Research use only, explained

The wording has a regulatory origin in diagnostics. In the United States, 21 CFR 809.10(c)(2)(i) requires an in vitro diagnostic product still in the laboratory research phase to carry the statement "For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures." Suppliers of reagents, antibodies and peptides adopted similar wording for anything sold to laboratories.

In Egypt we have found no Egyptian Drug Authority (EDA) rule, guide or statement that defines research-use-only materials. So the label carries the meaning that the supplier and the buyer give it in writing, and the law that applies to what is actually done with the material still applies. Our position on that is for an Egyptian lawyer to confirm; are peptides legal in Egypt? sets out what the EDA has and has not said.

• It is not registered with the EDA as a medicine or a cosmetic.
• Nobody has assessed it for use in people. No clinical data, no approved use, no dose.
• It is made to a chemical specification: identity, purity and, often, peptide content. A medicine is held to more. The EDA's guide to synthetic peptide medicines notes that peptide raw materials come in grades with different specifications for bacterial endotoxin and sterility. A research material carries no sterility or endotoxin result unless its certificate prints one.
• It comes with a certificate of analysis for its batch. The certificate describes the material; it says nothing about use in a body. How to read a certificate of analysis explains each line.

It does not make a sale to the public lawful. On 28 September 2026 the EDA warned against an online shop trading under a "peptides" name that sold to anyone, and described its products as of unknown source, counterfeit and unregistered. A research label on such a product changes nothing.

It does not make a material fit for research in people. Clinical research in Egypt is regulated separately, by Law 214 of 2020 on clinical medical research. A research-use-only material is not made or documented for that work, and we do not supply it for it.

It does not replace the buyer's own approvals. An institution's rules on what its laboratories may hold, and any approval needed to bring material into Egypt, stay with the buyer and the law. How import rules apply to research materials is for an Egyptian lawyer to confirm.

So the label means something only when the seller acts on it: checks who is buying, refuses orders that are plainly for personal use, and says nothing about effects or doses.

• We supply research-grade products to businesses and institutions only. We do not supply individuals, for any purpose.
• A company shows its commercial register (السجل التجاري) and tax card (البطاقة الضريبية) before its first order.
• A research buyer signs an end-use declaration before its first order of research-grade products.
• None of our pages describes what a research product does in a body, and none gives a dose or a method of use.
• We do not sell through social media.

Who can buy from us lists every check, and the research-grade line shows what it covers.

The end-use declaration is short. In plain words, the buyer confirms that:

1. the material is for laboratory research only;
2. it will not be given to people or animals, or used in any product for them;
3. it will not be resold or passed on for those purposes;
4. the people handling it are trained to do so;
5. the buyer will tell us if any of this changes.

We keep the signed declaration with the account and ask for it again if the buyer's details change.

One substance can exist in more than one grade. Copper tripeptide-1 (GHK-Cu) is in our range as a cosmetic ingredient, and also as a 50 mg research-grade vial and a component of some research-grade blends. The grade decides who may buy it and what it is for. A research-grade vial is never a substitute for a registered medicine.