JRE 2469 · March 18, 2026

Brigham Buhler

healthpoliticsbusinesssciencephilosophy

Who is Brigham Buhler?

Brigham Buhler is the founder and CEO of Ways2Well, a functional and regenerative care clinic, and owner of ReviveRx Pharmacy.

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Topics and Timestamps

01Brigham Buhler discusses efforts to reclassify peptides under the new FDA administration led by Secretary Kennedy, marking the first time he's had regulatory access and dialogue after years of stonewalling
02The prostate cancer and testosterone therapy fear comes from a single 1930s study with only three patients, one of whom dropped out, a myth that has persisted for nearly a century despite modern research debunking it
03The FDA is working to remove black box warnings on hormone replacement therapy for both men and women, recognizing that hormonal decline drives health decline and hormones are crucial for health span
04Big pharma's billion dollar lobbying efforts are actively suppressing peptide access while simultaneously acquiring peptide companies from China, creating a hypocritical double standard in regulation
05The American healthcare system is built to monetize chronic disease treatment rather than prevent it, with the average American on four or more prescription drugs and exercise being six to seven times more effective than antidepressants
06Compounders filling FDA backlog requests for medications like GLP1s generated only 1.5 to 2 billion in revenue compared to big pharma's 35 to 40 million in projected GLP1 revenue, contradicting claims of patent infringement
▶Brigham reveals FDA is actively reclassifying peptides under Secretary Kennedy administration after years of FOIA stonewalling0:04:30
▶Breakdown of the infamous 1930s prostate cancer study that had only three patients and became the basis for decades of testosterone fear0:09:15
▶Discussion of how dogma and group think in medical academia perpetuate myths for decades despite contradicting evidence0:18:45
▶Revelation that Eli Lilly is lobbying against peptides from China while simultaneously acquiring a peptide company from China0:28:30
▶Brigham explains how the entire healthcare system is built to monetize chronic disease treatment rather than prevent disease0:42:00

The Show

Brigham Buhler sits down with Joe to discuss the regulatory landscape around peptides and hormone replacement therapy, and the conversation becomes a masterclass in how dogma, money, and lobbying shape American healthcare policy.

The episode starts with Joe dealing with seasonal allergies in Austin, and Brigham immediately pivots to talking about colostrum as a solution. From there, he dives into the biggest news: the current FDA administration under Secretary Kennedy is actively working to reclassify peptides that were designated as dangerous under the previous administration. Brigham's been grinding on this for two and a half to three years, submitting 17 FOIA requests that were completely ignored by the prior FDA. Now, for the first time, he has a seat at the table and actual dialogue happening. It's a radical shift.

The testosterone and prostate cancer discussion is where things get really wild. Brigham breaks down how the entire fear of testosterone causing prostate cancer stems from a single 1930s study conducted by one urologist. The study had three patients. One dropped out. One was chemically castrated. The other had normal testosterone levels and showed no increased risk. Yet this one study became the foundation for decades of black box warnings and doctor paranoia. Even when testosterone therapy exploded in popularity and there was no corresponding spike in prostate cancer rates, the dogma persisted. It wasn't until the 1990s that Dr. Morgan Tyler actually did research on men with prostate cancer, treated them with HRT, and found zero increased risk. A hundred years later, the FDA is finally changing course and working to remove these warnings.

Brigham explains the receptor saturation concept pretty clearly: you can only water a plant so much. Once the prostate receptor sites are saturated with testosterone, they're saturated. Push past optimal threshold and you actually get insulatory benefits against cancer. But for decades, doctors just parroted what they learned in medical school without actually looking at the data.

The conversation then shifts to the real villain in the story: big pharma lobbying. The GLP1 weight loss peptides like ozempic and Wegovy became massive blockbuster drugs. Eli Lilly went from being worth a certain amount to 7xing their value, now at around 800 billion. These companies spent billions developing these drugs and want to protect their patents. Fair enough. But here's where it gets absurd: Eli Lilly is lobbying the government saying peptides are dangerous, especially ones from China, while simultaneously signing a 7 billion dollar deal to acquire a peptide company from China. The hypocrisy is stunning.

Brigham walks through the numbers on compounding and patent infringement. The entire compounding industry did about 1.5 to 2 billion in revenue during the GLP1 backlog period when the FDA actually asked compounders to make these drugs. Big pharma claims they lost 7 billion. But Eli Lilly is projected to do 35 to 40 million in GLP1 revenue this year alone. That's not patent infringement. That's an accounting error. Yet the lobbying power is so intense that legislators are hearing the 7 billion dollar figure and getting scared.

The broader issue Brigham keeps hitting is that American healthcare isn't built for prevention and health optimization. It's built to manage symptoms of chronic disease while keeping people on multiple prescription drugs. The insurance model treats healthcare like car insurance: great at handling catastrophic events like heart attacks and strokes, completely abysmal at preventing chronic disease. The average American is on four or more prescription medications. We spend more on healthcare than any other nation and we're the sickest. That's the system that exists today.

Brigham's point about exercise being six to seven times more effective than antidepressants is particularly damaging to the current system because you can't monetize exercise. There's no pharmaceutical company making money when someone goes jogging. But get someone on an SSRI with a major label change in 60 to 80 percent of approved drugs? That's a recurring revenue stream.

The conversation ends with Brigham advocating for a complete paradigm shift toward proactive, predictive, personalized, preventative medicine. Using AI, genetic sequencing, blood work, biomarkers, DEXA scans, and VO2 max testing to track people in their 30s before chronic disease shows up. That's the future he's fighting for. Peptides are just one small piece of it.

Best Quotes

“The truth of the matter is it's about 1.5 to 2 billion total that this industry was able to compound during the backlog in order to meet the needs of the American people. They're going to do 35 to 40 million in just GLP1 drugs this year in revenue.”

— Brigham Buhler