AOD-9604 is a growth-hormone fragment designed to promote fat breakdown and limit new fat storage. It is claimed to support weight loss.
What AOD-9604 does and why that matters
AOD-9604 is a fragment of human growth hormone designed to influence how fat cells handle stored fat. The practical idea was that it might make fat easier to break down and harder to store, leading to weight loss without the broader effects of growth hormone. That pattern appeared in rodents, but the molecular target is still unknown and the largest 24-week human trial in FDA's review did not show significant weight loss over placebo. [1]
Function evidence: Animal fat-cell findings; human weight-loss benefit not shown
What researchers hoped it would change
The practical goal was straightforward: help people lose body fat without using the full growth-hormone molecule. If it worked, a person might expect a lower body weight or waist measurement over time. The largest 24-week trial reviewed by FDA did not produce that result. Average loss was less than 1 kg across the AOD-9604 groups and was not significantly different from placebo. The animal fat-metabolism findings therefore did not translate into a demonstrated weight-loss treatment. [1]
What supports this description: Human randomized trial reviewed by FDA; weight-loss benefit not demonstrated
AOD-9604 Dosing status
Dose: No consumer dose is established or recommended here. | Frequency: No routine treatment schedule established. | Cycle: No validated consumer cycle. | Route: No routine patient route established.
Preparation: No patient reconstitution recipe. Trial preparation is not a recommendation..
AOD-9604 is a fragment of human growth hormone that was studied as an obesity drug. In FDA's review, the largest 24-week oral trial did not produce statistically significant weight loss compared with placebo. The agency has not approved AOD-9604 for any use. [1]
AOD-9604 Effects
Weight loss. The largest reviewed trial randomized 502 participants after enrollment and found less than 1 kg average loss across AOD-9604 groups, without a statistically significant difference from placebo. The trial was not fully published. [1]
Preclinical lipolysis. Animal and laboratory findings are hypothesis-generating and do not establish a human fat-loss treatment. [1]
AOD-9604 Side Effects
Clinical and product uncertainty. The human program did not establish an effective dose. FDA also identified characterization, impurity, aggregation, and immunogenicity concerns for compounded AOD-9604. [1]
Frequently Asked Questions About AOD-9604
Does AOD-9604 produce targeted fat loss?
No reliable human evidence establishes site-specific fat loss. The largest reviewed trial did not show significant weight loss versus placebo. [1]
Is there an evidence-based cycle?
No. The reviewed development program did not establish an effective consumer dose or cycle. [1]
Evidence
Human development did not establish weight-loss efficacy. AOD-9604 is a fragment of human growth hormone that was studied as an obesity drug. In FDA's review, the largest 24-week oral trial did not produce statistically significant weight loss compared with placebo. The agency has not approved AOD-9604 for any use. [1]
U.S. Food and Drug Administration Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee briefing: AOD-9604 , 2024. Source
Storage
Educational evidence summary. Approval applies only to the named product and indication; compounded, investigational, and research-market products are different categories.
◇An FDA-approved label or a patient-specific prescription from a licensed pharmacy
◇The active ingredient, strength, dosage form, concentration, lot, and dispensing instructions
◇Identity or purity tests only support the tests performed; they do not prove sterility, endotoxin safety, dose accuracy, stability, or clinical suitability
◇A “research use only” vial is not a patient medicine
