Coroner links Mad Max actor's death to an unapproved peptide injection

An Australian coroner has found that actor and martial artist Richard Norton went into cardiac arrest after injecting two peptides that are not approved for medical use in Australia, and has asked the country’s drug regulator to look again at whether doctors should be allowed to prescribe them at all¹. Norton, 75, died in March 2025¹. The coroner believes his is the first death known to be linked to peptide use in Australia².

The case has drawn attention far beyond Australia because the same products are widely promoted online and in wellness clinics for recovery, muscle building and anti-aging³¹.

What the coroner found

Victorian coroner David Ryan found that Norton suffered a cardiac arrest after injecting CJC-1295 and ipamorelin, two unapproved products a doctor had prescribed to him¹. Peptides are short chains of amino acids, the building blocks of proteins². These two are described as growth hormone peptides², meaning they are marketed as a way to push the body to release more of its own growth hormone³.

The coroner’s report, as quoted in coverage, says Norton died from “a cardiac arrest at home following self- administration of recently commenced peptide therapy”². Clinicians said he had anaphylaxis, a sudden and severe allergic reaction, followed by cardiac arrest². One account of the findings says a forensic pathologist, Dr. Daniel Hussey, noted that Norton had other health conditions, including asthma and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (a thickened heart muscle), but identified anaphylaxis from the injection as the fatal trigger³.

Ryan recommended that the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), Australia’s medicines regulator, review the benefits and safety risks of the two peptides¹. He said that review should consider moving them from schedule 4, the prescription-only category, to schedule 10, which would allow their use only in clinical trials or other experimental settings¹.

“I am not satisfied that it is appropriate for them to be available to be prescribed by medical practitioners,” the coroner said.¹

He added that it was not clear to him how their safe use could be clinically justified given “the acknowledged uncertainties as to their therapeutic benefit and their risks (as yet not fully known) to the safety of patients”¹.

What happened in March 2025

According to the coroner’s report, Norton approached Dr Jerzy Muchnicki in March 2025 to say he was interested in peptide therapy¹. He had previously been prescribed peptides by another practitioner for fatigue, shoulder pain and loss of muscle mass¹. The two discussed the treatment in detail, including that it was experimental, its possible risks, and that no other treatments were currently approved by the TGA¹.

Blood tests were done to check his baseline health, and Norton signed an informed consent form that listed the risks, including anaphylaxis¹. He was prescribed CJC-1295 and ipamorelin injections on 19 March, less than two weeks before his death¹².

The timeline that followed, as described in the findings:

• About a week later, Norton reported he was “feeling good and the peptide therapy was improving his symptoms”¹.
• On 28 March he asked for a replacement after breaking a vial of the drug². He told a nurse he had been taking double the prescribed doses¹.
• The nurse told him to use only the prescribed dose². One report says the advice was to return to the prescribed dose from the following week¹.
• The doctor also prescribed two additional peptides intended to improve function and reduce pain¹.
• Hours later, after injecting CJC-1295 and ipamorelin, Norton felt hot and flushed and then became unresponsive¹. His wife, Judy Green, called for help and gave CPR until medics arrived².
• He died at the Alfred hospital in Melbourne on 30 March 2025¹.

The peptide mix was prepared by a licensed compounding pharmacy in Queensland, a pharmacy that makes up medicines for individual patients, according to one summary of the case³. That outlet stresses that neither substance was approved or listed on Australia’s national register of therapeutic goods³.

What the evidence on these peptides shows

The Medical Board of Australia, which investigated the prescribing doctor, used an independent expert. That expert found there was “insufficient evidence that CJC1295 or Ipamorelin is safe, effective or beneficial for human use”¹. One account names the expert as Clinical Professor Alistair Vickery³.

Promoters pitch combinations like this for faster injury recovery, keeping muscle with age, fat loss, deeper sleep and anti-aging³. The sources do not describe any clinical trial showing those benefits in people. What the inquest documents is one person’s course of treatment and its outcome.

What this case does not show

An inquest is a careful look at one death. It cannot tell anyone how often these peptides cause allergic reactions, or whether the risk is different at the prescribed dose. Several details make Norton’s case hard to generalize: he reported taking twice his prescribed dose¹, and he had asthma and a heart muscle condition³.

It also does not settle whether the peptides would help anyone. The expert’s finding was about a lack of evidence either way on benefit, alongside unknown safety¹. That gap is the coroner’s main reason for suggesting the products be limited to research settings, where effects can be measured¹.

The doctor and the regulators

The Medical Board’s expert described Muchnicki’s notes as “sparse, inadequate and perfunctory” and substantially below the expected standard¹. The board said Muchnicki accepted the criticisms, took accountability and expressed sorrow for the impact on Norton and his family¹. He committed not to prescribe peptides unless they are supported by robust clinical evidence¹.

Reports differ on how to describe the board’s response. The report based on The Guardian says the board decided formal regulatory action was not warranted but required him to complete one-on-one training in clinical record keeping and management¹. Another outlet describes the outcome as a caution to the prescribing doctor³.

The TGA has already warned consumers about the risks of importing and using unapproved peptides promoted online¹.

How it fits the wider peptide boom

Peptides are marketed for weight loss, muscle growth, anti-aging, recovery and performance¹. In the United States, peptides have been promoted by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and used by many in Hollywood for muscle growth, fat loss and skin health, according to The Economic Times². Many of these peptides are not approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, so much of that market is unregulated².

A common belief is that a vial from a compounding pharmacy has been tested like an approved drug. Compounded products made for individual patients do not go through the usual step-by-step clinical trials that approved medicines do³. Norton’s case involved a doctor’s prescription, signed consent and a licensed pharmacy¹³, yet the substances themselves had never been approved¹.

Norton was well known in film. He worked as a fight choreographer, stuntman and martial artist, worked alongside Chuck Norris, and served as a bodyguard for musicians including David Bowie¹. He also trained actors including Tom Hardy, Scarlett Johansson and Margot Robbie².

What to watch next

• The TGA’s response. Whether the regulator opens a review of CJC-1295 and ipamorelin and moves them to research-only status, as the coroner suggested¹.
• Prescribing practice. Whether other Australian doctors and clinics change how they prescribe unapproved peptides after the findings.
• Other countries. Whether regulators elsewhere, including in the US where much of the peptide market is unregulated², point to the case.

Biohack will update this thread if regulators act on the coroner’s recommendations.