Richard Norton Peptide Death: New Details From the Coroner's Report as the US Eases Access to Some Peptides

An Australian coroner’s finding that actor and martial artist Richard Norton died after injecting unapproved peptides has now reached a U.S. audience, and it lands in the same week that federal health officials moved to make some unapproved peptides easier to get through pharmacies.

U.S. outlets including NBC News and USA Today reported on the Victorian coroner’s report on Friday, adding details from the findings that go beyond the first wave of Australian coverage.

This article is for information only and is not medical advice. Talk to a licensed health professional before starting or changing any treatment.

What’s new in the coroner’s report?

The core finding hasn’t changed. Coroner David Ryan concluded that an injection of the peptide combination CJC1295/ipamorelin caused anaphylaxis, which led to cardiac arrest. Norton, 75, died at Melbourne’s Alfred Hospital on March 30, 2025. U.S. coverage drew out several more points:

• Contributing conditions. The report identified asthma and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a disease that thickens the heart muscle, as contributing factors, USA Today reported.
• The replacement vial. On March 28, 2025, Norton called his doctor’s office to say he had dropped and broken a vial and asked for a replacement, according to the report as quoted by NBC News. In the same contact, he told a nurse he had been taking double the prescribed dose. The nurse spoke with the doctor by phone, who authorized the replacement.
• Criticism of the doctor. NBC reported that the report faulted Dr. Jerzy Muchnicki for authorizing the replacement without checking the nurse’s note that Norton had been dosing incorrectly, and for not speaking with Norton directly. The doctor accepted accountability, apologized and will no longer prescribe peptides, the report says. NBC said it had emailed Muchnicki through his practice and had not received a response.
• That evening. After another injection, Norton felt hot and flushed, then collapsed. His wife began CPR before paramedics took him to the hospital, USA Today reported.

The Guardian reported that the Medical Board of Australia decided formal regulatory action was not warranted but required the doctor to complete one-on-one training in clinical record keeping.

How far did the coroner go on peptides?

Further than a general call for review. The Guardian reported that Ryan wants the Therapeutic Goods Administration to consider moving these peptides from Schedule 4 (prescription-only) to Schedule 10, which would limit them to clinical trials or other experimental use.

“I am not satisfied that it is appropriate for them to be available to be prescribed by medical practitioners,” the coroner wrote, according to The Guardian.

What’s happening with peptides in the US?

The timing is notable. On Wednesday, Oct. 28, the Department of Health and Human Services released a policy saying it will use enforcement discretion for six peptides that are not FDA approved, allowing small compounding pharmacies to make them, NPR reported. NBC listed them as BPC-157, epitalon, KPV, MOTS-c, semax and TB-500. CJC1295 and ipamorelin, the products tied to Norton’s death, are not on that list.

According to NPR:

• An FDA advisory panel recommended expanded access to the six peptides in July, partly because compounded products were seen as safer than unregulated “research use only” products sold online. FDA scientists disagreed.
• Larger outsourcing facilities are not covered by the policy.
• Public Citizen criticized it. “You’re just rolling the dice, basically,” said Dr. Robert Steinbrook of the group’s health research arm.
• Compounders pointed to guardrails such as ingredient requirements and reporting adverse events to the FDA.

USA Today noted that the coroner’s findings come as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. moves to broaden access to certain unapproved peptides.

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Earlier coverage: Coroner Finds Actor and Martial Artist Richard Norton's Death Was Triggered by Unapproved Peptide Injection (Oct 30)