Haus Fund Hosts Black-Tie Peptide Summit Aboard Pier 35 Liberty Ship

San Francisco's longevity and biotechnology community converged at Pier 35 near Fisherman's Wharf on Wednesday evening as startup accelerator Haus Fund hosted a black-tie domestic peptide manufacturing summit aboard the 83-year-old World War II cargo vessel SS Jeremiah O'Brien.

Domestic Peptide Manufacturing Pitch Aboard a Historic Liberty Ship

Organized by 22-year-old Haus Fund cofounder Roxana Grunenwald and 21-year-old cofounder Yuva Krishnapillai, the formal gathering drew biotech entrepreneurs, compounding founders, and longevity clinicians onto the decks and cargo holds of the SS Jeremiah O'Brien—1 of 2,710 Liberty ships constructed during World War II, built in just 56 days and preserved as a floating museum at Pier 35. Grunenwald framed the choice of venue as a call to rebuild domestic American pharmaceutical and peptide synthesis capacity rather than relying on overseas chemical supply chains.

The Pier 35 event arrived 1 week after Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced on October 28, 2026 that federal regulators will exercise interim enforcement discretion for 6 experimental peptides while the agency conducts further safety reviews. That October 28 shift came 14 months after the Food and Drug Administration restricted compounding pharmacies from producing nearly 24 unapproved peptides, including popular tissue-repair and growth-hormone secretagogue compounds.

Market Growth From $164 Billion in 2026 Toward $294.6 Billion by 2033

Market and social data cited at the San Francisco gathering underscore the sector's rapid commercial expansion. Audience intelligence firm Pulsar reported a 320% increase in online conversations surrounding peptides over the past year, while market research firm Grand View Research estimated the global peptide therapeutics market at $164 billion in 2026, projecting it to climb to $294.6 billion by 2033.

Attendees in the ship's lower hold sampled nonalcoholic beverages infused with orally bioavailable peptides Derived from milk and silk proteins while debating quality control and clinical oversight. Among the founders and executives on board were 36-year-old Greg Dalli—cofounder of Afterglow Science, which launched in September 2026 and synthesizes peptides at a facility in Colorado—alongside Julius Ritter of the California Peptide Club, entrepreneur Jeff Tang, and Anu Bhat, chief executive officer of artificial intelligence wellness ring startup Ondu.

San Francisco physicians in attendance urged rigorous clinical standards as consumer demand accelerates. Dr. Krista Ramonas, an ophthalmologist who founded regenerative medicine clinic LabXMD in Pacific Heights, and Dr. Jordan Shlain, a Concierge physician and cofounder of the longevity conference DOC, both emphasized that patients and regulators must distinguish verified pharmaceutical-grade synthesis from unvetted gray-market powders.