Research roundup: week of Oct 12, 2026

[Regulatory] · News from Oct 16, 2026

HHS sends a peptide "interim access policy" to the White House for review

New since an early-October news report: HHS formally sent the policy to the White House budget office (OMB) for review.

• No details published; two unnamed sources say it would let pharmacies temporarily compound some popular peptides, incl. BPC-157
• The route: "enforcement discretion", FDA choosing not to enforce some rules
• July: FDA advisers backed lifting limits on 6 of 7 peptides; FDA staff scientists said none was studied enough to establish safety and effectiveness
• FDA-cited risks: contamination, allergic reactions, tumor growth

Not in effect. A formal listing would need rulemaking that could take years; none of this is FDA approval.

Source: NBC News (AP), Oct 16, 2026

Our guides: BPC-157

[GLP-1] · News from Oct 16, 2026

EU regulator backs Lilly's once-daily GLP-1 pill orforglipron (Foundayo)

EMA's committee (CHMP) recommended EU approval of Foundayo (orforglipron), a once-daily GLP-1 tablet, for weight management and type 2 diabetes in adults:

• Weight: 2 studies, 4,740 adults; about 5% to 11% of body weight lost at 72 weeks by dose, vs about 2% to 2.5% on placebo
• Diabetes: 4 studies, 3,765 adults; HbA1c (a blood-sugar marker) fell about 1.2 to 1.9 points, vs 0.4 to 0.8 on placebo and 1.2 to 1.5 on oral semaglutide
• Most common side effects: nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea, more often while the dose was being raised

Not approved yet: the European Commission decides next, then each country sets price and reimbursement.

Source: European Medicines Agency, Oct 16, 2026

Our guides: Semaglutide · Foundayo (orforglipron)

[Hormones] · News from Oct 15, 2026

ACOG menopause guideline strongly backs hormone therapy for hot flashes

ACOG Clinical Practice Guideline No. 13 replaces its 2014 bulletin on menopause symptoms:

• Strong: systemic hormone therapy (estrogen, plus a progestogen with a uterus) for hot flashes, night sweats and related sleep loss
• Cited meta-analysis: hot-flash frequency RR 0.43 vs placebo
• Strong: starting before 60 or within 10 years of menopause
• Strong non-hormone options: SSRIs/SNRIs, neurokinin blockers (fezolinetant, elinzanetant)
• Depression: insufficient evidence for or against hormones
• Stopping: individualized

Early starters still had higher clot risk (RR 1.74). Guidance, not personal advice.

Source: Contemporary OB/GYN, Oct 15, 2026

[Hormones] · News from Oct 12, 2026

Huge lab-data study finds a 'cliff' at menopause, smaller with hormone therapy

A Weizmann Institute team rebuilt menopause timelines from more than 300 million routine lab tests in over 1 million women (US and Israel):

• 52 of 90 tests jumped step-like at the final period: hormone, bone, liver, kidney and lipid markers
• Jumps of 0.1 to 1.4 SD (standard deviations); absent in men
• Changes began more than a decade earlier
• US women on hormone therapy: 39 of 80 tests differed, most jumps smaller, but CRP (inflammation) was higher

Observational lab data, not health outcomes. Therapy users may differ from non-users; the authors call for randomized trials.

Source: Nature Medicine, Oct 12, 2026