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Peptide reference

AOD-9604

AOD-9604

Animal data

How it works

A fragment of the C-terminal region of human growth hormone, designed to replicate the fat-metabolising activity of hGH without the growth-promoting or insulin-sensitising effects. Phase II/III trials for obesity ran in the early 2000s; primary efficacy endpoints weren't met at meaningful effect sizes. PCAC voted against adding it to the compounding list in December 2024.

FDA status
No FDA drug approval. Not on the 2026-2027 PCAC dockets because it was already reviewed. PCAC voted against inclusion on the 503A Bulk Drug Substances List at its December 4, 2024 meeting.
WADA status
Not applicable
Route
subcutaneous injection; oral (trials)

Key studies

Frequently asked

  • What is AOD-9604?

    AOD-9604 is a 16-amino-acid synthetic fragment derived from human growth hormone, specifically the C-terminal region researchers linked to fat metabolism, with an added stabilizing amino acid. It was designed as a "fat-loss-only" GH fragment: promoting lipolysis in animal studies without the growth-promoting or insulin-resistance effects of full growth hormone. It doesn't carry the growth-hormone signal itself, just the metabolic piece researchers were chasing.

  • What does the clinical evidence for AOD-9604 actually show?

    AOD-9604 went through Phase II development for obesity in the early 2000s. An early-phase update reported short-term weight loss, but the pivotal Phase IIb trial that followed failed to meet its primary efficacy endpoint, and the sponsor discontinued the whole obesity program. No Phase III trial has ever been registered in the twenty years since.

  • Is AOD-9604 approved by the FDA, or on the PCAC docket?

    AOD-9604 has no FDA-approved drug application; its own obesity program was shut down after that failed pivotal trial. It's also absent from both of the FDA's 2026 and 2027 PCAC review waves, but not because it was overlooked: PCAC already reviewed AOD-9604 in December 2024 and voted against adding it to the Section 503A compounding list.

  • Is AOD-9604 banned for athletes?

    Yes. AOD-9604 falls under WADA's S2 category for peptide hormones and growth-hormone-derived substances, prohibited at all times, in and out of competition, for athletes subject to testing. The class-level ban covers any growth-hormone fragment with proposed metabolic activity; a positive test doesn't need to name AOD-9604 specifically for the prohibition to apply.

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Research on AOD-9604

AOD-9604: The Growth Hormone Fragment That Failed Its Own Trial

WADA

AOD-9604 isolates the fat-burning piece of growth hormone from the piece that makes you grow. Whether that clean design actually worked in a human body, and what regulators decided about it, is the open question here.

aod-9604

503B outsourcing pharmacies and compounded peptides: the regulatory gap that still matters

Section 503B outsourcing facilities are the higher-volume, FDA-inspected cousin of the corner compounding pharmacy. The 503B Bulks List is its own regulatory pipeline — and it changes what an actual peptide supply chain looks like when one opens.

bpc-157
tb-500
kpv
mots-c
aod-9604

AOD-9604 and adiponectin: the fat-loss signal that skips growth hormone

WADA

Most fat-loss peptides work by turning up your whole growth-hormone system and hoping the fat follows. AOD-9604 skips that and talks to the fat cell directly — a cleaner idea. Here is how the mechanism works, why your fat is a hormone-producing organ, and how far the human proof actually goes.