Tissue Repair
LL-37
Cathelicidin LL-37 ยท Ropocamptide
Human research includes topical wound treatment and a separate oral product containing LL-37-expressing bacteria. These are different from injecting purified LL-37; neither establishes injectable benefits for immunity, infection, recovery, cancer or wellbeing.
Human cathelicidin host-defence studied as a topical wound treatment. Its one substantial controlled human trial, a 148-patient phase IIb study in venous leg ulcers, found no significant healing improvement across the full study population.
How well studied
Tier Guide: A = Well studied, B = Some good studies, C = Early evidence & D = Barely studied
Mostly animal studies or very small early trials in humans. We don't really know yet how it behaves in people.
UK status
How you could legitimately come across it here, if at all
No authorised UK medicine contains this, and we have no record of a routine UK clinic route. Material sold online is unregulated.
Evidence strength and UK regulatory status answer different questions.
Heightened caution: this compound carries unresolved regulatory, safety or supply-chain concerns in the UK. Nothing here is a recommendation to use it.
Overview
How it works
It is part of the immune system's first line of defence: it can disrupt bacterial membranes and it interacts with wound-healing and inflammatory signalling in the skin.
Human cathelicidin-derived antimicrobial with membrane-disrupting activity and immunomodulatory effects on inflammation and wound repair. Clinical testing has been topical, on wounds.
Reported benefits
- Topical wound research: a 148-patient phase IIb randomised trial in venous leg ulcers did not show a significant healing improvement in the full population
- A benefit in the larger-ulcer subgroup was a post hoc finding and is not confirmatory
- Injectable or systemic immune, infection, recovery, cancer and wellness claims are not supported by this topical wound research
Who it's typically used for
Timeline to results
Safety & UK access
Dosage
No established systemic or injectable human treatment dose. Catalogued regimens concern topical wound dressings and a distinct oral bacterial formulation inside research studies; neither transfers to injection.
Side effects
- Local reactions at the treated wound in the topical trialreported in the topical trial only
- Safety of injected or systemic use in humansinsufficient human data
- Immunogenicity from aggregation and peptide-related impurities, raised by the FDA for compounded LL-37regulatory concern
- Nonclinical male reproductive findings noted by the FDAregulatory concern
- Tissue-dependent pro-tumorigenic concerns noted by the FDAregulatory concern
Getting it in the UK
No authorised UK medicine contains this, and we have no record of a routine UK clinic route. Material sold online is unregulated.
Where it turns up
- Clinical trials only
- Not routinely available in the UK
- Unregulated online market
No UK marketing authorisation for LL-37 or ropocamptide was identified in this audit. The clinical development identified is topical and investigational. The US FDA has reviewed LL-37 as a bulk drug substance for compounding and raised immunogenicity and peptide-impurity concerns, insufficient human safety information, nonclinical male reproductive findings, and tissue-dependent pro-tumorigenic concerns. That is a US regulatory position recorded as context, not a statement of UK law.
No MHRA-licensed LL-37 product identified; investigational topical use only, and injectable material sold online is unregulated
MHRA: the UK regulator that assesses whether a medicine is safe and works before it can be authorised for use here. Something not being MHRA-licensed does not automatically mean it is illegal, and it does not mean it is safe.
This is background information about UK regulation, not advice about what you can or should obtain.
Evidence & sources
Why this rating?
The A to D rating shown above comes from our earlier editorial review and is still waiting to be migrated into the structured review record below. That is a gap in our record-keeping, not a sign the rating is wrong.
Evidence fingerprint
No route and indication scope has been published for this profile yet, so no fingerprint is shown.
Sources
Structured source audit not yet published for this profile. The references behind this page are being catalogued one compound at a time, and this one has not been through that process yet.
Content freshness
- Last reviewed
- 24 Sept 2026
- Regulatory status last checked
- 21 Aug 2026