GW-501516 Reference

Plain English

What it is

GW-501516, also called cardarine, is a lab-made drug that switches on a body sensor controlling how cells burn fat for energy. It is not a typical muscle-building SARM, and it is not an approved medicine. It is sold only as a research chemical.

What people use it for

In the bodybuilding and fitness community, people use it to try to boost endurance and burn body fat, often pairing it with SARMs. These uses come from personal stories, not from any approved medical use, and no human studies support them.

What the science shows

The published research is preclinical, meaning it was done in lab animals such as rats and mice rather than in people. It looked at how the compound affects fat burning and endurance. There is no human medical trial program for body or fat-loss use.

The catch

The biggest warning is cancer: drug maker GSK stopped developing this compound after animal studies showed it caused tumors to grow quickly in several organs, and that signal remains the main safety concern. The FDA has warned that SARMs and similar research chemicals are not approved for people, are often sold illegally, and can be mislabeled. Anti-doping rules from WADA ban it in sport at all times as a metabolic modulator (class S4.5), not as a typical anabolic agent.

Reference summary

Published work is preclinical, focused on PPARδ agonism, fatty-acid oxidation, and endurance phenotypes in rodents. No human clinical program; GSK halted development for rodent carcinogenicity.

Regulatory and posture

Categories

SARM, Fat Loss

Aliases

Cardarine, Endurobol, PPARδ agonist, Non-SARM

Evidence posture

preclinical - Not a SARM - PPARδ agonist. GSK halted development after rodent studies showed multi-tissue carcinogenicity at active doses. WADA-prohibited under category S4.5 hormone and metabolic modulators at all times. FDA enforcement attention. No human clinical program for body-composition use.

Regulatory status

No FDA-approved GW-501516 drug label. WADA prohibits GW-501516 under category S4.5 hormone and metabolic modulators at all times. GSK halted development after rodent carcinogenicity studies showed multi-tissue tumors at active doses. FDA enforcement against SARMs sellers applies even though GW-501516 is technically a PPARδ agonist, not a SARM.

Content review status

research reference