AOD-9604 Reference

Plain English

What it is

AOD-9604 is a lab-made copy of just the tail end of human growth hormone. In animal studies it nudges the body to burn fat without the wider growth effects of the full hormone. It is not an FDA-approved drug.

What people use it for

People in the peptide community talk about it for fat-loss support. It was tested in people as a possible obesity medicine, but it never became an approved drug.

What the science shows

The fat-burning effect is real and repeatable in mice. The company's large human obesity trial did not produce meaningful weight loss compared with a placebo, so the program was stopped in 2007. Community reports tend to describe subtle results next to today's GLP-1 medicines.

The catch

It is not FDA-approved and is handled as a research chemical, so no regulator checks its purity or its labeled amounts. Most of the encouraging data comes from animals, and the one big human trial fell short. For research and educational purposes only. Not medical advice.

Reference summary

AOD-9604 is a synthetic analog of human growth hormone residues 176-191 with an added N-terminal tyrosine; the parent-sequence cysteines (Cys182 and Cys189) are retained and the disulfide bridge between them is formed during solid-phase synthesis. The preclinical lipolytic literature in rodent adipocytes is reproducible (Heffernan 2001 Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord, PMID 11673763; Heffernan 2001 Endocrinology, PMID 11713213, beta3-AR knockout work showed the lipolytic effect is not strictly mediated through beta3-AR). The pivotal Phase 2b program in obese adults (Metabolic Pharmaceuticals, with a 12-week primary endpoint inside a 24-week treatment period; 536-subject scale reported in pharmacotherapy reviews) did not produce clinically meaningful weight loss versus placebo and fell well short of the FDA's roughly 5 percent placebo-adjusted threshold for obesity-drug approval. The sponsor terminated the obesity program in 2007. No Phase 3 obesity trial advanced.

Regulatory and posture

Categories

Fat Loss

Aliases

hGH fragment 176-191 analog, AOD, LAT8881, Anti-obesity drug 9604

Evidence posture

human - Human trials did not support obesity approval; the pivotal Phase 2b weight-loss effect versus placebo was small and the obesity program was terminated in 2007. Reproducible rodent lipolytic mechanism; modern GLP-1-class comparators set a far higher bar.

Regulatory status

No FDA-approved AOD-9604 drug label. Originally developed by Metabolic Pharmaceuticals (Australia) out of work at Monash University (Frank Ng lab) as a fat-loss candidate; the obesity program was terminated in 2007 after the pivotal Phase 2b efficacy readout did not reach the regulatory bar. Subsequent IP assignment to Lateral Pharmaceuticals reintroduced the molecule under the alias LAT8881. A sponsor-claimed self-affirmed GRAS (generally recognized as safe) conclusion has been published for food-ingredient applications in the US; no corresponding FDA 'no questions' letter is on record. AOD-9604 (acetate and free base, evaluated use obesity) was among the bulk drug substances being considered for inclusion on the FDA Section 503A Bulk Drug Substances List and was reviewed by the Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee at its December 4, 2024 meeting (Federal Register notice 2024-24828); it is not an FDA-approved drug.

Content review status

research reference

Related tools

• Peptide reconstitution calculator - Convert vial mass and BAC water volume into mcg/ml.
• BAC water calculator - Solve BAC water volume for a target concentration.
• Multi-dose vial calculator - Estimate doses per vial and a projected vial-empty date.
• Reconstituted-vial storage window calculator - Estimate a generic usable-window date and days remaining.
• Peptide half-life calculator - Estimate single-dose decay from cited half-life constants.
• Injection-site rotation overview - Public overview of the Pro site-rotation planner.