ILS Labs reputation in the gutter
Started by Peptide Protocols•If you haven't been paying attention, ILS has entered the dog house and it's just not good. I've summarized everything below.
Key Problems Documented
Dog on the COA (July 25–26)
A client uploaded a photo of a dog (instead of the vial) after placing the order. ILS issued a MOTS-C COA with the dog photo on it, listed 99.77% purity, marked appearance as “Good,” and signed it off. The report claimed “Purity, Identity & Quantitation” but failed to report actual milligram content.
Suspicious/Impossible 100.00% Purity Reports
Multiple Retatrutide COAs showed exactly 100.00% purity. One notable case listed:
Identity: Not Confirmed
Quantity: N/A
Overall Result: FAIL
…yet still reported Purity: 100.00%.
Identity Failures That Other Labs Pass
Several samples (including 5-Amino-1MQ, KPV, and GHK-Cu) failed identity confirmation and showed 0% purity at ILS (they rely primarily on HPLC retention-time matching). The same batches sent to Freedom Diagnostics (using LC-MS) confirmed identity with high purity (99%+) and content at or above label claim.
Wrong Tests + Big Discrepancies (August 20 example)
A customer ordered only endotoxin testing on a DSIP vial (received July 21). Certificate finally issued August 20 (one full month later). The report included full identity, content (5.12 mg), purity (97.19%), fentanyl screen, plus the endotoxin result, and gave a green PASS. No vial photo was included.
Same batch number had previously been tested by Janoshik at ~6.77 mg average content and ~99.46% purity. ILS came in ~24% lower on content and noticeably lower on purity.
Operational Breakdown
Turnaround times routinely far exceeded the advertised 3–5 days (often 2–4+ weeks, sometimes a full month).
Extremely poor communication — emails, phone calls, and X DMs frequently ignored.
Portal issues (COAs marked ready but links broken or not showing).
Reports of lost samples, missing net content data, and being charged for full panels that weren’t ordered.
Scaling problems were already noted in a June facility walkthrough as the lab took on high volume.
Other Red Flags
Claims ISO 17025 accreditation but no publicly verifiable certificate number in multiple reviews.
Default identity method is HPLC retention-time matching only (LC-MS is an add-on). Rapid sterility uses a DNA-microarray method rather than traditional culture.
Community Reaction
Multiple U.S. vendors have told community members they are dropping ILS. Sites tracking COA quality (including Peptide Protocols) have adjusted their grading algorithms to heavily discount or flag ILS results. Consensus in recent discussions is that ILS COAs should be treated with significant skepticism and ideally cross-checked with another lab.
Our Thoughts
Real lab with actual equipment in San Diego that appears to have been overwhelmed by the peptide testing boom. The combination of data-entry/reporting errors, questionable purity numbers, method limitations, long delays, and near-zero customer service has severely damaged trust in a very short window.