State of Peptide Research 2026

State of Peptide Research 2026 is the Peptide Library's first annual look at published peptide research. We count PubMed publications and ClinicalTrials.gov registrations about the peptides in our library, from 2000 through the end of September 2026.

These numbers measure research activity. They do not show whether any peptide works or is safe.

64,069 PubMed publications about library peptides were analyzed. A publication counts once, however many peptides it covers. 179 peptides are indexed record by record.

We left retracted papers out of every count. 94 retracted publications were excluded.

Most study types come from PubMed metadata. When the metadata could not decide, we used a confident AI answer instead. 26.8% of peptide publications were classified by study type with AI assistance, because their PubMed metadata could not decide it.

Over the long run, peptide publications grew faster than the medical literature as a whole. Peptide publications grew by an average of 6.5% a year over ten years. All of PubMed grew by an average of 4.3% a year over the same ten years. Both rates compare the full calendar years 2015 and 2025.

2026 year to date

2026 is not over, so we compare it only with the same months of 2025.

Peptide publications changed by +28.0% compared with the same months last year. All of PubMed changed by +4.9% over the same months. The all-PubMed comparison uses whole months only.

These figures carry a partial-year flag. They cover January to September of each year and cannot be compared with full-year totals.

The chart below splits each year into human, animal and laboratory research.

160 indexed peptides have at least one counted publication.

A long publication list is not stronger evidence. This ranking shows how much has been written, not whether a peptide works or is safe. A paper counts once for each peptide it covers.

Research-only peptides

The next ranking covers peptides with no FDA approval and no trial-stage label in our library. It leaves out molecules the body makes itself.

Most publications on several of these peptides are preclinical. Animal and laboratory results say nothing about effects in people.

Registered trials

4,928 clinical trials registered on ClinicalTrials.gov test a library peptide.

Where the research is published

We sort publications into research areas using MeSH terms. A paper can sit in several areas, so the areas overlap and should never be added up.

Fastest growing areas, year to date

These rankings compare January to September 2026 with January to September 2025. They carry a partial-year flag, so they describe the year so far, not the full year.

Fastest growing peptides, year to date

GLP-1 drugs lead this list. Growth shows how fast publication counts changed. It is not a measure of evidence strength, and a peptide that starts from a smaller count can show a large percentage change from a modest number of papers.

We sort each publication by study type. Human clinical research includes randomized trials, other clinical trials, observational studies in people and case reports. Preclinical research covers animal, in vitro and computational studies. Reviews and meta-analyses summarize earlier work and report no new primary data.

27.8% of classified peptide publications are animal studies. 10.1% of classified peptide publications are in vitro studies. Results from animals and cells say nothing on their own about what happens in people.

5,492 peptide publications report randomized controlled trials in humans.

0.6% of peptide publications could not yet be classified by study type. These shares use classified publications as the base.

Open access

51.1% of peptide publications are open access.

GLP-1 receptor agonists are the largest group in peptide research.

GLP-1 receptor agonists account for 22.7% of peptide publications. 1,905 registered clinical trials test a GLP-1 receptor agonist.

36.6% of GLP-1 agonist publications report human clinical research.

2026 year to date

GLP-1 agonist publications changed by +45.8% compared with the same months last year. That is a gain of 731 publications, compared with a gain of 921 for all peptide publications over the same months.

This comparison covers January to September of 2025 and 2026 only and carries a partial-year flag.

10,199 publications concern cognitive and neurological peptides.

20.0% of cognitive and neurological peptide publications report human clinical research. Most of the remaining work is preclinical or review research, which says nothing on its own about effects in people.

4,717 publications concern longevity and mitochondrial peptides.

27.6% of longevity and mitochondrial peptide publications report human clinical research. Laboratory and animal findings in this group should not be read as results in people.

83.2% of studied peptides have at least one human clinical publication. 15.5% of studied peptides have been studied only preclinically.

The ranking below lists peptides with at least a minimum number of publications and the lowest share of human clinical research. Several have no counted human clinical publication at all.

This ranking describes where human research is thin. A long preclinical literature does not show that a peptide works or is safe in people.

Trials without results

33.2% of completed peptide trials have no posted or linked results a year after completion. We count a completed trial here only when its primary completion was at least a year before the cutoff and it has neither results posted on ClinicalTrials.gov nor a results publication linked in the registry.

• GLP-1 drugs drive most of the 2026 growth. Overall growth figures mostly reflect that one group.
• 2026 figures cover January to September only and are compared only with January to September 2025.
• A small set of compounds with very large literatures are tracked as counts only. They are left out of the rankings and totals in this report.
• Octreotide papers whose only link is a MeSH radiotracer conjugate are excluded. Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) counts only where the paper studies it.
• Trial results are judged by a rule of at least a year between primary completion and the cutoff.
• Some study types come from AI-assisted classification, and a small share remains unclassified.
• Research areas overlap and are never added up.
• All figures count research activity. They are not a measure of effectiveness or safety, and this report is not medical advice.

This edition is computed from dataset version 2026.1.1: PubMed records first published from January 1, 2000 to September 30, 2026 and ClinicalTrials.gov registrations, frozen on November 5, 2026. The latest year is partial and compared only with the same months of earlier years. Every statistic was reviewed and approved by an editor before publication. Counts of research are not evidence that a peptide works or is safe.

• Full methodology
• Download the data
• Press kit and graphics

• Edition 2 · published · November 6, 2026 · Corrected edition on snapshot 2026.1.1. Correction and retraction notices (405 records) are no longer counted, as the methodology always said; two records are reclassified (PMID 40756949 as a systematic review, PMID 42876687 as a narrative review of several peptides); and the data are re-read to the same cutoff (2026-09-30), so records indexed since the first edition but dated before the cutoff are included. Edition v1 stays in the archive.
• Edition 1 · superseded · October 29, 2026 · Owner-requested publish 2026-10-29: first edition of State of Peptide Research 2026 (snapshot 2026.1).