Its copper separates from the peptide in the body and joins ordinary copper handling. The record, and the body's own GHK levels, are on GHK-Cu half-life. On both compounds the daily schedules in circulation rest on no pharmacokinetic finding.
The human and registry record
BPC-157. PubMed returned 235 records on 2026-10-29 and none tagged as a randomized controlled trial. The published human reports are three small ones by routes other than a subcutaneous injection: knee injections in a 16-patient review, 10 mg into the bladder wall in a 12-patient cystitis pilot, and 10 and 20 mg intravenously in a two-person safety pilot (recorded on the BPC-157 calculator page, 2026-09-18). ClinicalTrials.gov listed four studies: a recruiting placebo-controlled trial in acute hamstring strain (NCT07437547), a rotator-cuff surgery study not yet recruiting (NCT07803250), a completed gummy study with no results posted (NCT07752381), and the 2015 oral-tablet pharmacokinetic trial with status unknown (NCT02637284).
GHK-Cu. The human studies are topical. The 2026 evidence-mapping review by Mateescu and colleagues (PMID 42797253) describes the cosmetic reports as "small or incompletely characterized", names a 13-participant post-laser study that was "negative on objective endpoints" and an 18-participant eyebrow study with positive cosmetic results, and concludes that the clinical evidence "remains sparse". ClinicalTrials.gov listed four studies on 2026-10-29: a facial-treatment study, a skin-patch study, a recruiting topical wound-gel trial (NCT07437586) and a serum study; none injects the peptide.
So the comparison most people are looking for, which works better, has no answer in the record: neither compound has a completed randomized trial of injection, and they have never been compared.
Regulation
At FDA, BPC-157 was placed in Category 2 of the 503A bulk-substance list on 2023-09-29; by 2026-04-22 the agency's list page showed it among nominations withdrawn by the nominators, and on 2026-07-23 the Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee voted 8 to 6, with one abstention, in favour of adding it to the substances compounding pharmacies may use. The vote is advisory and set no dose. GHK-Cu was not among the seven peptides that meeting reviewed (Federal Register document 2026-07361, 2026-04-16). These dates are as recorded on this site's BPC-157 and GHK-Cu pages, read 2026-10-17 and 2026-10-27.
When they are sold together
The GLOW blend puts both in one vial: 50 mg of GHK-Cu, 10 mg of BPC-157 and 10 mg of TB-500, by the retail and protocol pages this site read in September 2026. Every milligram of GHK-Cu drawn from it brings 0.2 mg of BPC-157 and 0.2 mg of TB-500 with it, a ratio fixed by the vial rather than chosen. How much GHK-Cu each draw delivers from a single vial versus a blend is worked on GHK-Cu vs GLOW vs KLOW. No study has tested the combination.
What is not established
A dose of either compound for any use in people. Any head-to-head comparison. Whether either works when injected under the skin. How the two behave in one vial. Medibact's BPC-157 guide and GHK-Cu guide cover the compounds. Decisions about using either belong with a clinician.
Sources and dates
Opened 2026-10-29: PubMed (NCBI E-utilities) counts for BPC-157 (235) and BPC-157 with the randomized-controlled-trial publication type (0); ClinicalTrials.gov API searches "BPC-157" and "GHK-Cu" (4 records each); abstracts of PMID 9187381 (Endo 1997) and PMID 42797253 (Mateescu 2026, full text PMC13610439). Carried from this site's pages with their read dates: He 2022 (PMID 36588717, full text, 2026-10-28); the BPC-157 human reports (2026-09-18); the FDA list page, committee vote and Federal Register notice (2026-10-17 and 2026-10-27); the GHK-Cu and BPC-157 amounts on clinic and protocol pages (2026-09-18); the GLOW composition (2026-09-23 and 2026-09-27); PubChem molecular weights. Molar, copper and unit arithmetic by this site. Corrections go to the contact page.