{"slug":"ghk-cu","seoKey":"ghkcu","displayName":"GHK-Cu","codes":["GHK-Cu","Copper Tripeptide-1 (INCI)","CP-1"],"synonyms":["copper tripeptide-1","copper peptide","Gly-His-Lys copper complex","GHK copper","Cu-GHK","glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine copper(II)","prezatide copper","GHK (the copper-free tripeptide, INCI Tripeptide-1, is a DIFFERENT substance with its own registry number)"],"legalClass":"cosmetic","identifiers":{"cas":"89030-95-5","pubchemCid":71587328,"unii":"6BJQ43T1I9","inchikey":"NZWIFMYRRCMYMN-ACMTZBLWSA-M","drugbankId":"DB14683","wikidataQid":"Q5168796","formula":"C14H23CuN6O4+","molecularWeight":402.92,"sequence":"GHK"},"approvals":[{"market":"US","status":"not_approved","note":"No approved medicinal product; the active ingredient query returned no result on 2026-09-07. The injectable form is named on the list of bulk drug substances that may present significant safety risks, in the section for nominations withdrawn by the nominators. Cosmetic use is a separate track: cosmetics are not pre-approved, and an industry expert panel assessed the ingredient as safe in the concentrations then in use in 2014.","source":"https://www.fda.gov/drugs/human-drug-compounding/certain-bulk-drug-substances-use-compounding-may-present-significant-safety-risks"},{"market":"EU","status":"not_approved","note":"No marketing authorisation and no monograph in the European Pharmacopoeia. As a cosmetic ingredient it is listed under its international nomenclature name with the function skin conditioning; that listing covers cosmetic purposes only and does not extend to a product with a medicinal purpose.","source":"https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/medicines?search_api_fulltext=GHK-Cu"},{"market":"DE","status":"not_approved","note":"No national or EU marketing authorisation; a substance with a medicinal purpose may not be placed on the market without one. Permitted as a cosmetic ingredient under the directly applicable EU cosmetics regulation, where advertising claims must be substantiated and must not attribute medicinal properties. Not named in narcotics or anti-doping legislation.","source":"https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/amg_1976/__21.html"},{"market":"UK","status":"not_approved","note":"No marketing authorisation identified; permitted as a cosmetic ingredient under the retained cosmetics regulation. Not verified against a primary regulator document on 2026-09-07.","source":"https://products.mhra.gov.uk/search/?search=copper+tripeptide"},{"market":"AU","status":"not_approved","note":"No marketing authorisation and not named in the Poisons Standard; a full-text search on 2026-09-07 for the peptide and its trivial names returned no entry. A generic copper compounds entry in Schedule 6 exists but exempts preparations containing five percent or less of copper compounds, under which cosmetic preparations usually fall.","source":"https://www.legislation.gov.au/F2026L00633/asmade"},{"market":"CA","status":"not_approved","note":"No marketing authorisation identified. The cosmetic ingredient hotlist could not be retrieved on 2026-09-07, so the cosmetic side of the status is not primary-verified.","source":"https://health-products.canada.ca/api/drug/activeingredient/?ingredientname=copper+tripeptide"},{"market":"CH","status":"not_approved","note":"No marketing authorisation identified. Not verified against a primary regulator document on 2026-09-07.","source":"https://www.swissmedicinfo.ch/"}],"devStage":"phase2","strongestEvidence":"rct_phase2","wada":{"status":"unclear","section":"S0","listYear":2026,"source":"https://www.wada-ama.org/en/prohibited-list"},"trials":[{"nct":"NCT05932732","name":"Device treatment with a booster serum containing the peptide (the study tests the device, not the substance)","phase":"Phase 4","n":27,"status":"COMPLETED"},{"nct":"NCT07706361","name":"Effect of a patch on circulating peptide levels (the peptide is the measurement, not the intervention)","n":100,"status":"NOT_YET_RECRUITING"}],"sameAs":["https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5168796","https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/71587328","https://go.drugbank.com/drugs/DB14683"],"lastVerified":"2026-09-07","version":"1.0","published":true,"locale":"en","title":"GHK-Cu: what the studies show, status and safety","summary":"GHK-Cu is a copper complex of a peptide the body makes. It leads a double life. As the cosmetic ingredient Copper Tripeptide-1 it is listed and was judged safe in 2014 at then-usual levels. As a medicine it is approved nowhere. The injectable form is on an FDA risk list. Only two controlled human trials exist. Both missed their targets.","updated":"2026-09-07","url":"https://mypep.app/peptides/ghk-cu"}