$35,000 in Penalties for Unlicensed Practice and Drug Shipping
The Nevada State Board of Pharmacy has issued $35,000 in fines against three individuals and a Texas-based membership group for their roles in administering peptide injections that left two women on ventilators during last summer's Revolution Against Aging and Death Festival in Las Vegas. California-licensed physician Kent Holtorf and pharmacist Han Bao Nguyen each received $10,000 penalties for practicing without a Nevada license. Michael McNeal, listed as an "integrative health coach," was fined $5,000 for recommending a peptide cocktail though investigators found no record he holds any health-care license. The board also imposed a $10,000 fine on Forgotten Formula, a private-membership association headquartered in Texas, for allegedly shipping the peptides to the conference venue.
Peptide Injections at Holtorf's Booth
Both women received peptide shots at a booth operated by Holtorf's El Segundo, California, anti-aging practice inside the Westgate casino resort during the July festival. Minutes later they collapsed and required ambulance transport to a local hospital, where doctors intubated them to maintain breathing. They have since recovered, but investigators never obtained the actual vials used, leaving the cause of the reaction unresolved. "We were not able to obtain the product, although attempts were made," board executive secretary David Wuest said. Pharmacy board lawyer Laura Tucker noted that the case marks the first time Nevada regulators have confronted a private-membership association asserting constitutional protection from state drug-wholesaling laws.
Peptides Marketed as Anti-Aging Despite FDA Safety Warnings
Peptides—short chains of amino acids—are legally compounded for certain diseases, but the FDA has placed 19 popular versions on a list that bars routine pharmacy dispensing because of documented risks. The serums given to the two women contained at least one of those flagged substances, according to the citations. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vocal peptide advocate, recently said the agency plans to reclassify 14 of the restricted compounds, a move that could widen legal access. Meanwhile a nationwide gray market ships unapproved peptides directly to consumers, often through membership groups that claim First and Fourteenth Amendment exemptions from drug-safety rules.
Forgotten Formula Denies Responsibility for Public Use
Forgotten Formula co-founder Michael Blake Fiveash told ProPublica the association never authorized public distribution of its materials and that any use by Holtorf at a commercial booth was "beyond FFPMA's control." He did not directly answer questions about whether the association mailed the peptides to Holtorf, and questioned whether peptides caused the illnesses without full toxicology data. The board maintains that shipping prescription peptides into Nevada without a wholesaler license violates state law regardless of membership status. Sources indicate that all parties can appeal their citations to the board.
California and Federal Agencies Receive Notice of Fines
Nevada officials have forwarded the disciplinary records to the California medical and pharmacy boards that license Holtorf and Nguyen, inviting additional sanctions. The FDA has also been alerted. In July, Holtorf told ProPublica he was reassessing patient safety protocols. He did not respond to repeated attempts to contact him about the fines. Neither Nguyen nor McNeal replied to messages seeking their response.
