Summary
The World Anti-Doping Code International Standard Prohibited List is the single document that determines whether a substance is prohibited in sport. It is organised into classes, each with its own wording, and the wording matters more than the example names: every class is drafted to cover substances beyond those it lists. The List in force is the 2026 edition, approved by WADA's Executive Committee on 11 September 2025 and effective from 1 January 2026 1. Five of the ten compounds in this knowledge base are named on it, four are not, and one of those four appears instead on the Monitoring Program.
How the List is structured
The List separates substances and methods prohibited at all times from those prohibited in competition only and those prohibited in particular sports. Classes S0 to S5 and methods M1 to M3 are prohibited at all times; S6 to S9 are prohibited in competition; P1, beta-blockers, applies in particular sports 2. WADA states that the List "is updated at least annually", that the latest version is published on its website in October and comes into force on 1 January, and that in exceptional circumstances a substance or method may be added at any time 2.
A second sub-classification, Specified or non-Specified, runs across the classes. WADA states that all substances and methods on the List are prohibited and that the sub-classification is "important only in the sanctioning process", a Specified Substance being one that potentially allows, under defined conditions, a greater reduction of a sanction 2.
S0: non-approved substances
Class S0 covers "any pharmacological substance which is not addressed by any of the subsequent sections of the List and with no current approval by any governmental regulatory health authority for human therapeutic use (e.g. drugs under pre-clinical or clinical development or discontinued, designer drugs, substances approved only for veterinary use)", and it is prohibited at all times 3. The class text adds that it covers many different substances "including but not limited to BPC-157, 2,4-dinitrophenol (DNP)", together with ryanodine receptor-1-calstabin complex stabilisers and troponin activators, and that all prohibited substances in the class are Specified Substances 4. WADA announced on 30 September 2021 that BPC-157 was the first substance ever included by name as an example in section S0, in the 2022 List 5.
S2: peptide hormones, growth factors, related substances and mimetics
Class S2 is prohibited at all times, and its opening text states that all prohibited substances in the class are non-Specified Substances and that "the following substances, and other substances with similar chemical structure or similar biological effect(s), are prohibited" 2. Three of its items are relevant here.
Item S2.2.3, growth hormone (GH), its analogues and fragments, is expressed as "including, but not limited to" growth hormone analogues, given as lonapegsomatropin, somapacitan and somatrogon, and growth hormone fragments, given as AOD-9604 and hGH 176-191 2. None of the ten compounds covered in this knowledge base is named in this item.
Item S2.2.4, growth hormone releasing factors, is likewise expressed as "including, but not limited to" and lists three families: "growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) and its analogues (e.g. CJC-1293, CJC-1295, sermorelin and tesamorelin)"; "growth hormone secretagogues (GHS) and their mimetics [e.g. anamorelin, capromorelin, ibutamoren (MK-677), ipamorelin, lenomorelin (ghrelin), macimorelin and tabimorelin]"; and GH-releasing peptides (GHRPs), given as alexamorelin, examorelin (hexarelin), GHRP-1, GHRP-2 (pralmorelin), GHRP-3, GHRP-4, GHRP-5 and GHRP-6 2.
Item S2.3, growth factors and growth factor modulators, names fibroblast growth factors, hepatocyte growth factor, insulin-like growth factor 1 and its analogues, mechano growth factors, platelet-derived growth factor, "Thymosin-β4 and its derivatives e.g. TB-500", and vascular endothelial growth factor, closing with "and other growth factors or growth factor modulators affecting muscle, tendon or ligament protein synthesis/degradation, vascularisation, energy utilization, regenerative capacity or fibre type switching" 2.
Where each compound sits
CJC-1295 is named in S2.2.4 as an example of a GHRH analogue, without distinction between the DAC and non-DAC forms 4. Sermorelin is named in the same item 4, as is tesamorelin 6. Ipamorelin is named in S2.2.4 among the growth hormone secretagogues 4. Thymosin β4 and TB-500 are named in S2.3 4. All five are therefore prohibited at all times and are non-Specified.
BPC-157 is named in S0 and is a Specified Substance 4. Retatrutide is not named anywhere on the List; as a substance with no current approval by any governmental regulatory health authority for human therapeutic use it falls within the S0 wording, and no GLP-1, GIP or glucagon term appears in the S2 or S4 panels 3. Semaglutide and tirzepatide are not named: a full-text search of the 26-page 2026 List returned no occurrence of either name, nor of GLP-1, glucagon-like or incretin, in any section 7. GHK, GHK-Cu, copper tripeptide and prezatide are not named either; all fourteen sections of the web edition were loaded and searched for those terms and for "glycyl" with no occurrence 4. WADA's own FAQ states that cosmetic products containing S2 peptides or growth factors are prohibited regardless of route, while noting that application to intact skin is unlikely to produce an adverse analytical finding; that FAQ does not name GHK-Cu, and whether any open-ended clause captures it is a determination for WADA or an anti-doping organisation rather than something the source states 4.
The Monitoring Program
Alongside the List, WADA publishes a Monitoring Program covering substances that are not on the Prohibited List but that the agency wishes to monitor for patterns of misuse in sport 8. The 2026 Monitoring Program lists, as item 6, "Markers of Semaglutide and Tirzepatide: In and Out-of-Competition" 8, and the accompanying explanatory note clarifies that the urine monitoring of semaglutide also includes tirzepatide 9. Monitoring is not prohibition: a monitored substance does not give rise to an anti-doping rule violation on that basis 8.
Not named does not mean permitted
WADA states this itself in three places. The important disclaimer on the List page reads that if a substance or method cannot be found listed, its status should be verified with the athlete's Anti-Doping Organization for accurate and authoritative information 2. The naming conventions section states that "common examples of substances and methods are provided in all sections but these examples are not exhaustive" 2. And the FAQ on how substances reach the List adds that "a substance which has not been approved for human use is likely to be prohibited as well" 2. The class wording reinforces the point: S2 extends to other substances with similar chemical structure or similar biological effects, S2.3 to other growth factors and modulators affecting the listed processes, and S0 to any pharmacological substance not addressed elsewhere and lacking approval for human therapeutic use 23.
Re-checking this page
The List is replaced annually, so this page is re-read against the edition in force at each quarterly review and at every year-end change. One retrieval limitation is recorded with it: the official PDF of the 2026 List could not be downloaded by automated clients during the research sessions, returning an empty response or a bot challenge, so the class wording above was read from WADA's own web rendering of the List on wada-ama.org 42.