Still sidelined by a soft-tissue injury? See if TB-500 can be part of your recovery plan.
Patients ask about TB-500 to support:
TB-500 is investigational and has been studied mostly in lab and animal research. Dr. Ashley Southern, NMD reviews your history, and labs when medically appropriate, before prescribing anything.
Who we serve: Athletes, lifters and active adults recovering from strains and overuse injuries. Patients come from Boise, Meridian, Eagle, Nampa, Star and across the Treasure Valley. Explore all of our peptide therapy in Boise.
Physician-Prescribed
Never sold from a website
Made in the USA
Every peptide we prescribe is made in the United States
Meridian Clinic
15 minutes from downtown Boise
TB-500 is a synthetic fragment of a natural protein. It copies a short seven amino acid sequence, LKKTETQ, taken from thymosin beta-4. Thymosin beta-4 is a naturally occurring protein of 43 amino acids involved in cell movement and tissue remodelling.
That distinction matters. TB-500 and thymosin beta-4 are often discussed as if they were the same thing. They are not. Research on the full protein does not automatically transfer to the fragment.
| What it is | A synthetic peptide copying the LKKTETQ sequence from thymosin beta-4. |
| FDA name | The FDA lists it as “Thymosin beta-4, fragment (LKKTETQ), also known as TB-500.” |
| Studied for | Wound healing, soft tissue repair and cell migration to injured areas. |
| Evidence base | Mostly laboratory and animal work. Human clinical evidence for the fragment is very limited. |
| Often paired with | BPC-157. The pairing is informally called the Wolverine Stack. |
| What it is not | Not a steroid. Not a growth hormone. TB-500 is not an FDA-approved dietary supplement or over-the-counter medication. |
Great fit for
Not a fit
Most of what is known about TB-500 comes from laboratory and animal studies. These are areas of study. They are not proven outcomes in people.
What preclinical research has examined:
What has not been established in people:
Laboratory and animal findings are a reason to investigate something. They are not a promise that it will work for your shoulder.
What we can offer is an honest evaluation. That means labs and a real conversation about your injury. It also means a physician who will say no when no is right. If that is useful, the next step is a free fifteen minute call.
See the full FDA regulatory status further down this page.
The difference is not the peptide. It is who evaluates you before, during and after treatment.
You can review our wider peptide therapy program for context.
TB-500 and BPC-157 are different peptides with different origins. They are frequently discussed together because clinics pair them.
The pairing has never been studied as a combination in humans. Stacking two investigational peptides does not double the evidence behind either one.
Which approach suits you, if any, is a clinical decision. It is not a menu choice. Sorting that out is part of what the consultation is for.
Searching for TB-500 in Boise? Our clinic is in Meridian, roughly fifteen minutes from downtown Boise. That puts us central to the whole Treasure Valley. We see patients from Eagle, Nampa, Kuna, Star, Middleton and Caldwell.
Alturas Medical Weight Loss
1532 W Cayuse Creek Dr
Meridian, ID 83646
(208) 690-2040
Every protocol at Alturas Medical Weight Loss starts the same way, and none of it happens through a questionnaire.
Start with a free fifteen minute phone consultation. If a recovery protocol is appropriate, we order labs. We review your history and the specific injury. Dr. Southern prescribes and monitors the plan. She adjusts it based on how you respond. You can compare this with BPC-157 therapy in Boise or the Wolverine Stack.
Research into TB-500 is ongoing. Most of the available evidence comes from laboratory and animal studies. Human clinical evidence for the fragment remains limited.
A 2026 structured narrative review in JBJS Reviews assessed injectable peptides used in sports medicine. It grouped thymosin derivatives with BPC-157 as regenerative peptides. The authors describe that group as having uncertain safety profiles and product quality concerns, and note they remain investigational.
The same review concludes that injectable peptides for sports medicine remain largely investigational. Its authors recommend confining use to approved metabolic agents used for their approved indications and to rigorously designed research protocols.
Two things worth separating:
Preclinical results should not be read as proof that TB-500 heals injuries in people. Animal data is a reason to study something further. It is not a reason to promise an outcome.
At Alturas we think patients should understand both the potential and the limits of an emerging therapy. That is the only honest basis for a treatment decision.
Sources
The research behind this page
Last reviewed: October 2026
No. TB-500 is not an FDA approved drug for any condition. No clinic can honestly claim otherwise.
The compounding position moved in 2026. Here is what the FDA’s own records show.
Where that leaves it today. TB-500 is not FDA-approved for any condition. Its use in humans is investigational, and federal compounding requirements apply. It is not in Category 2. TB-500 is not currently included in Category 1 of FDA’s 503A interim compounding framework. Its use remains investigational.
Athletes should stop here. TB-500 is prohibited at all times on the World Anti-Doping Agency list, as a thymosin beta-4 derivative, and validated detection methods exist. If you are drug tested, we will decline to prescribe it.
Primary sources
TB-500 regulatory status, straight from the FDA
Dr. Ashley Southern, NMD
Physician and co-founder, Alturas Medical Weight Loss in Meridian, Idaho. Board-certified Naturopathic Medical Doctor prescribing and supervising every peptide protocol at the clinic.
Peptides are an area where the gap between a supervised medical protocol and something bought online is enormous. Dr. Southern’s background in regenerative medicine is the reason Alturas offers them at all. It is also why every protocol here starts with a conversation, and lab work whenever it is medically appropriate, rather than a checkout page.
Credentials at a glance
Read more on the Meet Dr. Ashley Southern page, or book a free consultation.
TB-500 is one of several physician-prescribed peptides we offer at our Meridian clinic, near Boise. Every plan starts with a medical evaluation. Explore our full peptide therapy in Boise program or the related therapies below.
A GHRH analog studied for its effects on visceral adipose tissue and body composition.
Bremelanotide, which acts on melanocortin receptors in the brain. The FDA-approved version (Vyleesi) is approved for low sexual desire in premenopausal women; other uses are off-label.
A peptide that has been studied, mostly in animal research, for tendon, ligament and gut-lining repair. Used in certain physician-supervised recovery protocols.
A combination of BPC-157 and TB-500 considered in physician-supervised recovery protocols.
Two peptides studied for their effects on growth hormone signaling, through different pathways. Human data on each is limited, and the combination has not been studied in humans.
A naturally occurring copper peptide studied for collagen production and skin repair. Most human studies used skin creams.
A naturally occurring repair peptide. Human trials have tested it as eye drops and a skin gel.
The questions people actually ask before starting, answered straight.
TB-500 is a synthetic peptide. It copies a seven amino acid sequence, LKKTETQ, found in thymosin beta-4. Thymosin beta-4 is a naturally occurring protein of 43 amino acids. It plays a role in cell movement and tissue remodelling. TB-500 is not a steroid, a growth hormone or a supplement.
No. TB-500 is not FDA approved for any condition. On compounding, the FDA no longer lists it in Category 2. It appears instead in the FDA table of withdrawn nominations, as thymosin beta-4 fragment LKKTETQ. It is not currently included in Category 1 of FDA’s 503A interim compounding framework either. An FDA advisory committee reviewed it in July 2026. Trade press reported an 8 to 6 vote to recommend adding it to the 503A bulks list. The vote is non-binding, FDA has posted no official results, and FDA has not acted on it.
No, and this is the most common confusion. Thymosin beta-4 is the full protein, 43 amino acids long. TB-500 copies only a short seven amino acid section of it. Research on the full protein does not automatically apply to the fragment.
Research has looked at wound healing, soft tissue repair and cell migration to injured areas. Patients usually ask about it for tendon, ligament or muscle injuries that have stalled. The human evidence for those uses is limited.
The honest answer is that we do not know yet in humans. Most of what is claimed online comes from laboratory and animal work. A 2026 review in JBJS Reviews described peptides in this class as investigational. If a clinic quotes you a human success rate, ask for the source.
Long term human safety data is very limited. That absence is itself the most important safety fact. The larger practical risk is product quality. Peptides sold online for research use are not made for people, and their purity and dose cannot be verified. Nothing about that purchase is regulated or monitored.
No, not if you are drug tested. TB-500 is prohibited at all times on the World Anti-Doping Agency list, as a thymosin beta-4 derivative. Validated detection methods for it have been published. If you compete under WADA, USADA or NCAA rules, we will decline to prescribe it.
The Wolverine Stack is an informal name for using BPC-157 and TB-500 together. It is not a brand or a single product. The combination has never been studied as a combination in humans. See our Wolverine Stack page for detail.
There is no reliable published timeline in humans. Any clinic quoting a specific number of days or weeks is guessing. That is one reason a protocol here is monitored and adjusted rather than sold as a fixed course.
Alturas Medical Weight Loss is in Meridian, Idaho. We are at 1532 W Cayuse Creek Dr, about fifteen minutes from downtown Boise. There is free on-site parking. We also see patients from Eagle, Nampa, Kuna, Star, Middleton and Caldwell. Start with a free fifteen minute call at (208) 690-2040.
Our medical clinic is in Meridian, Idaho, about fifteen minutes from downtown Boise. There is free on-site parking. The first step is a free fifteen minute phone call. There is no commitment.
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