Peptide Half-Life Chart & Visualizer
Explore what reported half-lives can—and cannot—tell us. All 22 topics remain selectable. Curves are shown only for source-supported product or study examples; other selections display an evidence gap. The graph illustrates normalized elimination, not measured patient concentrations or an optimized dosing schedule.
Select Peptides to Compare
Compare up to 3 topics. Selecting a fourth replaces the earliest selection. Some topics have an evidence note instead of a numerical curve.
Illustrative Single-Dose Elimination
The model is 100 × 0.5^(time ÷ half-life). It starts at a normalized 100% in an assumed elimination phase—not at the injection time. It omits absorption, repeat doses and individual variation. It does not show relative potency, a therapeutic range, a safe washout period or when to take another dose.
Scroll the chart horizontally on small screens. Selected values and source limitations appear below.
Arithmetic reference: after 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 half-lives, this model leaves 50%, 25%, 12.5%, 6.25% and 3.125%, respectively. Five half-lives is not zero drug or guaranteed absence of effects.
Semaglutide
- Reported half-life / model assumption
- About 1 week; model uses 168 h
- Reported time to peak (not drawn)
- 1–3 days after subcutaneous Ozempic
Ozempic subcutaneous product labeling. A terminal-phase illustration does not reproduce absorption, an individual's concentration or oral-product administration.
Ozempic label, section 12.3Dosing and steady state: this single-dose model selects neither. Use the actual product instructions and prescribed regimen; a half-life is not a treatment recommendation.
Understanding Peptide Half-Lives
A half-life is the time for concentration to fall by half in a defined elimination phase. The number depends on the product, route, study conditions and model. A terminal half-life does not necessarily describe early absorption, distribution or the duration of a biological response.
For example, the Ozempic injection label reports a half-life of about one week and a time to maximum concentration of 1–3 days—not one hour. A concentration curve beginning at 100% cannot simultaneously depict that absorption phase. Our graph therefore labels time zero as the start of an assumed elimination phase.
Molecular modifications can matter: the original long-acting CJC-1295 trial reported 5.8–8.1 days after subcutaneous administration in healthy adults. The displayed 8-day value is an illustration within that range, not a result for products called no-DAC or for a CJC/ipamorelin blend.
Why Half-Life Matters for Dosing
Half-life contributes to pharmacokinetic understanding but does not independently select treatment frequency. Formulation, the relationship between concentration and effect, studied regimens and individual tolerability also matter. This chart contains no therapeutic concentration target and cannot label a trough as ineffective or a peak as toxic.
With linear first-order elimination and a consistent repeated regimen, concentrations approach a repeating steady-state pattern. Four and five half-lives represent 93.75% and 96.875% of the theoretical approach, respectively. For the single-dose decay shown here, the complementary amounts remaining are 6.25% and 3.125%. Those calculations do not establish an individual clearance time or full benefit. The Ozempic label describes steady-state exposure after 4–5 weeks of weekly administration; this model does not simulate that repeated regimen.
The circles on the curves mark 50% remaining at the assumed half-life. They are reference points, not suggested redosing times. Absorption, additional doses, biological effects and individual variation are deliberately outside this simple model.
Short vs Long Half-Life Peptides
Shorter source-supported examples: the immediate-release Byetta label reports an approximately 2.4-hour terminal half-life and median peak time of 2.1 hours. Do not apply that to extended-release exenatide. An ipamorelin study reported about two hours after a 15-minute intravenous infusion in healthy male volunteers; that is not a subcutaneous-product estimate, and its GH-response peak is not drug Tmax.
Longer examples: semaglutide injection, tirzepatide, long-acting CJC-1295 and retatrutide have source-specific parameters. The Zepbound label describes approximately 5–6 days and a median peak time of 24 hours (range 8–72). An original retatrutide phase 1b study reported about six days after subcutaneous administration in adults with type 2 diabetes. Emerging trial data is retained without validating a nontrial product or choosing a schedule.
Intermediate values and evidence gaps: the Victoza label reports about 13 hours for liraglutide. This reference has not established product- and route-specific human numerical values for BPC-157, TB-500, GHK-Cu, MK-677, DSIP, Selank, Semax, GHRP-6, GHRP-2, sermorelin, AOD-9604, KPV, epithalon or thymosin alpha-1. They remain available as topics, but unsourced legacy figures are not plotted as human pharmacokinetics.
How to Optimize Your Dosing Schedule
Use the exact prescription and product instructions when discussing a schedule with a pharmacist or prescriber. This visualizer does not prescribe morning Semax, nightly DSIP, repeated GH-secretagogue injections or a dose escalation. A reported half-life is not enough to create those instructions.
Track prescribed treatment and symptoms as agreed with the care team, but do not equate a few half-lives with an adequate efficacy trial. Dose changes, missed doses, interactions and adverse effects require product-specific interpretation. Comparing normalized curves does not establish that combining the selected substances is appropriate.
Consider the actual product, route, medical history and other medicines with the prescriber. The peptide calculator checks arithmetic from supplied inputs; it does not choose a dose or diluent. Related educational topics include proper injection technique and peptide storage and stability.
Related Tools & Guides
Use these resources to understand terminology, evidence and questions to raise with the care team. A related guide is not a clinical clearance for an individual product or combination.
- Peptide Calculator – Check amount, concentration and volume arithmetic from supplied inputs.
- Semaglutide Dosing Chart – Detailed tiered dosing guide for GLP-1 receptor agonists.
- BPC-157 Dosage Guide – Reported practices and evidence considerations for this research topic.
- How to Inject Peptides – Injection technique topics to discuss with a trained professional.
- Peptide Storage & Stability – Product-specific storage and discard-date distinctions.
- BPC-157 Profile – Research findings, reported uses and evidence limitations.
- Semaglutide Profile – Everything about this GLP-1 agonist for weight and metabolic management.
Updated September 8, 2026: corrected product-specific peak times, separated sourced values from evidence gaps, fixed chart scaling and replaced redosing suggestions with an explicitly limited mathematical model. Browse the complete guides library for more educational content.
Frequently Asked Questions
A pharmacokinetic half-life describes the time for concentration to halve in the relevant elimination phase and conditions. It does not by itself determine duration of benefit, dosing frequency or how a different formulation behaves.
Under linear first-order assumptions, repeated consistent dosing approaches a repeating steady-state pattern. Four and five half-lives correspond to 93.75% and 96.875% of the theoretical approach, not an exact finish or full clinical benefit. Product-specific evidence and the actual regimen matter; this visualizer models single-dose elimination, not accumulation.
Clinical schedules depend on formulation, absorption, pharmacological effects, efficacy and tolerability studies—not simply a half-life. A short reported half-life does not establish that a research peptide needs multiple daily doses, and a long half-life does not select a weekly regimen.
Formulation, route, molecular modifications, distribution and elimination pathways matter. Kidney or liver disease and other medicines may matter for a particular product, but not every factor changes every peptide the same way. Long-acting CJC-1295 data should not be transferred to no-DAC products or blends.
Changing a regimen can change exposure and adverse effects, but this chart cannot determine whether a dose is too frequent or too infrequent. It has no therapeutic target or repeat-dose model. Follow product-specific prescriber instructions rather than a 50% marker or a calculated clearance time.