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Peptide reference

Ipamorelin

Ipamorelin

Animal data

How it works

A selective GH secretagogue that binds the ghrelin receptor (GHSR-1a) to stimulate pituitary GH release. Its clinical edge over older GHRPs: it doesn't significantly raise cortisol or prolactin. Animal studies show it increases GH and IGF-1 without the cortisol spike that limits GHRP-6 utility. Human trials are limited. The clean hormonal profile is the main draw — nobody's proven it outperforms competitors in humans.

FDA status
No FDA 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 October 29, 2024 meeting.
WADA status
Permitted in sport
Route
subcutaneous injection

Key studies

Frequently asked

  • What is ipamorelin?

    Ipamorelin is a fully synthetic five-amino-acid peptide designed in the 1990s to activate the ghrelin receptor and trigger pulsatile growth hormone release from the pituitary. Its main distinguishing feature against older growth-hormone-releasing peptides is that it doesn't meaningfully raise cortisol or prolactin alongside GH, the "clean GHRP" framing researchers use for it.

  • What does the clinical evidence for ipamorelin actually show?

    The controlled human trials of ipamorelin at clinical scale tested it for recovery after bowel surgery, not muscle or performance. The best-documented one, a 2014 Phase 2 trial, looked suggestive at first (a seven-hour numerical improvement), but the difference wasn't statistically significant, and the primary endpoint was null. The sponsor discontinued that program afterward. No controlled trial exists for muscle, fat loss, or recovery in a healthy population.

  • Is ipamorelin approved by the FDA or on the PCAC docket?

    Ipamorelin has no FDA-approved drug application; its only development program, for post-surgical bowel recovery, ended after that trial's null result. It's also not on either of the FDA's 2026 or 2027 PCAC review waves, but only because PCAC already reviewed it in October 2024 and voted against adding it to the Section 503A compounding list.

  • Is ipamorelin banned for athletes?

    Yes. Ipamorelin sits in WADA's S2 category for growth-hormone- releasing factors and ghrelin mimetics, prohibited at all times for athletes subject to testing. The FDA's compounding review has no bearing on that classification.

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Research on Ipamorelin

The peptide the FDA already voted against

Everyone heard "peptides are coming back." Almost nobody heard that the FDA already sat down with some of the most-stacked ones and voted no. Here's which, when, and what a July 2026 yes would actually buy you.

bpc-157
cjc-1295
ipamorelin
tb-500

Peptide access by US state: why the regulatory patchwork right now is real

The federal compounding framework applies the same way in every state. The state pharmacy boards do not. The result is a real state-by-state patchwork that decides whether a telehealth prescription for a compounded peptide is actually fillable where you live.

bpc-157
tb-500
ghk-cu
ipamorelin
cjc-1295

What RFK Jr.'s February 2026 announcement actually said about peptides

The "announcement" was a Joe Rogan appearance, not a Federal Register notice. The wellness scene heard one thing. The actual signal was narrower, and the rulemaking that turns it into access is still more than a year away.

bpc-157
ghk-cu
cjc-1295
ipamorelin
epithalon
semax

Growth hormone secretagogues: the peptides that turn your own growth hormone back up

WADA

CJC-1295, ipamorelin, sermorelin, and tesamorelin share one job — getting your own pituitary to release more growth hormone, the repair-and-recovery signal that fades after your twenties. Here is the appeal, the two peptide families inside the class, and how far the human proof actually goes.

cjc-1295
ipamorelin
sermorelin
tesamorelin

CJC-1295 vs ipamorelin: which growth-hormone peptide is the right tool for you?

WADA

CJC-1295 and ipamorelin are the internet's favourite growth-hormone pairing — but they do two different jobs. One raises your GH baseline for days from a single shot; the other fires a clean nightly pulse. Here's what each could do for you, which fits which goal, and why so many people run both.

cjc-1295
ipamorelin

Ipamorelin: the clean growth hormone signal

WADA

Ipamorelin asks your own body to release a clean pulse of growth hormone — the recovery, sleep and body-composition signal — without the stress-hormone mess older compounds caused. Here's what that could mean for you, and how far the human proof actually goes.

ipamorelin

Ipamorelin: the clean growth-hormone peptide behind the stack

WADA

You've probably met ipamorelin as the second half of CJC-1295 and ipamorelin. On its own it's the quieter half — a small peptide built to ask your own body for a clean pulse of growth hormone. Here's what it could mean for you, why it earned the clean name, and how far the human proof goes.