Ownership Submission
FORM 3
 UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

INITIAL STATEMENT OF BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES

Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Section 17(a) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940
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(Print or Type Responses)
1. Name and Address of Reporting Person *
  Mahaffey George
 2. Date of Event Requiring Statement (Month/Day/Year)
10/30/2008		 3. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol
PEPLIN INC [PLI]
(Last)
(First)
(Middle)
C/O PEPLIN, INC., 6475 CHRISTIE AVENUE		 4. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer
(Check all applicable)
_____ Director _____ 10% Owner
__X__ Officer (give title below) _____ Other (specify below)
Chief Commercial Officer
 5. If Amendment, Date Original Filed(Month/Day/Year)
(Street)

EMERYVILLE, CA 94608		 6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing(Check Applicable Line)
_X_ Form filed by One Reporting Person
___ Form filed by More than One Reporting Person
(City)
(State)
(Zip)
Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned
1.Title of Security
(Instr. 4)		 2. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned
(Instr. 4)		 3. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I)
(Instr. 5)		 4. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership
(Instr. 5)

Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly. SEC 1473 (7-02)
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Table II - Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)
1. Title of Derivative Security
(Instr. 4)		 2. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date
(Month/Day/Year)		 3. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security
(Instr. 4)		 4. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security 5. Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I)
(Instr. 5)		 6. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership
(Instr. 5)
Date Exercisable Expiration Date Title Amount or Number of Shares
Stock Option   (1) 06/11/2012 Common Stock 85,000 $ 15.95 D  
Stock Option   (2) 12/02/2017 Common Stock 10,067 $ 13.81 D  

Reporting Owners

Reporting Owner Name / Address Relationships
Director 10% Owner Officer Other
Mahaffey George
C/O PEPLIN, INC.
6475 CHRISTIE AVENUE
EMERYVILLE, CA 94608		       Chief Commercial Officer  

Signatures

/s/ Candace Page, Attorney-in-Fact for George Mahaffey 10/30/2008
**Signature of Reporting Person Date

Explanation of Responses:

* If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 5(b)(v).
** Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations. See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
(1) 30,000 options vested on 5/29/08, 30,000 options will vest on 5/29/09 and 25,000 options will vest on 5/29/10.
(2) The options will vest in forty-eight (48) successive monthly installments beginning 01/03/08 until fully vested on 12/03/11.

Note: File three copies of this Form, one of which must be manually signed. If space is insufficient, See Instruction 6 for procedure.

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