00:01:54 · Ruby Justice Thelot, Robin Guo
[00:01:54] S1: All right. While I have you, I wanna start from the very beginning. What are peptides and why are they all the hype right now? [00:02:03] S0: Peptides are just long chains of amino acids. So it could be anything from three amino acids to 50 to 70 amino acids. And then eventually it turns large enough that it becomes a protein. And basically they're all the rage because, honestly, of GLP-1s. Mhmm. Because suddenly we discover this peptide, glucagon like peptide, that makes you lose weight. And suddenly people are like, I can lose 10 pounds, I can lose 15 pounds, I can lose 20 pounds. That's crazy. And so now, fifteen million people are on these GLP-1s and they're like, oh, there are these other peptides that can do other things. And so I think that's why a lot of people are trying out new things. And also, know, when you use a needle, like I think it takes a lot for you to needle yourself. Yeah. Right? And so once you get over that hurdle and you're like, okay, I've already done this for one, it's kinda like you broke the seal. And now you're like, oh, what are the other peptides out there that can make me better, stronger, fitter, etcetera. That's kind of why everyone's gotten so popular. [00:03:04] S1: What are the other peptides out there?
00:03:04 · Ruby Justice Thelot, Robin Guo
[00:03:04] S1: What are the other peptides out there? [00:03:08] S0: Mean, there's every... If you think about it, like so so many... Because there's like 20 amino acids, right? So you can combine them in any sort of way. So there's like millions of combinations that you could do. There's both approved peptides and not approved peptides. So there's things that are like more regulated or it's like more studied and there's other things that are like a little bit more gray market. So there's everything from like a common one that people do is like the Wolverine stack or like the Glow stack. And some of those are a little bit less regulated in terms of like BPC-one hundred fifty seven, Ipamorelin. Basically some of them, they basically target your pituitary gland to release growth hormone. And so then your cells grow more and then you probably look better. Maybe your wounds heal a little bit faster. [00:03:49] S1: Looks maxing? [00:03:50] S0: Yeah, basically looks maxing, but could cause some issues down the line. And then there's some other peptides that are responsible for things like sex drive. Some peptides actually can like make you tan. There's some peptides are being researched for sleep. So there's a bunch of different types out there. [00:04:07] S1: What's the craziest use of peptides you've seen? [00:04:14] S0: Probably the... There's one peptide that's approved for menopausal women that increases their sex drive. So that's probably the one that's [00:04:24] S1: How does that work?
00:04:24 · Ruby Justice Thelot, Robin Guo
[00:04:24] S1: How does that work? [00:04:25] S0: It basically targets some receptor in the brain. I can't remember the exact name, but that receptor is involved in making you horny, essentially. [00:04:34] S1: Man, because what's the issue here? So a lot of menopausal women completely lose it. And so then when you're actually have a peptide that changes how all of this works. [00:04:43] S0: Yes. Yes. [00:04:44] S1: Fascinating. Yes. Okay. So where is this all playing out? Do you see the future of the consumer biotech market where peptides are just going to grow in popularity?
00:04:54 · Robin Guo
[00:04:54] S0: So I think GLP-1s will definitely grow. I think more and more people... Right now there's still some stigma. People are, like, not sure about the side effects. They're not super educated on it. There's still some stigma about, like, oh, like, I wanna get lean the natural way. And I think now people are realizing the research is coming out that GLP-1s are like super, like they improve your health in many ways, right? So they improve your cardiovascular health, they reduce cholesterol, reduce they triglycerides, they improve kidney function. There's all these things that improves. They reduce addiction. And so it's very much good for people and good for humanity. And I think people will start realizing that more. And then especially when we come out with new novel delivery mechanisms that are less invasive. Because I think honestly, like a lot of people don't wanna needle themselves. I think more and more people will be on GLP-1s. I think more peptides will be researched, but I do think that it requires the scientific community to go take it a little bit more seriously and do actual studies on it right now. Because right now there's just a bunch of people like YOLO ing a bunch of peptides into their body, which I think is not always the best thing because these are not like, you know, proper clinically studied compounds. And so I think from a safety perspective, we should probably still be doing some more research. But I think in general, it's good that, you know, we are pushing things faster.
00:06:12 · Ruby Justice Thelot, Robin Guo
[00:06:12] S1: So not sure if you're familiar with Chairman Berb on Twitter, But she famously threw the peptide rave, who's her birthday party here in San Francisco. There's all these reporters that were there. [00:06:23] S0: Yeah, yeah. [00:06:24] S1: And I was talking about the growth of peptides and this big consumer trend that's happening. [00:06:28] S0: Yeah, yeah. [00:06:29] S1: And I wanted to get your take. Why are all these people suddenly testing out peptides? Is it safe to just do home injections and experiment on yourself?
00:06:29 · Ruby Justice Thelot, Robin Guo
[00:06:29] S1: And I wanted to get your take. Why are all these people suddenly testing out peptides? Is it safe to just do home injections and experiment on yourself? [00:06:44] S0: Let me think about what I'm allowed to say here. So I think it depends on the... I don't think I'm allowed to say too much here, basically. I think from a... Like, compounds should be prescribed by a physician. I think there are certain things that people have high risk tolerance for, but this is not legally allowed. Whether or not it affects your body and your choice, I think is up to the individual. But I think from a legal perspective, a lot of these research chemical peptides are for research purposes, right? So we buy bulk research chemical peptide to test in animals, as an example. So I buy grams and grams, like tens of thousands of dollars of peptides from China to go test it in my animals to go and do studies. But I think if you're doing it on yourself, one, it's not legally allowed. And two, it's kind of, ideally you should be, have some sort of scientific background to understand what are the risks involved with just putting different peptides into your body. So anyway, from a legal perspective, it's not. So I don't know if I can comment too deeply on how I feel about it. [00:07:55] S1: Alright. On a personal level, do you?