AOD-9604 is a 16-residue peptide: residues 177-191 of human growth hormone with an added N-terminal tyrosine. It was developed at Monash University to study growth hormone's fat-metabolism activity on its own.

What is the AOD-9604 sequence?

YLRIVQCRSVEGSCGF, with a disulfide bond between Cys7 and Cys14. Formula C78H123N23O23S2, 1815.1 g/mol, CAS 221231-10-3.

Is AOD-9604 the same as growth hormone?

No. It is a short fragment of growth hormone's C-terminus. In published studies it did not compete for the growth hormone receptor and did not raise IGF-1.

Has AOD-9604 been studied in humans?

A 2013 paper pooled safety data from six randomised, placebo-controlled trials run by its developer, reporting no effect on IGF-1 or glucose tolerance and no antibodies. Most other research is in rodents.

Is AOD-9604 FDA-approved?

No. FDA lists it among bulk substances nominated, then withdrawn, from its compounding safety-risk category, and WADA prohibits it in sport.

Does Clean Peptide sell AOD-9604?

Not at the moment. This page is a research summary only.

AOD-9604 Peptide: hGH Fragment Structure and Research

AOD-9604 is a 16-residue peptide made from the C-terminal end of human growth hormone: residues 177–191 with an extra tyrosine at the front. It was developed in Australia to study the fat-metabolism activity of growth hormone separately from its other effects. The published work is mostly in rodents, plus a pooled safety analysis of six human trials.

Clean Peptide does not stock AOD-9604. This page summarises the compound from published sources only: there is no price, no certificate and no order button.

Notify me if Clean Peptide stocks AOD-9604

Growth-hormone-axis peptides we do stock, each with a per-lot certificate: tesamorelin, CJC-1295 and IGF-1 LR3.

AOD-9604 at a glance

Names	AOD-9604, AOD9604, Tyr-hGH(177-191), LAT-8881
Sequence	`YLRIVQCRSVEGSCGF`, cyclic Cys7–Cys14 disulfide
Length	16 residues (Tyr + hGH residues 177–191)
Molecular formula	C₇₈H₁₂₃N₂₃O₂₃S₂
Molecular weight	1815.1 g/mol
CAS number	221231-10-3
PubChem CID	71300630
Parent protein	Human growth hormone, UniProt P01241
Origin	Monash University and Metabolic Pharmaceuticals, Melbourne, Australia
Regulatory status	Not an approved drug; on WADA’s prohibited list

Sequence, disulfide and CAS from the FDA substance registry (GSRS UNII 7UP768IP4M); formula and weight from PubChem, which includes the disulfide bond. The registry’s own formula field (C₇₈H₁₂₅…) describes the open, reduced form.

What AOD-9604 is for, in research terms

Growth hormone affects fat metabolism, but it also raises IGF-1 and can cause insulin resistance, which limits its use as a research tool for fat metabolism alone. In the early 1990s, Frank Ng’s group at Monash University showed that a synthetic fragment of the hormone’s C-terminus, residues 177–191, reproduced its antilipogenic effect in rat fat tissue. AOD-9604 is that fragment with an added N-terminal tyrosine. Later studies reported that it does not compete for the growth hormone receptor and did not raise IGF-1.

Published research on AOD-9604

The active fragment (rats, 1993). Synthetic hGH(177-191) had antilipogenic activity identical to the intact hormone in rat epididymal fat, with no significant lipolytic effect in that assay. Antilipogenic action of synthetic C-terminal sequence 177-191 of human growth hormone. Wu Z, Ng FM. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology International, 1993.
Obese mice (1994). Long-term treatment of ob/ob mice with hGH(177-191) reduced cumulative body-weight gain and adipose mass and inhibited lipogenesis in fat tissue. Natera SH, et al. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology International, 1994.
Lipase and insulin sensitivity (rats, 2000). The fragment stimulated hormone-sensitive lipase and inhibited acetyl-CoA carboxylase in rat fat tissue like intact GH, but unlike GH did not cause insulin resistance or glucose intolerance in obese Zucker rats. Molecular and cellular actions of a structural domain of human growth hormone (AOD9401) on lipid metabolism in Zucker fatty rats. Ng FM, et al. Journal of Molecular Endocrinology, 2000; Ng FM, et al. Hormone Research, 2000.
Human fat tissue in vitro (2000). The peptide increased lipolytic and decreased lipogenic activity in isolated adipose tissue from obese rodents and humans. Effects of oral administration of a synthetic fragment of human growth hormone on lipid metabolism. Heffernan MA, et al. American Journal of Physiology, Endocrinology and Metabolism, 2000.
Receptor and mechanism (mice, 2001). AOD-9604 did not compete for the hGH receptor in transfected cells, and unlike hGH it did not cause hyperglycaemia. Its effects on body weight and lipolysis in obese mice were absent in β3-adrenergic-receptor knockout mice. Heffernan MA, et al. International Journal of Obesity, 2001; The effects of human GH and its lipolytic fragment (AOD9604) on lipid metabolism following chronic treatment in obese mice and beta(3)-AR knock-out mice. Heffernan M, et al. Endocrinology, 2001.
Cartilage model (rabbits, 2015). In a collagenase-induced knee osteoarthritis model, AOD-9604 with or without hyaluronic acid lowered cartilage-degeneration scores against saline. Effect of Intra-articular Injection of AOD9604 with or without Hyaluronic Acid in Rabbit Osteoarthritis Model. Kwon DR, Park GY. Annals of Clinical and Laboratory Science, 2015.
Detection for anti-doping (2015). A urine method with a 50 pg/mL detection limit, and a stable serum metabolite (CRSVEGSCG) proposed as a screening marker. Detection and in vitro metabolism of AOD9604. Cox HD, et al. Drug Testing and Analysis, 2015.

Human data. A 2013 paper pooled safety data from six randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials run by the developer. It reported no effect on serum IGF-1, no negative effect on oral glucose tolerance and no anti-AOD9604 antibodies. Safety and Tolerability of the Hexadecapeptide AOD9604 in Humans. Stier H, et al. Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism, 2013.

Regulatory status

AOD-9604 is not an approved drug. FDA’s page on bulk substances that may present significant safety risks in compounding lists it among nominated-but-withdrawn substances, noting limited safety information and serious adverse events that may be associated with it, though causality is not clear. WADA prohibits it in sport. In 2012 its developer announced a self-affirmed, conditional GRAS determination by an expert panel for use in foods; that is a company determination, not an FDA approval. FDA compounding safety-risk list.