Ranking Methodology

What we evaluate

Every supplier is assessed against the same criteria set, listed below. Each criterion is scored from publicly available information: the supplier's website, published documentation and stated programs.

How scores are formed

Every supplier is scored on the same seven dimensions, and the overall Peptide Ad Lab Score out of 10 is calculated as a weighted average of those dimensions. It is never assigned by hand, so the same evidence always produces the same number and any score can be traced back to its components. Where a dimension cannot be assessed it is excluded from the calculation and the remaining weights are rebalanced, rather than being scored as a zero.

How each dimension is scored

No dimension score is assigned by judgement either. Each of the seven dimensions is defined as a list of objective, checkable criteria, each carrying a point value, and every supplier record stores a verified yes, no or not confirmed against each criterion. The dimension score is the share of verified points a supplier meets, expressed out of 10. Because the score is generated from the criteria rather than typed in, the same evidence always produces the same number, any supplier can be shown exactly which criteria produced their score, and verifying one new criterion updates the score automatically. The full criteria set is published below.

Evidence coverage and eligibility to be ranked

Excluding an unverified criterion from a score is the fair treatment of an information gap, but on its own it would let a thinly documented supplier out-rank a well documented one, because the weight attached to evidence it never supplied is redistributed to the areas where it does score. Two rules prevent that. First, every score is published alongside its evidence coverage: the share of the weighted rubric we were actually able to verify. Second, a supplier only receives a rank at all once it clears a coverage floor overall and on the dimensions that matter most to a buyer, currently Testing & Documentation and Wholesale Capabilities. Suppliers below that bar are listed as insufficient evidence, outside the numbered rankings and without a headline score, until the missing information is verified.

How evidence coverage adjusts the score

The published score is the rubric score adjusted for how much of the rubric we were actually able to verify. Supplier websites rarely state that they do not do something, so an unverified criterion is almost always an information gap rather than a failure, and a supplier that documents little of the rubric would otherwise post the same score as one that documents all of it. So the rubric score is moved toward a neutral 7.0 in proportion to the share of the rubric left unassessed: complete evidence leaves the rubric score untouched, thin evidence pulls the published score toward neutral in both directions. A gap is still never scored as a failure, but a supplier that publishes and documents its programme is credited for doing so. Both the rubric score and the coverage figure behind every published score are shown on the supplier's card.

Weighting by category

The seven dimensions are standard across the directory, but the weighting reflects what the buyer on a given page is shopping for. A wholesale comparison weights wholesale capability more heavily; a custom synthesis comparison weights manufacturing and synthesis capability more heavily. The weighting in force is published on each comparison page, and the house default is shown below.

What a score is not

A Peptide Ad Lab Score is a comparison of observable commercial and documentation signals for business buyers. It is not a rating of product quality, safety, efficacy or legality, it is not a certification, and it is not medical or regulatory advice.

Not confirmed is not the same as no

A criterion is only recorded as not met when evidence supports that finding. Anything we simply could not establish stays not confirmed, in every dimension including Business Transparency, and is excluded from the score rather than deducted from it. Suppliers can submit documentation to have any item reassessed at no cost.

Sources and verification dates

Every confirmed criterion, met or not met, records where it was verified and the date it was checked, and both are published in the score breakdown on each supplier profile. The calculation explains how a score was reached; the sources make it auditable.

Review cadence

Comparison pages are reviewed on a scheduled basis and after any material change a supplier reports. The last review month is shown on each page.

House default weighting

Individual comparison pages may re-weight these dimensions for their buyer intent. The weighting applied is always shown on the page.

The scoring criteria

Each dimension is scored from the criteria below. A criterion recorded as not confirmed is excluded from the calculation on both sides — it is never treated as a failure. A criterion recorded as not offered is a confirmed absence and does count. Where less than 50% of a dimension can be verified, the dimension is reported as not assessed and excluded from the overall score entirely.

Eligibility thresholds

A supplier is ranked only once it clears 60% coverage of the weighted rubric, plus these per-dimension minimums:

• Testing & Documentation — at least 60% verified
• Wholesale Capabilities — at least 60% verified

Thresholds can differ by category, and the ones in force are shown here. Suppliers below the bar appear on comparison pages as insufficient evidence, unranked and unscored.