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Bones & muscles
What benefits of TB-500 are under study?
TB-500 benefits under study include tendon, wound, heart, hair, and inflammation research. See what lab, animal, and human trials have found.
Quick answer
TB-500 is studied for soft-tissue injury recovery, wound healing, heart tissue repair, hair growth, and inflammation, mostly in cells and rodents. Most of those findings tested thymosin beta-4, its parent protein. A 32-rat study linked TB-500 itself to stronger repaired Achilles tendons. Thymosin beta-4 has also been tested in human wound, eye, and heart trials. TB-500 is not FDA-approved, has no established labeled route, and is prohibited at all times by WADA.
- Published
- November 4, 2026
- Last updated
- November 4, 2026
Benefits and uses researchers are exploring
The TB-500 benefits under study are soft-tissue injury recovery, wound healing, heart tissue repair1, hair growth, and inflammation. Most findings come from cell and animal models2. Its parent protein has reached human trials.
TB-500 is a synthetic seven-amino-acid fragment3 of thymosin beta-4 (Tβ4), a natural protein. Much TB-500 research used full-length Tβ4, which reviewers call a distinct, larger molecule1.
Interest in TB-500 centers on slow-healing tendons, ligaments, and muscles.
TB-500 and soft-tissue injury recovery
TB-500 itself was linked to stronger, better-organized repaired tendons4 in rats, while ligament and muscle findings come from thymosin beta-4.
In a 32-rat study, eight rats got TB-500 for four weeks after Achilles repair. Dosing was intraperitoneal (into the belly cavity). Treated tendons withstood significantly more force and showed less damage. Type I collagen expression matched controls.
Thymosin beta-4 in a cut rat knee ligament produced more organized fibers and better mechanical properties5. In mice with inherited muscle wasting, six months of thymosin beta-4 increased regenerating muscle fibers6 but not grip strength.
Skin and eye wounds form a second line of repair research.
TB-500 and wound healing in skin and eyes
Thymosin beta-4 sped skin and corneal healing in rats and mice. TB-500 has been tested in skin cells.
- Skin wounds in rats: Thymosin beta-4 increased wound resurfacing by as much as 61% over saline7 by day seven.
- Slow-healing wounds in mice: Thymosin beta-4 sped repair in diabetic and aged mice8, and a fragment sharing TB-500's sequence, minus its acetyl group, matched it in aged mice.
- Corneal burns in mice: Thymosin beta-4 eye drops sped corneal healing after an alkali burn9 and reduced eye inflammation.
- TB-500 in skin cells: One TB-500 breakdown product sped wound closure in a cell test. Intact TB-500 showed no significant activity10.
Heart research also centers on thymosin beta-4.
TB-500 and heart tissue repair
Heart research tied to TB-500 tested thymosin beta-4 in mouse heart-attack models.
Thymosin beta-4 given to mice after a coronary artery was tied off improved heart-muscle-cell survival and heart function11.
Mice treated for seven days before a heart attack and again afterward formed new heart-muscle cells12 from progenitors, immature cells in the heart's outer layer.
Parent-protein research also extends to hair growth.
TB-500 and hair growth
Hair-growth research tied to TB-500 tested thymosin beta-4, which stimulated hair growth in rats and mice13.
Mice engineered to overproduce thymosin beta-4 in their skin regrew hair faster after removal14, and mice lacking the gene regrew more slowly. No peptide was given, so the result reflects the body's own thymosin beta-4.
Both molecules have also been examined in inflammation models.
TB-500 and inflammation
TB-500 inflammation research includes thymosin beta-4 work in cells and mice, plus one TB-500 mouse study.
- Corneal cells: Thymosin beta-4 lowered NF-κB activity15, a switch for inflammatory genes, in human corneal cells exposed to the inflammatory signal TNF-α.
- Septic shock: Mice given thymosin beta-4 after a lethal-range bacterial toxin dose had significantly fewer deaths16 and lower inflammatory signals.
- Alzheimer's-model mice: TB-500 and a second fragment, reported together, reduced brain immune-cell inflammation17 and improved memory scores, with amyloid plaque unchanged.
Thymosin beta-4 wound and heart findings have since moved into human trials.
What has human research found on TB-500?
Human trials linked to TB-500 have tested full-length thymosin beta-4, its parent protein. FDA has not identified any human exposure data for TB-50018 itself.
| Research area | Laboratory and animal findings | Human research |
| Soft-tissue injury | TB-500: stronger repaired Achilles tendons in rats; Tβ4: ligament and muscle-fiber findings in rats and mice | No controlled orthopaedic trials published yet1 for TB-500 or Tβ4 |
| Wound healing | Tβ4: faster skin and corneal healing in rats and mice; TB-500: no significant cell-test activity, though a breakdown product sped wound closure | Tβ4: Phase 2 topical trial in 73 people19 with venous leg ulcers, safety comparable to placebo; Phase 3 eye-drop trial in 18 people20, 4-week healing difference not significant, significant healing by day 43, ended early for business reasons |
| Heart tissue repair | Tβ4: better heart function and new heart-muscle cells in mice | Tβ4: randomized, placebo-controlled trial in 96 people21 after a heart attack, smaller infarcts in those dosed within 8 hours after angioplasty, no significant overall difference |
| Hair growth | Tβ4: hair growth in rats and mice; faster regrowth in mice making extra Tβ4 | No controlled human studies yet |
| Inflammation | Tβ4: lower inflammatory signaling in corneal cells, fewer deaths in septic mice; TB-500 with a second fragment: less brain inflammation in Alzheimer's-model mice | Tβ4: lower blood Tβ4 levels observed16 in people with septic shock, with no treatment given |
| Safety | TB-500: no toxicity to cells10 in a lab study | TB-500: FDA notes possible immune reactions from aggregation or impurities18; Tβ4: infrequent, mild or moderate adverse events22 in a placebo-controlled study of 40 healthy adults given intravenous doses for 14 days |
Controlled trials of TB-500 itself would show how these findings carry over to people.
TB-500 and thymosin beta-4 are prohibited at all times23 on WADA's 2026 Prohibited List (class S2). Tested athletes can face sanctions and should check current WADA and league rules.
Getting TB-500 in 2026
Superpower will offer TB-500 formulated in FDA-registered facilities in the US, backed by third-party lab testing, and distributed from US-licensed pharmacies. A licensed clinician will assess whether TB-500 fits each person's health care. The Superpower peptide waitlist is open now.
TB-500 is not an FDA-approved drug. In October 2026, the Department of Health and Human Services said it does not intend to take enforcement action24 against state-licensed pharmacies compounding certain peptides while the 503A Bulks List, the list of ingredients pharmacies may use in compounding, is finalized. That interim policy names TB-500 and five other peptides25, and its conditions include ingredients from FDA-registered facilities and a patient-specific prescription. It came after a July 2026 FDA advisory committee recommended adding TB-500 to the list26, and rulemaking is still underway.