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RUO · Research Use OnlyFor Energy+1 more

AOD-9604

A 16-amino-acid fragment of the C-terminus of human growth hormone. We read all 16 studies. The protocol is below.

Updated 03 May 2026Read 10 minEvidence ●●○○○Citations 16
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Free — puts AOD-9604 on your decision board.

The AOD-9604 Report · $19

Everything you need to start: dose, sourcing, safety, our verdict.

One purchase · yours forever

Built from 16 cited studies.

Status
Research-only
Class
For Energy
Evidence
2/ 5●●○○○
Phase 2b trial
$19 ↓
IGF-1 rise
$19 ↓
GRAS food-additive status (US)
$19 ↓
Read this if
  • a hormone clinic sold you a "fat-loss peptide stack" and you want to know if the AOD vial is doing anything
  • you've got a stubborn knee or shoulder and you've already burned through PRP
  • you wanted Tesamorelin and somebody tried to sell you this instead
Skip this if
  • you want a fat-loss molecule that beat placebo in phase 2 — **AOD-9604 failed its 2007 Phase 2b in 536 obese adults** (Metabolic Pharmaceuticals, OPTIONS study, 24 weeks, 0.25/0.5/1 mg/d oral); development as a weight-loss drug was terminated that year
  • you're paying clinic prices for it (the markup vs the evidence is the joke)
  • you have an active growth-plate question or pediatric concern — go to a real endocrinologist
The 4 ways you can buy AOD-9604
Brand
✗
Not available
No FDA-approved AOD-9604 drug; only the food-additive GRAS path exists.
Compounded 503A
✓
Off-label
$150–$300/mo where sold
Mid–high. Compounders shipping AOD do so for a failed-trial indication; legitimacy varies by clinic.
RUO (research-only)
✓
Sold 'for research only'
$50–$150/mo
The dominant supply; identity by mass spec is the only check — synthesis quality varies.
Gray market
✓
Unregulated overseas import
$20–$27/mo
Crypto/Wise pay; smaller per-mg variance than the GHRPs but still subject to identity-failure risk.
Click any lane for the full Sourcing breakdown.
First 90 days · AOD-9604
Weeks 1–2
Sleep depth shifts within days for the GH-secretagogue class (CJC, ipamorelin, sermorelin, hexarelin). If sleep hasn't deepened by week 2, the rest of the protocol probably won't move either.
Weeks 4–8
Subjective recovery and energy improvements. Body composition shifts modestly — slight muscle gain, slight fat loss if diet allows.
Week 12 — decide
Bloodwork: IGF-1 is the objective check. If IGF-1 hasn't moved, the protocol isn't working at this dose. Side effect bookkeeping: water retention, joint stiffness, any glucose changes.
Quit if
  • IGF-1 climbs above ~300 ng/mL (cancer-risk territory at the upper end).
  • Significant water retention or new carpal-tunnel-style symptoms.
  • New or worsening insulin resistance (fasting glucose creep).
  • 12 weeks with no IGF-1 movement and no subjective change.
Identity

What it is.

AOD-9604 is a 16-amino-acid fragment of human growth hormone — specifically the C-terminal region (residues 177–191) of the full 191-amino-acid HGH molecule. It was developed by Monash University in Australia in the 1990s and licensed to Metabolic Pharmaceuticals.

The pitch: this fragment is supposed to retain HGH's fat-mobilizing effect without the -raising, insulin-resistance, or growth-promoting effects of the full hormone. A weight-loss with the GH halo and none of the GH baggage.

It was taken through multiple Phase 2 obesity trials in the 2000s. It is not FDA-approved — those trials missed their primary endpoints. It currently has GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) status with the FDA as a food additive ingredient, which is a separate and unrelated regulatory pathway from drug approval. Sold as in the US for research purposes; some compounding pharmacies dispense it off-label.

TL;DR

TL;DR. 30-second version.

The compressed verdict — what AOD-9604 actually is, what the human evidence shows, and the watch-for in three bullets. Locked.

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Mechanism

Mechanism.

Mechanism · in the AOD-9604 report

How the molecule actually works — receptor profile, downstream signaling, what to expect mechanistically.

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Evidence

Evidence. What we actually know in humans.

Evidence · in the AOD-9604 report

The trial breakdown — phase, n, primary endpoint, who funded, what hit, what didn't.

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Human-Evidence Factbox
Phase 2b trial
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IGF-1 rise
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GRAS food-additive status (US)
$19 ↓
Half-life
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WADA status
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Long-term safety data
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Dose

Dose. The actual protocol.

Dose · in the AOD-9604 report

The specific protocol — dose, titration schedule, cycle pattern, frequency, route.

We read 16 studies to write this report.
Get the report · $19 ↓
Sourcing

Sourcing. Where the cohort actually buys.

Sourcing · in the AOD-9604 report

Sourcing breakdown — vendor methodology, red flags, our published test results, COA checklist.

We read 16 studies to write this report.
Get the report · $19 ↓
Safety

Safety. Side effects.

Safety · in the AOD-9604 report

The watch-for list — contraindications, drug interactions, monitoring labs, when to stop.

Get the report · $19 ↓
Editorial Position

Editorial position.

Editorial Position · in the AOD-9604 report

Our editorial position — explicit yes / no / depends, with the reasoning behind it.

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Citations

Citations.

  1. 01Wilding J. AOD-9604 Metabolic. Current opinion in investigational drugs (London, England : 2000). 2004;5(4):436-40. PMID: 15134286.
  2. 02Rahman OF, et al. Therapeutic Peptides in Orthopaedics: Applications, Challenges, and Future Directions. Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Global research & reviews. 2026;10(1). PMID: 41490200.
  3. 03Orlovius AK, et al. AOD-9604 does not influence the WADA hGH isoform immunoassay. Drug testing and analysis. 2013;5(11-12):850-2. PMID: 24124033.
  4. 04Schänzer W, et al. Human sports drug testing by mass spectrometry. Mass spectrometry reviews. 2017;36(1):16-46. PMID: 26213263.
  5. 05Bayes M, et al. Gateways to clinical trials. Methods and findings in experimental and clinical pharmacology. 2003;25(9):747-71. PMID: 14685303.
+Show all 16 citations
  1. 06Bayés M, et al. Gateways to clinical trials. Methods and findings in experimental and clinical pharmacology. 2005;27(3):193-219. PMID: 15834452.
  2. 07Halford JC. Obesity drugs in clinical development. Current opinion in investigational drugs (London, England : 2000). 2006;7(4):312-8. PMID: 16625817.
  3. 08Thevis M, et al. Analytical approaches for the detection of emerging therapeutics and non-approved drugs in human doping controls. Journal of pharmaceutical and biomedical analysis. 2014;101:66-83. PMID: 24906629.
  4. 09Bayés M, et al. Gateways to clinical trials. Methods and findings in experimental and clinical pharmacology. 2003;25(7):565-97. PMID: 14571286.
  5. 10Cox HD, et al. Detection and in vitro metabolism of AOD9604. Drug testing and analysis. 2015;7(1):31-8. PMID: 25208511.
  6. 11Thevis M, et al. Detecting peptidic drugs, drug candidates and analogs in sports doping: current status and future directions. Expert review of proteomics. 2014;11(6):663-73. PMID: 25382550.
  7. 12Mendias CL, et al. Safety and Efficacy of Approved and Unapproved Peptide Therapies for Musculoskeletal Injuries and Athletic Performance. Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.). 2026. PMID: 41966639.
  8. 13Thomas A, et al. Simplifying and expanding the screening for peptides <2 kDa by direct urine injection, liquid chromatography, and ion mobility mass spectrometry. Journal of separation science. 2016;39(2):333-41. PMID: 26578461.
  9. 14Kwon DR, et al. Effect of Intra-articular Injection of AOD9604 with or without Hyaluronic Acid in Rabbit Osteoarthritis Model. Annals of clinical and laboratory science. 2015;45(4):426-32. PMID: 26275694.
  10. 15Vanhee C, et al. Identification and characterization of peptide drugs in unknown pharmaceutical preparations seized by the Belgian authorities: case report on AOD9604. Drug testing and analysis. 2014;6(9):964-8. PMID: 24976118.
  11. 16Heffernan M, et al. The effects of human GH and its lipolytic fragment (AOD9604) on lipid metabolism following chronic treatment in obese mice and beta(3)-AR knock-out mice. Endocrinology. 2001;142(12):5182-9. PMID: 11713213.
The AOD-9604 Report · $19

Everything you need to start.

Dose, sourcing, safety, our verdict. One purchase. Yours forever.

Built from 16 cited studies.

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