AOD-9604 for fat loss — the GH fragment that was supposed to be the next big thing
So I’ve been researching AOD-9604 lately and honestly I’m surprised this isn’t talked about more here. For those who don’t know, it’s a modified fragment of human growth hormone (the 176-191 amino acid sequence) that was supposed to have all the fat burning benefits without affecting blood sugar or IGF-1 levels.
I remember reading about it maybe 5-6 years ago when it was in clinical trials and it seemed super promising. The Australian company behind it was pushing hard for approval but then it just… disappeared? From what I can tell the FDA rejected it and everything went quiet.
Has anyone actually tried this peptide? I’m curious if the real-world results matched the hype or if there was a good reason it never took off. I’m currently on tirzepatide and doing well but I’m always interested in what else is out there, especially things that work through different mechanisms.
From what I understand the dosing was around 300mcg subq daily, usually split into morning and evening injections. The studies showed modest fat loss but nothing groundbreaking. I’m wondering if that’s why it faded away – maybe it just wasn’t effective enough to justify the cost and hassle compared to diet and exercise or the newer GLP-1 meds.
I actually ran AOD-9604 back in 2019 for about 12 weeks. Honestly? Pretty underwhelming results for me personally. I was doing 500mcg per day (250mcg morning, 250mcg before bed) and I *maybe* lost an extra pound or two that I could attribute to it, but honestly could’ve just been my deficit working.
The theory behind it is solid – targeting fat cells without the other GH effects – but in practice it didn’t move the needle much. I think you’re right that it disappeared because the results just weren’t impressive enough. Plus it was expensive for what you got. My coach at the time said he’d seen better results with CJC/Ipamorelin combos if someone really wanted peptide support for fat loss.
The issue with AOD-9604 from what I read was that it worked great in mice but the human trials were really mixed. Some showed slight improvements in fat oxidation markers but actual body composition changes were minimal. I think one of the Phase 2 trials showed no significant difference from placebo for weight loss.
What PeptideExplorer88 said about CJC/Ipa is interesting though – those work through different pathways by boosting your own GH production rather than mimicking just one fragment. That said, even those are probably not as effective as just being consistent with diet and training. And now with semaglutide and tirz available, the whole peptide fat loss space feels kinda obsolete tbh