The "Wolverine stack": what the evidence shows
This page has not yet been reviewed by a credentialed medical professional. It is educational and is not medical advice.
The "Wolverine stack" is a community name for combining BPC-157 and TB-500. Here is each component's evidence, and what is known about the combination: nothing from controlled studies.
| BPC-157 | TB-500 | |
|---|---|---|
| Evidence grade | Animal studies only | Animal studies only |
| Why | Hundreds of rodent studies, mostly from one research group. Human data amounts to three small pilot reports (knee pain, interstitial cystitis and a two-person IV safety pilot). | TB-500 itself has essentially no human trials. Full-length thymosin beta-4, a related but different molecule, has been tested in small clinical trials for the eye and heart. |
| Registered trials | 2 on ClinicalTrials.gov | 20 on ClinicalTrials.gov |
| US | Not FDA-approved. Status for pharmacy compounding is actively changing: FDA moved it off its "Category 2" (significant safety risk) list in April 2026 and an FDA advisory committee narrowly voted in July 2026 in favour of easing restrictions, but no final FDA decision had been confirmed in the sources checked. | Not FDA-approved. Compounding status was under active review in 2026 (an FDA advisory committee narrowly voted in July 2026 to recommend easing restrictions on several peptides including TB-500); confirm the current FDA position before relying on it. |
| Canada | Not authorized by Health Canada. Named in a Health Canada public advisory as an unauthorized injectable peptide; "research use only" labels do not make sale for human use legal. | Not authorized by Health Canada. Named in a Health Canada public advisory as an unauthorized injectable peptide. |
| Sport (WADA) | Prohibited at all times in sport (S0: non-approved substances). | Prohibited at all times in sport (thymosin beta-4 and its derivatives, e.g. TB-500). |
| Verified | 2026-10-09 | 2026-10-09 |
What each part is claimed to do
- BPC-157: tendon, ligament and gut healing in rats, via blood vessel growth and nitric oxide pathways.
- TB-500: sold as a fragment of thymosin beta-4, which in cell and animal work binds actin and supports cell migration. Many cited human trials used the full-length protein, not TB-500.
What is known about the combination
No controlled study has tested the two together. Because each has little human data on its own, the combination's effects and risks, including interactions and cumulative exposure to contaminated products, are unknown.
FAQ
What is the Wolverine stack?
A community name for combining BPC-157 and TB-500 for injury recovery. Both are unapproved peptides and neither has controlled human evidence for healing.
Has the Wolverine stack been studied in humans?
No controlled study has tested the combination. The only human report that included both peptides was a small knee-pain chart review in which a few patients received both.