Why Chinese Fentanyl Factories Are Making Peptides Now

Fentanyl-precursor manufacturers in China are shifting into the unregulated, fast-growing U.S. peptide market as export controls squeeze their original business.

• Pivot from precursors to peptides: Chinese chemical maker Henri Renchen, indicted by the DOJ in 2023 for shipping fentanyl precursors to New York, now advertises peptide products on its website.
• Market scale shift: Crypto-based peptide purchases grew from about $200,000/month before 2025 to over $10 million/month in 2025, per analytics-firm data cited in the report.

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