BPC-157 and TB-500 peptide claims: what the science actually supports

What did @alphabay_cheesemonger actually say?

The creator identified metaxalone as a skeletal muscle relaxant, said it was "first approved by the FDA in 1962," and displayed it under what they called "the brand name Scalaxin." They also made a passing joke about the drug name being refreshingly straightforward compared to modern pharmaceutical naming conventions. That is the entirety of the medical content here. Short video, narrow claims, easy to check.

Worth noting: this video appeared in a peptide-focused category on TikTok, which is an odd home for a muscle relaxant discussion. Metaxalone is not a peptide. It is a small-molecule drug with a completely different mechanism and regulatory pathway. That context mismatch does not make the claims wrong, but it is worth flagging for anyone who landed here looking for peptide content.

Does the science back this up?

Mostly, yes, with one glaring error. Metaxalone is a real skeletal muscle relaxant, it was approved in 1962, and the mechanism is broadly described as central nervous system depression rather than direct action on skeletal muscle. The brand name error, however, is not a minor slip.

The actual brand name is Skelaxin, not Scalaxin. The FDA's drug database, the prescribing information filed by King Pharmaceuticals, and every clinical reference from the 2003 reformulation forward list the brand as Skelaxin. A 2004 review by Chou and Huffman published in the Archives of Internal Medicine (now JAMA Internal Medicine) covers metaxalone among other muscle relaxants and consistently uses Skelaxin. The creator either misread the label on screen or misspoke, but either way, they said the wrong name out loud while apparently displaying the correct one. That is the kind of error that erodes credibility on the specific point they were making, which was that the name is pleasingly clear.

What did they get wrong (or right)?

They got the drug class right. Metaxalone is classified as a skeletal muscle relaxant, specifically in the centrally acting subgroup. They got the approval year right. The FDA approved metaxalone in 1962 under the brand name Skelaxin by Robins Pharmaceuticals. They got the implication right that it has a more intuitive name than many modern drugs.

What they got wrong is the brand name itself. They said "Scalaxin." The brand is "Skelaxin." These are not interchangeable. In a clinical or pharmacy context, a name error like this matters. The joke about appreciating a drug named "Scalaxin" does not land the same way when the drug is not actually called that. The humor relies on the name being real, and the creator appears to have garbled it. This is not a dangerous error in the context of this video, but it is a factual one, and the video has nearly 600,000 views.

What should you actually know?

Metaxalone (brand name Skelaxin) is a prescription-only skeletal muscle relaxant used short-term for acute musculoskeletal pain and discomfort, typically alongside rest and physical therapy. It is not a first-line treatment, and it carries real risks including CNS depression, dizziness, and in rare cases, hemolytic anemia. It should not be taken with alcohol or other CNS depressants.

The 1962 approval date is accurate but should not be read as a signal of long safety track record without nuance. Many drugs approved in that era were later found to have significant risks that were not fully characterized at approval. Metaxalone's safety profile is generally considered acceptable for short-term use in appropriate patients, but "approved in 1962" is not itself a quality endorsement.

If you are watching this video because you have muscle pain and are wondering whether metaxalone is right for you, that is a conversation for a licensed prescriber who knows your full medication list and medical history, not a TikTok comment section.

Bottom line on this video

The creator made a small number of factual claims and got most of them right. The brand name error is real and ironic given the point they were trying to make. The video is low-stakes content about a prescription drug, not dangerous misinformation, but the wrong brand name stated confidently to 600,000 viewers still deserves a correction. Credit for knowing the drug class and approval year. Deduct points for saying Scalaxin when they meant Skelaxin.