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AOD-9604

Modified human growth hormone fragment 177–191 (Tyr-hGH 177–191)

Modified growth-hormone fragment studied for lipolysis and fat-metabolism effects without targeting IGF-1.

Limited Human Evidence

Route

Subcutaneous in the community reference

Common format

5 mg vial

Research focus

obesity

Evidence level

Limited Human Evidence

Typical cycle

8–12 weeks

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AOD-9604 in 30 seconds

Atlas Fast Read

What it is

Modified human growth hormone fragment 177–191 (Tyr-hGH 177–191)

Why people care

Modified growth-hormone fragment studied for lipolysis and fat-metabolism effects without targeting IGF-1.

Human evidence

Limited Human Evidence — Human interventional or clinical data exist, but studies are small, early-phase, mixed, indirect, route-specific, or not confirmatory.

Biggest misconception

Key gaps include larger independent trials, clearer dose-response data, long-term safety, clinically meaningful endpoints, and evidence that findings generalize beyond the narrow populations or routes already studied.

Bottom line

AOD-9604 has a real human signal or documented human pharmacology, but evidence is too small, mixed, route-specific, or indication-specific to justify broad claims.

Overview

What is AOD-9604?

AOD-9604 is modified human growth hormone fragment 177–191 (Tyr-hGH 177–191). Modified growth-hormone fragment studied for lipolysis and fat-metabolism effects without targeting IGF-1.

Developed in the late 1990s and early 2000s as an anti-obesity fragment of human growth hormone by Metabolic Pharmaceuticals. Human obesity trials established tolerability but produced modest and inconsistent efficacy.

Mechanism

How it works

Replicates the C-terminal lipolytic region of growth hormone without the full GH receptor/IGF-1 growth effects. Preclinical work suggests altered beta-adrenergic signaling in adipose tissue, increased lipolysis, and reduced lipogenesis.

Research areas

obesitylipolysisfat oxidationcartilage/bone repair research

Evidence

What does the evidence actually say?

Limited Human Evidence

Human interventional or clinical data exist, but studies are small, early-phase, mixed, indirect, route-specific, or not confirmatory.

01

Preclinical Evidence

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Limited Human Evidence

03

Strong Human Evidence

Human evidence

AOD-9604 reached human obesity trials and was generally reported as tolerable, but weight-loss efficacy was inconsistent and did not establish it as an effective obesity drug. The presence of human exposure data raises it above a purely preclinical compound, but the efficacy signal is limited.

Preclinical evidence

Animal and cell studies support lipolytic and anti-lipogenic effects without the full growth-promoting profile of GH. Preclinical work has also explored cartilage and bone-repair pathways.

Knowledge gaps

Key gaps include larger independent trials, clearer dose-response data, long-term safety, clinically meaningful endpoints, and evidence that findings generalize beyond the narrow populations or routes already studied.

Protocol

Research protocol

DoseFrequencyTimingCycle

Dose

Community reference: 300 mcg/day for the first 4 weeks, then 500 mcg/day; historic human obesity trials tested other doses including 1 mg/day.

Frequency

Once daily.

Timing

Community sources suggest morning on an empty stomach; this timing is not an FDA-established requirement.

Route

Subcutaneous in the community reference; earlier human development also investigated non-SC formulations.

Cycle length

8–12 weeks

Reconstitution

Community reference: 0.5 mL bacteriostatic water per 5 mg vial = 10 mg/mL.

Storage

Community reference: lyophilized at -20 °C; reconstituted 2–8 °C and use within about 3–4 weeks.

Monitoring

Weight/waist, fasting glucose, HbA1c, CMP and IGF-1 can document metabolic context; there is no validated monitoring schedule for off-label/research use.

Protocols vary widely between sources. Investigational compounds are not approved therapies, and approved products should follow their official labeling. Nothing here is medical advice.

Safety

Safety, side effects, and precautions

Side effects

Human trial reports generally suggested tolerability, with nonspecific events such as headache, nausea, fatigue or injection-site reactions. Long-term off-label safety remains insufficiently characterized.

Contraindications

No current approved therapeutic contraindication profile exists. Avoid unsupervised use in pregnancy/breastfeeding, active malignancy, major endocrine disease or known hypersensitivity.

Interactions

Formal interaction studies are limited. Combining with other GH-axis agents or weight-loss medications increases uncertainty and should not be assumed synergistic or safe.

Stacks

Common stacks

AOD-9604 alone

Combining experimental fat-loss agents does not repair the weak efficacy evidence for AOD-9604.

No evidence-based peptide stack established.

Questions

FAQ

References

Sources

Atlas

The Atlas verdict

AOD-9604 has a real human signal or documented human pharmacology, but evidence is too small, mixed, route-specific, or indication-specific to justify broad claims. The most defensible use of the literature is to separate what has actually been measured in people from what is still extrapolated from mechanism or animal work.

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