Evidence brief
AOD-9604
Written and source-checked by Anthony Treviso, founder of The Peptide Field.
Direct answer
No FDA-approved AOD-9604 drug product.
A modified piece of growth hormone studied in obesity programs. It has no approved use and unresolved route, product, and safety questions.
- How strong is the evidence?
- Insufficient
Reliable studies in people are missing, too limited, or do not support the claim. This does not prove that the substance has no effect on the body. - What evidence exists?
- Investigational human outcomes
Studies measured health results in people, but the molecule is still being studied and is not approved for that use. Important questions remain. - Sports rules
- Prohibited
The checked rules list this substance or group as prohibited under the stated conditions. Check the current rules for your sport.
Reviewed July 23, 2026. Sources and update notes are below.
No sales or dosing advice. This guide explains research. It was not independently medically reviewed, and it does not diagnose, prescribe, or recommend treatment.
Also known as AOD9604 · lipotropin · hGH fragment 176-191
Part of Metabolic peptide medicines
Words used here
- route
- how the product enters the body
- investigational
- still being studied and not approved for that use
- outcome
- what the study measured
- molecule
- one specific chemical substance
- compounded
- made for one patient by a pharmacy, or in batches by a permitted outsourcing facility; a compounded drug is not FDA-approved
- amino acid
- a small building block that makes peptides and proteins
- indication
- the approved or studied use and patient group
More detailProduct and study details
01 · Evidence profile
Four questions about the evidence
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.
02 · Identity
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.
Scientific group: Modified growth-hormone fragment. This group name describes the type of molecule or body signal. It does not prove a benefit, safety, or approval.
03 · Exact product
The molecule is not the finished product.
Formulation: The finished product's ingredients and physical form. Route: How the product enters the body. Indication: The approved or studied use and group of people for a product.
None identified in the United States.
- No FDA-approved indication
04 · Research results
What the research shows
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.
Exact product
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.
05 · Claim check
Claims I checked
3 claims checked for this brief.
“AOD-9604 has been given to people in clinical studies.”
FDA's review describes several human studies, primarily using oral or intravenous routes.
- Evidence used
- Regulatory or product record. This answer uses an official regulator record or a specific product label.
- Limits of this answer
- Historical study products and routes described in FDA's review. This answer covers only the named molecule and finished product. It also covers the product form and how people used it. The study limits include who took part, what was used for comparison, what changed, and how long the study lasted.
“Human exposure proves AOD-9604 is an effective fat-loss drug.”
Exposure and tolerability data do not establish a clinically meaningful weight-loss outcome.
- Evidence used
- No reliable human outcome evidence. No reliable study in people shows the health outcome in this statement.
- Limits of this answer
- Weight-loss efficacy, not merely participation in a study. This answer covers only the named molecule and finished product. It also covers the product form and how people used it. The study limits include who took part, what was used for comparison, what changed, and how long the study lasted.
“Injectable AOD-9604 has a well-characterized safety profile.”
FDA identifies limited safety data, immunogenicity concerns, and missing information for proposed injectable use.
- Evidence used
- Regulatory or product record. This answer uses an official regulator record or a specific product label.
- Limits of this answer
- Compounded injectable AOD-9604. This answer covers only the named molecule and finished product. It also covers the product form and how people used it. The study limits include who took part, what was used for comparison, what changed, and how long the study lasted.
06 · Questions
Questions people ask about AOD-9604
No FDA-approved AOD-9604 drug product. No approved product is identified in the United States.
Prohibited. AOD-9604 is named as a prohibited growth-hormone fragment on the 2026 WADA Prohibited List. This status is not personal clearance to compete.
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.
07 · Safety
Safety limits for this record
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.
The checked rules list this substance or group as prohibited under the stated conditions. Check the current rules for your sport.
Reviewed .Check current rules for tested sport ↗Open the governing record ↗08 · Sources
Read the sources
09 · Review history
Review history
Initial brief based on FDA's 2024 compounding review and current safety-risk page.
Written and source-checked by Anthony Treviso, founder of The Peptide Field.
Not independently medically reviewed. This page is not a dosing, sourcing, or treatment guide.