What this comparison tells you
Growth hormone-releasing factor analogue
Tesamorelin
EstablishedAn official agency review or strong, repeated studies in people support one clear use. That evidence applies only to the product, people, and use in the reviewed sources. It does not mean the product is safe or effective for everyone.- Evidence type
- Health results for approved uses
- Approval
- An FDA-approved product exists for a narrow indication
- Approved products
- Egrifta SV · Egrifta WR
- Sports status
- Prohibited
- Sources used
- 4 sources
- Last reviewed
- August 1, 2026
An approved medicine for one specific HIV-related body-composition outcome. It is not a general weight-loss or anti-aging medicine.
Ghrelin-receptor agonist · GH secretagogue
Ipamorelin
EmergingSome studies in people exist. Important questions remain about benefit, safety, who it helps, or how long the effects last. This is not an approval or recommendation.- Evidence type
- Health results; use not approved
- Approval
- Still being studied; no FDA-approved product identified
- Approved products
- None identified in the United States.
- Sports status
- Prohibited
- Sources used
- 4 sources
- Last reviewed
- July 23, 2026
A short human study measured growth-hormone release, but it did not prove health benefits. A different phase 2 study did not show benefit on its main or other measured outcomes.
How the evidence compares
These are separate questions, not one score. A peptide can be well understood in one area and uncertain in another.
Both peptide columns stay aligned. Read across each row to compare the same question. On smaller screens, each question shows both records together.
Each question shows both records together.
| Question checked | TesamorelinEstablished | IpamorelinEmerging |
|---|---|---|
| Health benefitsDid people's health improve? | TesamorelinStrong Phase 3 trials support visceral-adipose-tissue reduction in the labeled HIV population. | IpamorelinLimited A phase 2 trial did not show significant benefit on its key efficacy endpoint. |
| Body changes in peopleWhat body changes did studies in people measure? | TesamorelinStrong The approved label characterizes IGF-1 response, exposure, and product-specific use. | IpamorelinModerate Dose-escalation work characterizes short-lived GH release in healthy volunteers. |
| Known risksWhat do we know about risks in people? | TesamorelinStrong The label describes neoplasm, glucose, fluid-retention, hypersensitivity, and other risks. | IpamorelinLimited Route-specific data are sparse and FDA identifies serious safety concerns. |
| Exact productDo we know what the product contains and how well it was made? | TesamorelinStrong High for authentic Egrifta SV; no automatic transfer to other formulations. | IpamorelinUnclear No approved formulation anchors identity, purity, or equivalence in the consumer market. |
| Approval statusIs there a reviewed product for a specific use? | Tesamorelin An FDA-approved product exists for a narrow indication | Ipamorelin Still being studied; no FDA-approved product identified |
Questions to ask before you compare
Use these questions to see whether the records match.
- 01
Is there a current FDA-approved product, and for what use?
- 02
Did a study in people test a health result, or only a hormone change?
- 03
Does the evidence apply to the exact product being sold?
- 04
What safety and sports-rule limits apply?
What sources were used
The number of sources does not prove strength. Different sources answer different questions. A drug label, a trial, a cell study, and an agency review do not mean the same thing.
Tesamorelin
4 sources used
- Drug label2
- Anti-doping1
- Randomized trial1
Controlled trials in adults with HIV-associated abdominal fat accumulation found less visceral fat, which is fat around internal organs. The Egrifta SV and Egrifta WR labels say the products are not indicated for weight-loss management and that long-term cardiovascular safety has not been established. Their formulations are not substitutable.
These results do not establish general fat loss, muscle gain, anti-aging benefit, athletic recovery, or equivalent outcomes from compounded products.
Ipamorelin
4 sources used
- Anti-doping1
- Human pharmacology1
- Randomized trial1
- Regulatory1
The short hormone-response study was in healthy male volunteers. The phase 2 study was after bowel surgery. A dose-escalation study in healthy male volunteers characterized ipamorelin exposure and a short episode of GH release. In a multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 2 trial after bowel surgery, the drug was described as well tolerated in that setting but did not significantly improve the key or secondary efficacy outcomes.
Those studies do not establish popular claims about muscle gain, fat loss, recovery, anti-aging, or sleep. They also do not establish the safety or quality of consumer products, compounded combinations, or different routes.
Fact checks for each peptide
Each result applies only to the statement shown. Open its record to see the version and sources.
Tesamorelin
“Tesamorelin reduces visceral fat in adults with HIV-associated lipodystrophy.”
Phase 3 trials and the product label support this outcome in the labeled population.
- Evidence used
- Health results from a study with randomly assigned groups
- What this result covers
- Adults with HIV and excess abdominal fat meeting the trial and label criteria.
“Tesamorelin is an approved general weight-loss drug.”
The label specifically says it is not indicated for weight-loss management.
- Evidence used
- Official record or product label
- What this result covers
- The current Egrifta SV and Egrifta WR labels.
“Tesamorelin is permitted for competitive athletes.”
The 2026 WADA Prohibited List names tesamorelin in the S2 peptide-hormone and growth-factor category, which is prohibited at all times for covered athletes.
- Evidence used
- Official record or product label
- What this result covers
- Sport governed by the World Anti-Doping Code.
Ipamorelin
“Ipamorelin stimulates GH release in people.”
A human dose-escalation study measured an episode of GH release. That is a pharmacodynamic effect.
- Evidence used
- Studies of body changes in people
- What this result covers
- Short-term GH pharmacodynamics in the healthy volunteers and route studied.
“A GH response proves better recovery or body composition.”
A biomarker response is not a clinical outcome, and the identified studies did not establish those benefits.
- Evidence used
- No reliable studies showing this health result in people
- What this result covers
- Recovery and body-composition outcomes not established by GH pharmacology or the postoperative-ileus trial.
“Ipamorelin worked in its phase 2 surgical trial.”
The randomized trial reported no significant difference from placebo on its key and secondary efficacy analyses.
- Evidence used
- Health results from a study with randomly assigned groups
- What this result covers
- The postoperative-ileus population, intervention, and efficacy endpoints in the phase 2 trial.
Products with the same ingredient can differ
Evidence applies to the exact product used in a study. Check the peptide's amino-acid order, ingredients and form, how it enters the body, and where it came from. A shared ingredient name does not prove that another vial has the same benefits or risks.
Tesamorelin
44 amino acids · stabilized GHRF analogue
The two approved products are not interchangeable. Egrifta SV and Egrifta WR are approved, non-substitutable formulations with product-specific labeling. Tesamorelin sold or compounded outside those products is not automatically equivalent.
Egrifta SV
2024 label- How it enters the body
- Under the skin (subcutaneous)
- Use and people covered
- Reduction of excess abdominal fat in adults with HIV and lipodystrophy; not indicated for weight-loss management.
Egrifta WR
March 2025- How it enters the body
- Under the skin (subcutaneous)
- Use and people covered
- Reduction of excess abdominal fat in adults with HIV and lipodystrophy; not indicated for weight-loss management.
- Reduction of excess abdominal fat in adults with HIV and lipodystrophy
Ipamorelin
Synthetic pentapeptide · investigational
Human studies used defined study material and routes. They do not establish the identity, safety, or equivalence of compounded mixtures or consumer-market products.
No FDA product label was found for this molecule in the sources reviewed.
- No FDA-approved indication
Sports rules and safety limits
These statuses do not give personal clearance to compete.
Tesamorelin
Tesamorelin is named as a prohibited growth-hormone-releasing hormone analogue on the 2026 WADA Prohibited List and is prohibited at all times for covered athletes.
Reviewed Read the governing record ↗This prescription drug has benefits for a specific group and important monitoring requirements. No dosing, cycling, stacking, or performance-use guidance is provided.
Ipamorelin
Growth-hormone secretagogues and mimetics are prohibited under the current WADA framework.
Reviewed Read the governing record ↗FDA identifies immunogenicity, aggregation, impurity, and characterization concerns. The agency also cites serious adverse events, including death, in intravenous gastric-motility research and says it lacks sufficient information for other promoted injectable routes.
Two different signals
Tesamorelin is a stabilized, 44-amino-acid version of growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH). GHRH is a body signal that tells the body to release growth hormone.
Ipamorelin is a lab-made peptide with five amino acids. It acts on the ghrelin receptor, which is a different signal pathway. This also leads to growth-hormone release.
Tesamorelin is graded Established, with approved human outcomes. Ipamorelin is graded Emerging. Its human outcome research is still investigational.
Which one has an approved product
Tesamorelin has two FDA-approved products. Egrifta SV is a 2 mg single-dose vial. Egrifta WR is an 11.6 mg single-patient-use multidose vial. Both labels cover one use: reducing extra belly fat in adults with HIV and lipodystrophy.
The labels say the products are not for weight-loss management. The two products cannot be swapped for each other. The claim that tesamorelin is an approved general weight-loss drug is graded Misleading.
No FDA-approved ipamorelin product was identified in its July 23, 2026 review. Its record lists no approved use.
What studies in people found
Tesamorelin has phase 3 trials in adults with HIV and extra abdominal fat. These trials found less visceral fat, which is fat around the internal organs. The claim that tesamorelin reduces visceral fat in this group is graded Supported with scope.
A dose study in healthy male volunteers measured a short burst of growth-hormone release after ipamorelin. The claim that ipamorelin stimulates growth-hormone release in people is graded Supported with scope.
Ipamorelin was also tested in a phase 2 trial after bowel surgery. People were randomly assigned to ipamorelin or a placebo, and neither they nor the researchers knew who got which. The trial found no significant benefit on its main or other measured outcomes.
A hormone response is a body measurement. It does not prove a health benefit. Neither record shows general fat loss, muscle gain, or slower aging. The claim that a growth-hormone response proves better recovery or body composition is graded Not established for ipamorelin.
Safety, product, and sports limits
The tesamorelin labels describe risks that include abnormal growths (neoplasms), blood sugar changes, fluid retention, and allergic reactions. The labels also say long-term heart and blood vessel safety has not been established.
FDA identifies several concerns with ipamorelin: possible immune reactions, peptide clumping (aggregation), impurities, and gaps in how the substance is characterized. FDA also cites serious adverse events, including death, in research that gave it into a vein for stomach movement problems. FDA says it lacks enough information about other injection routes that sellers promote for ipamorelin.
Tesamorelin sold or compounded outside Egrifta SV and Egrifta WR is not automatically the same. No approved product anchors the identity or quality of ipamorelin sold today.
Tesamorelin is banned at all times for athletes covered by the World Anti-Doping Code. The 2026 WADA list names it. Ipamorelin falls under the growth-hormone secretagogues that the current WADA framework prohibits. No dose, injection, or compounding instructions are given here.
What these records cannot answer
- The reviewed records contain no study that compares tesamorelin with ipamorelin directly, so no result comparison is made.
- Neither record includes adverse-event rates that can be compared between the two.
- The records give no dosing, injection, cycling, or stacking guidance, and none is given here. No study of the two used together is recorded.
- The reviewed records contain no cost, insurance, or availability data, so none is reported.
This page does not provide dosing, sourcing, or treatment advice.
Read the sources behind the comparison
Tesamorelin
Ipamorelin