🩺 Category

Endocrine & Clinical Peptides

Established prescription peptide medicines that regulate hormone secretion, fluid balance, and bleeding — including somatostatin and vasopressin analogs used in hospitals and clinics worldwide.

This category collects established, FDA-approved peptide medicines that don't fit the fitness-and-wellness goals of the other groups but are among the most important peptide drugs in real clinical use. Their common thread is regulation — of hormone secretion, water balance, or blood flow — through two natural signaling systems.

The somatostatin analogs (octreotide, lanreotide, pasireotide) mimic the body's hormonal "off switch" to control conditions of hormone excess like acromegaly and to treat neuroendocrine tumors. The vasopressin analogs (desmopressin, vasopressin itself, and terlipressin) act on the antidiuretic-hormone system to manage water balance, bedwetting, bleeding disorders, and the circulatory complications of critical illness and liver disease. Unlike much of this encyclopedia, every peptide here is a prescription medicine backed by clinical trials.

The peptide Clinical peptideanalog Acts on Somatostatin /vasopressinreceptors Triggers Hormone or fluidsignaling adjusted Outcome Therapeutic effect(FDA-approved)
Simplified mechanism: how clinical peptides are generally studied to act. Individual peptides vary — see each guide.

Endocrine & Clinical peptides we cover (6)

Clinical

Octreotide

Sandostatin, Octreotide LAR

A long-acting synthetic analog of the natural hormone somatostatin, FDA-approved to suppress excess hormone secretion in acromegaly, carcinoid syndrome, and certain neuroendocrine tumors.

Read the guide →
Clinical

Lanreotide

Somatuline, Somatuline Depot, Lanreotide Autogel

A long-acting somatostatin analog closely related to octreotide, FDA-approved for acromegaly and for slowing progression of gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors.

Read the guide →
Clinical

Pasireotide

Signifor, Signifor LAR

A newer, broad-spectrum somatostatin analog that binds more receptor subtypes than octreotide, FDA-approved for Cushing's disease and for acromegaly not controlled by other therapy.

Read the guide →
Clinical

Desmopressin

DDAVP, Desmopressin acetate, Stimate, Nocdurna

A synthetic analog of the antidiuretic hormone vasopressin, FDA-approved for central diabetes insipidus, bedwetting, and certain bleeding disorders — with the water-retaining effect but not the blood-pressure effect of the natural hormone.

Read the guide →
Clinical

Vasopressin

Antidiuretic hormone (ADH), Arginine vasopressin (AVP), Vasostrict, Pitressin

The body's own antidiuretic hormone — a nine-amino-acid peptide that controls water balance and constricts blood vessels — also used as an intravenous medicine to raise blood pressure in shock.

Read the guide →
Clinical

Terlipressin

Terlivaz, Glypressin

A long-acting vasopressin analog used in advanced liver disease — FDA-approved for hepatorenal syndrome and widely used for bleeding esophageal varices — that constricts splanchnic blood vessels.

Read the guide →
Not medical advice. The Peptide Almanac summarizes published research for education only. Full disclaimer →

Frequently asked questions

What are somatostatin analogs used for?

Somatostatin analogs like octreotide, lanreotide, and pasireotide suppress excess hormone secretion. They are used for acromegaly (growth-hormone excess), for hormone-secreting and other neuroendocrine tumors, and — for octreotide — in settings like variceal bleeding. Pasireotide is also used for Cushing's disease.

What is the difference between vasopressin and desmopressin?

Both act on the antidiuretic-hormone system, but desmopressin is engineered to keep the water-retaining (V2) effect while dropping the blood-pressure-raising (V1) effect of natural vasopressin. That makes desmopressin ideal for diabetes insipidus and bedwetting, while vasopressin's vasoconstriction is used in shock.

Are these peptides FDA-approved?

Yes. Every peptide in this category is an FDA-approved, prescription-only medicine used under medical supervision — a contrast with the unapproved 'research chemicals' found in several other categories on this site.

Why are these grouped separately from the other peptides?

They are major clinical peptide drugs whose uses — controlling hormone excess, water balance, and bleeding — don't map onto the wellness-oriented goals (weight loss, muscle, cognition, and so on) of the other categories. Grouping them keeps the A–Z list genuinely complete.

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