AOD-9604 is a modified fragment of human growth hormone. This overview covers its structure, the research history, why development stalled and how it differs from growth hormone itself.
Written by the Peptide Labs Research Team
AOD-9604 is a synthetic peptide based on a short stretch of human growth hormone (hGH). It was designed to isolate one region of the hormone, and it became a well-known research compound because of the question that design raised: can a fragment reproduce part of the biology of a large protein without the rest? This overview covers what it is, what was studied, and where that research ended up.
AOD-9604 corresponds to residues 177 to 191 of hGH, the C-terminal region, with a tyrosine added at the N-terminus to allow stable labelling. It is a 16-amino-acid peptide. Growth hormone itself is a 191-amino-acid protein, so AOD-9604 is a small piece of a very large molecule. For how peptides and proteins differ, see peptide vs protein vs polypeptide.
Earlier work on fragments of hGH reported that the C-terminal region appeared to account for some of the hormone's effects on lipid metabolism in cell and animal models, separate from its growth-promoting and glucose-related effects. The research interest in AOD-9604 follows from that: a tool to study the lipid-metabolism pathway in isolation.
The honest summary is that AOD-9604 is a compound with interesting preclinical rationale and a human trial record that did not support its original development goal. That is a useful illustration of the gap described in peptide hype vs peptide science.
| hGH | AOD-9604 | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | 191 amino acids | 16 amino acids |
| Source | Pituitary, or recombinant | Synthetic fragment |
| Reported IGF-1 effect | Raises IGF-1 | Reported not to raise IGF-1 in trials |
Neither is a growth hormone secretagogue. For the compounds that act on the release of growth hormone, see growth hormone axis research.
AOD-9604 is not an approved medicine for weight management. It also appears on the World Anti-Doping Agency's prohibited list as a non-approved substance, and athletes should check the current list. In Australia, verify its status against the Poisons Standard, since "research use only" is not an exemption. See are research peptides legal in Australia and peptides and weight loss: approved vs research-only.
Short peptides like this are made by solid-phase synthesis and verified by HPLC and mass spectrometry. See how research peptides are made. Our AOD-9604 5mg listing is a preorder, and a batch-specific COA is published when each batch is tested.
Is AOD-9604 a growth hormone?
No. It is a 16-amino-acid fragment of one.
Is AOD-9604 a peptide or a protein?
A peptide, because of its short length.
Is it approved anywhere as a medicine?
It has not been approved as a weight-management medicine.
Disclaimer: All compounds referenced are supplied for in-vitro laboratory research only and are not for human or veterinary use. This article is educational and is not medical advice. Trial characterisations are summaries of published reports, so consult the primary papers for detail.
Peptides are short chains of amino acids. This guide covers what they are, how they differ from proteins, the main classes studied in research, and how quality is verified.
Research GuidesPeptides, polypeptides and proteins are all amino acid chains. Here is how length, folding and function separate them, and what a peptide bond actually is.
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