AOD-9604 monograph

AOD-9604

Overview

AOD-9604 is a synthetic peptide derived from the C-terminal region of human growth hormone, designed to mimic GH’s lipolytic activity without the classic diabetogenic effects. The human evidence base is thin: there were phase IIa obesity trials underway in the early 2000s, but widely accessible public summaries do not provide robust clinical efficacy or pharmacokinetic detail. In sports contexts, it is treated as a prohibited performance-enhancing peptide and is not an approved obesity drug.

Pharmacokinetics & Mechanism

• Class: Synthetic peptide; C-terminal fragment analog of human growth hormone (hGH) 177-191
• Mechanism of action: Proposed to promote lipolysis and fat oxidation and to increase lipolytic sensitivity, with preclinical data implicating beta-adrenergic signaling and beta-3 adrenergic receptor expression. In obese mice, chronic AOD-9604 increased beta-3-AR RNA expression and reduced body weight/body fat, but the study concluded the lipolytic effect was not directly mediated by beta-3-AR. Human receptor-level pharmacology and definitive mechanism in humans are not well established.
• Target(s): Best-supported preclinical target/pathway: beta-adrenergic pathway, especially beta-3 adrenergic receptor expression/signaling. No validated human receptor target or downstream pathway is definitively established.
• Route(s) of administration: Injectable peptide in research/bodybuilding use; the preclinical study used intraperitoneal administration in mice. Human trial route is not clearly established in the accessible public record here, and community use is typically reported as subcutaneous injection. Oral bioavailability is not established and is not used clinically.
• Onset: Not well established in humans. In animal work, metabolic effects were assessed after chronic treatment over 14 days, with an acute increase in energy expenditure/fat oxidation also observed in beta-3-AR knock-out mice.
• Half-life: Not well established in humans. Publicly accessible sources located here do not provide a validated human half-life. A separate anti-doping/metabolism paper focused on detection found six metabolites and a more stable serum metabolite, but did not establish a clinical half-life. If a chatbot needs to mention kinetics, use "not well established" rather than guessing.
• Metabolism / clearance: In vitro work showed AOD9604 is metabolized in serum and urine into multiple metabolites; one serum metabolite (CRSVEGSCG) was more stable than parent compound and other metabolites. Human systemic clearance pathways are not well established from the accessible sources; anti-doping work suggests peptide metabolism is rapid enough that metabolite-based detection may extend the detection window.