Dr. Jessica Duncan Testifies Before the FDA on Behalf of Patients Seeking Safe Access to Peptide Therapies
At Ivim Health, we believe patients deserve access to innovative care through qualified physicians, licensed pharmacies, and evidence-based medicine.
That’s why our Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Jessica Duncan, testified before the FDA’s Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee (PCAC) in Washington, D.C. on July 23, to share what she’s seeing firsthand as a physician caring for patients with obesity, hormone health concerns, and chronic disease.
Her message was simple:
Patients are already seeking peptide therapies. The question isn’t whether they’ll use them—it’s whether they’ll have access through a physician and a licensed pharmacy, or be left to navigate the gray market alone.
Why Dr. Jessica Testified
As a board-certified obesity medicine physician, Dr. Duncan spends every day helping patients make informed decisions about their health.
She knows that when people are interested in peptide therapies, that interest doesn’t simply disappear because access becomes more limited. Instead, many patients begin looking elsewhere, often purchasing products online without knowing exactly what’s in the vial, where it came from, or whether it was manufactured under appropriate quality standards.
During her testimony, Dr. Duncan shared that this has become an increasingly common conversation in her own practice.
“The question in front of you isn’t whether people will use these. They already are. It’s whether they use them with a doctor and a licensed pharmacy, or completely alone.”
Rather than removing demand, she explained, current restrictions have often removed physician involvement from the process.
We’re Advocating for Our Patients
At Ivim, we’ve always believed that access and safety should go hand in hand.
When peptide therapies were reclassified in 2023, we stopped prescribing them and complied with the regulatory changes. But what didn’t change was our commitment to our patients or what we continued to hear from them.
Patients are still asking about peptide therapies. They’re still researching them. They’re still looking for answers.
And we believe they deserve the opportunity to have those conversations with a qualified healthcare provider, not be left to figure it out on their own. That’s why Dr. Jessica traveled to Washington, D.C., to bring a physician’s perspective to the conversation.
She wasn’t advocating for unrestricted access. She was advocating for something much simpler: The ability for physicians and patients to have individualized risk-and-benefit discussions and, when appropriate, prescribe through licensed 503A pharmacies operating under established quality standards.
As Dr. Duncan told the committee:
“Right now you’re pointing my patients at the gray market. I’m asking you to point them back at me.”
Why This Matters
Every day, our providers care for patients looking for solutions to improve their health and quality of life. Some are managing chronic inflammatory conditions. Some are working toward healthier body composition and metabolic health. Others are looking for support with recovery, energy, sleep, or longevity.
For many of these patients, peptide therapies have become part of the broader healthcare conversation. At Ivim, we believe those conversations belong where medical decisions are made every day: between patients and licensed healthcare providers.
That philosophy has always been central to how we practice medicine.
Continuing the Conversation
Dr. Jessica’s testimony has generated national media interest and helped elevate the conversation around physician-supervised peptide care.
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