AOD-9604
Reviewed
Short answer
A modified piece of growth hormone studied in obesity programs. It has no approved use and unresolved route, product, and safety questions. No FDA-approved AOD-9604 drug product.
The Peptide Field explains research. Its pages are not independently medically reviewed, and they do not diagnose, prescribe, or recommend treatment.
Read the study findingsAlso known as AOD9604 · lipotropin · hGH fragment 176-191
Part of Metabolic peptide medicines
Legal status Is AOD-9604 legal? See the status table
Study and product details
What it is
AOD-9604 is a modified piece of human growth hormone, related to amino acids 176-191. It is not full-length growth hormone.
Type of peptide: Modified growth-hormone fragment. This describes what the substance is or how it works. It does not show that it is safe, effective, or approved.
What has been studied?
- Limited: Research is too small or incomplete, or does not directly answer this question.
- Unclear: There is not enough reliable detail about the product or research to judge.
Older obesity studies exposed hundreds of participants, but the evidence did not establish an approved weight-loss use.
FDA found insufficient pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic information for proposed uses and routes.
Clinical safety reporting is incomplete, and FDA identifies immunogenicity and impurity concerns.
Identity, route, formulation, sterility, and comparability of compounded products are uncertain.
Products with the same ingredient can differ.
The ingredient name does not tell you everything about a product. Check its other ingredients, its form, how it enters the body, and the use and people covered by the research or approval.
None identified in the United States.
- No FDA-approved indication
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What studies found
FDA reviewed several obesity studies in people, including larger oral programs, and documented the available adverse-event reporting. This confirms that people received it in studies. It does not establish a benefit.
The record does not establish meaningful weight loss, long-term benefit, or safety for injectable or transdermal products. FDA found no human information for some proposed routes of use.
Which products do these findings apply to?
A study product, an injection, and a skin product are not automatically the same. Oral clinical-study material, compounded injections, and transdermal products are not interchangeable. FDA found route-specific evidence gaps.
AOD-9604 side effects and safety: what FDA has said
This page has no trial or drug-label side-effect table for AOD-9604. FDA keeps a page of bulk substances that may be risky when a pharmacy mixes (compounds) them. Here is what that page says about AOD-9604, in plain words.
- FDA has identified serious health problems that may be linked to AOD-9604. FDA says it is not clear that AOD-9604 caused them.
- FDA found little or no safety information. It says it cannot tell whether AOD-9604 would harm people.
- FDA says the risk of an immune reaction may be significant for some ways of giving it.
- Making it may leave unwanted peptide by-products in the product.
- It may be hard to confirm exactly what the main ingredient is.
These points come from FDA's review of compounded drugs. They are not a full list of side effects. Having no reports does not mean a product is safe.
Read FDA's exact words
AOD-9604: “Compounded drugs containing AOD-9604 may pose significant risk for immunogenicity for certain routes of administration and may have complexities with regard to peptide-related impurities and API characterization. FDA has identified no, or only limited, safety-related information. Therefore, the agency lacks sufficient information to know whether the drug would cause harm when administered to humans. FDA has also identified serious adverse events that may be associated with AOD-9604, though causality is not clear.”
Source: FDA, Certain bulk drug substances for use in compounding that may present significant safety risks , page dated .
Compare side-effect data across peptides
Report a side effect
You can report a suspected side effect to the FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 or through FDA MedWatch . If a reaction feels serious, get medical care first.
FDA page checked .
Fact checks
3 statements checked. Read what the results mean.
“AOD-9604 has been given to people in clinical studies.”
FDA's review describes several human studies, primarily using oral or intravenous routes.
- What this answer is based on
- Official record or product label
- Limits of this answer
- Historical study products and routes described in FDA's review.
Sources for this fact check (1)
“Human exposure proves AOD-9604 is an effective fat-loss drug.”
Exposure and tolerability data do not establish a clinically meaningful weight-loss outcome.
- What this answer is based on
- No reliable studies showing this health result in people
- Limits of this answer
- Weight-loss efficacy, not merely participation in a study.
Sources for this fact check (1)
“Injectable AOD-9604 has a well-characterized safety profile.”
FDA identifies limited safety data, immunogenicity concerns, and missing information for proposed injectable use.
- What this answer is based on
- Official record or product label
- Limits of this answer
- Compounded injectable AOD-9604.
Sources for this fact check (1)
Questions people ask about AOD-9604
FDA's page on risky compounding substances says this about AOD-9604. FDA has identified serious health problems that may be linked to AOD-9604. FDA says it is not clear that AOD-9604 caused them. FDA found little or no safety information. It says it cannot tell whether AOD-9604 would harm people. FDA says the risk of an immune reaction may be significant for some ways of giving it. Making it may leave unwanted peptide by-products in the product. It may be hard to confirm exactly what the main ingredient is. These points come from FDA's review of compounded drugs. They are not a full list of side effects.
Risks and safety limits
An incomplete development program does not provide instructions for self-treatment. No sourcing, reconstitution, injection, or weight-loss regimen is provided.
AOD-9604 is named as a prohibited growth-hormone fragment on the 2026 WADA Prohibited List.
Reviewed .Check the rules for athletes ↗Read the official rules ↗Terms used in the studies
- route
- how the product enters the body
- compounded
- made for one patient by a pharmacy, or in batches by a permitted outsourcing facility; a compounded drug is not FDA-approved
- formulation
- the ingredients and physical form of the finished product
- outcome
- what the study measured
- amino acid
- a small building block that makes peptides and proteins
- indication
- the approved or studied use and patient group
Read the sources
Show 4 sources
Review history
Initial brief based on FDA's 2024 compounding review and current safety-risk page.
Not independently medically reviewed. This page is not a dosing, sourcing, or treatment guide.
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