AOD-9604
A fragment of human growth hormone (residues 176-191) once developed as an anti-obesity drug. Human weight-loss trials were unconvincing, and it is not an approved medicine.
Quick take
- What it is: a short fragment of the human growth hormone molecule (residues 176-191).
- What people use it for: fat loss, based on the idea it mimics growth hormone's fat-burning effects without its growth effects.
- What we actually know: human trials did not show meaningful weight loss versus placebo; the marketing outpaces the evidence.
- Status: not an approved drug; treated as a prohibited substance in sport.
What it is
AOD-9604 is a synthetic fragment of human growth hormone (hGH) — specifically the C-terminal region corresponding to residues 176-191. The name stands for “Anti-Obesity Drug 9604,” reflecting its original development as a candidate weight-loss medicine. It is not an approved drug.1
The marketing premise is that this fragment captures growth hormone’s fat-metabolizing effects without its effects on growth or blood sugar. The sections below separate that premise from the evidence.
How it works
The hypothesis behind AOD-9604 is that the 176-191 region of growth hormone influences lipid metabolism (lipolysis) — the breakdown of stored fat — independently of the IGF-1 and glucose-related effects of the full hormone.1,2 In laboratory and animal settings, signals consistent with effects on fat metabolism were reported, which motivated human testing.
What the evidence shows
Animal studies
Preclinical work reported effects on fat metabolism and supported the idea of a growth-hormone-derived fat-loss agent, which is why the compound advanced to human trials.2
Human studies
This is where the story changes. Human clinical trials of AOD-9604 for weight loss did not show a clinically meaningful reduction in body weight compared with placebo.3 In other words, the human evidence does not support the fat-loss claims commonly made for it online. Later interest shifted toward other possible applications (such as joint/cartilage research), but those too remain unproven.
Dosages reported in the literature
Informational only. The figures below describe doses reported in studies; they are not a recommendation or a prescription. AOD-9604 is not an approved medicine, and its efficacy for weight loss was not established in human trials.
| Setting | Route | Reported range |
|---|---|---|
| Clinical trials (weight loss) | Oral / injection | Studied across a range; benefit not demonstrated vs placebo |
| Anecdotal / clinic | Subcutaneous | Reported in microgram ranges; not validated |
Because human efficacy was not established, no range here should be read as supported by evidence.
Safety & side effects
In the trials conducted, AOD-9604 was generally described as well tolerated over the study periods.3 However, “well tolerated but ineffective” is the key takeaway — and there are no long-term safety data for the way it is sold and used in the unregulated market.
A practical concern is product quality: purity, dose accuracy and contamination vary between sources, which is a recurring issue for unregulated peptides.
Legal & regulatory status
AOD-9604 is not approved by the FDA as a drug. In sport, growth-hormone fragments and non-approved substances fall under anti-doping rules, so it should be treated as prohibited for athletes subject to those rules; check current WADA guidance. Rules differ by country and change over time.4
References
- Stier H, Vos E, Kenley D. Safety and Tolerability of the Hexadecapeptide AOD9604 in Humans. J Endocrinol Metab. 2013;3(1-2):7-15. doi:10.4021/jem157w. (For the non-approval/regulatory point, see also: World Anti-Doping Agency. WADA statement on substance AOD-9604.) [doi:10.4021/jem157w]
- Heffernan M, Summers RJ, Thorburn A, Ogru E, Gianello R, Jiang WJ, Ng FM. The effects of human GH and its lipolytic fragment (AOD9604) on lipid metabolism following chronic treatment in obese mice and beta(3)-AR knock-out mice. Endocrinology. 2001;142(12):5182-5189. doi:10.1210/endo.142.12.8522. PMID:11713213. AND Heffernan MA, Thorburn AW, Fam B, Summers R, Conway-Campbell B, Waters MJ, Ng FM. Increase of fat oxidation and weight loss in obese mice caused by chronic treatment with human growth hormone or a modified C-terminal fragment. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2001;25(10):1442-1449. PMID:11673763. [PMID 11713213, PMID 11673763, doi:10.1210/endo.142.12.8522]
- Stier H, Vos E, Kenley D. Safety and Tolerability of the Hexadecapeptide AOD9604 in Humans. J Endocrinol Metab. 2013;3(1-2):7-15. doi:10.4021/jem157w. [doi:10.4021/jem157w]
- World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). WADA statement on substance AOD-9604. World Anti-Doping Agency. Available at: https://www.wada-ama.org/en/news/wada-statement-substance-aod-9604 [wada-ama.org]