AOD-9604 is a 16-amino-acid synthetic peptide derived from the lipolytic C-terminal domain of human growth hormone. Reached Phase IIb obesity trials without meeting weight-loss endpoints; later repositioned to cartilage / joint research.
AOD-9604 is a 16-amino-acid synthetic peptide corresponding to the lipolytic C-terminal region (residues 177–191) of human growth hormone. It was designed to reproduce GH’s fat-metabolizing effect without the growth-promoting or glucose effects of the full hormone.
It advanced into Phase IIb obesity trials but did not meet its weight-loss endpoints, after which research interest shifted toward cartilage and joint applications. It is not FDA-approved as a therapeutic.
Putative β3-adrenergic mediated lipolysis without GH receptor binding.
Behind every vial of AOD-9604 is the same exacting pipeline every research peptide runs — but the chemistry plays out differently for this molecule. Here is how AOD-9604, specifically, is brought into being.
On paper, AOD-9604 is C78H123N23O23S2 — about 1,815.1 daltons of precisely arranged atoms. Before a single bond is made, the target sequence, salt form, and purity threshold are written down as the contract the finished material must meet.
AOD-9604 is assembled by solid-phase peptide synthesis — the chain grows one protected residue at a time on resin, and what you fail to build cleanly here you pay to remove later.
The crude mixture — AOD-9604 plus its deletions and side products — is then separated on preparative HPLC, and where the cut is taken decides the difference between a genuinely pure peptide and a barely-passable one.
A real batch of AOD-9604 proves itself: identity confirmed by mass spectrometry against its ~1,815.1 Da, purity read directly off an analytical HPLC trace, water and counterion content measured. That batch-specific certificate of analysis is the only honest way to know what is actually in a vial of AOD-9604 — and a short, cold, accountable chain of custody is how that purity survives the trip to your bench.
Producing AOD-9604 to a genuine purity spec means solid-phase synthesis, preparative HPLC purification, and batch quality control — none of it cheap, and none of it something you can verify by eye.
Don't judge a vial by its cake. A fluffy, good-looking lyophilized powder reflects bulking agents and freeze-drying parameters — not purity. Insist on a batch-specific certificate of analysis.
AOD-9604 is a fragment of human growth hormone (residues 177–191) studied for fat metabolism (lipolysis) without GH’s other effects.
It reached Phase IIb obesity trials but did not meet its weight-loss endpoints; research later shifted toward cartilage and joint applications.
It is designed to reproduce GH’s lipolytic effect without binding the GH receptor or driving growth and glucose effects.
No — it is not FDA-approved as a therapeutic. This page is a research and educational reference.
Dosing protocols, mechanism, comparisons, and the latest trials — citation-backed answers grounded in PubMed, PubChem, and ClinicalTrials.gov.