Which claims need a closer look?

Checking registration and other status claims

A drug code is a number for a product’s entry in the US drug agency’s (FDA’s) public product list. An entry in that list does not prove approval.

In the September 2026 check, epitalon’s entries on that list were powders used as raw ingredients. They were not approved finished medicines.

Ask to see the approval record for that specific finished product, rather than taking a code as the answer.

“The request was withdrawn, so it is cleared”

People had asked FDA to consider epitalon for its list of ingredients used to make medicines to order. They took those requests back. In the September 2026 check, FDA’s record still showed its safety concerns about epitalon.

Taking those requests back did not put epitalon on the allowed ingredient list. It also did not put it in a separate group for which FDA temporarily holds off on action if its conditions are met.

Ask what changed in the official record.

“It had special status, so it works”

In 2010, FDA gave epitalon a special status for work on a possible medicine for a rare inherited eye disease. This is called orphan designation. The status ended in 2016.

That status is meant to support work on a possible medicine. It does not give permission to sell it as an FDA-approved medicine or show that it works.

These records were checked on September 28, 2026.

“The research label takes care of the rules”

In 2026 warning letters, FDA told particular businesses that their websites showed they were selling drugs for people to use. Putting “research-only” on the label did not change that.

The letters state what FDA accused those businesses of doing. They are not a court’s decision.

Pause over a page that pairs a research-only label with promises about your health. Ask what the actual product is.