Coroner links actor Richard Norton's death to unapproved peptide injections
An Australian coroner has found that actor Richard Norton went into cardiac arrest after injecting two unapproved peptide products, and has recommended that the country's medicines regulator review them. The findings were reported on 29 October 2026, and The Guardian said the coroner, David Ryan, was not satisfied that the products should be available to be prescribed by doctors.
Norton was 75 and worked in the film industry as a fight choreographer, stuntman and martial artist. He died at the Alfred hospital on 30 March 2025. The two products named in the findings are CJC1295 and ipamorelin. Peptides are a group of substances, and the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), Australia's regulator for medicines and medical products, has not approved them for use. The TGA lists CJC-1295 among examples of unapproved peptide products in a safety alert.
According to the Guardian's account of the inquest findings, Norton approached a doctor, Dr Jerzy Muchnicki, in March 2025 expressing interest in peptide therapy. The two discussed that the treatment was experimental, its potential risks, and the lack of other TGA-approved treatment options. Norton had earlier been prescribed peptides by another practitioner for fatigue, shoulder pain and loss of muscle mass. He signed an informed consent form setting out the benefits and risks of the treatment, including anaphylaxis, a severe allergic reaction. The injections were prescribed to him on 19 March 2025.
On 28 March, Norton told a nurse that he had been giving himself double the prescribed doses. After injecting the products, he felt hot and flushed and then became unresponsive. Ryan found that he suffered cardiac arrest after the injections, and he died two days later.
Ryan made several recommendations. He asked the TGA to review the therapeutic benefits and safety risks of peptides. He also said the review should consider moving peptides from Schedule 4, the category for prescription-only medicines, to Schedule 10, which covers substances permitted only for clinical trials or other experimental use.
The Medical Board of Australia investigated Dr Muchnicki over the prescription. Its independent expert found insufficient evidence that CJC1295 or ipamorelin is safe, effective or beneficial for human use. The expert described Dr Muchnicki's notes as sparse, inadequate and perfunctory, and said they fell substantially below the standard reasonably expected. Dr Muchnicki has said he will not prescribe peptides unless they are supported by robust clinical evidence.
ABC News reported that Norton's death is believed to be the first in Australia known to have been triggered by unapproved peptide use.
