AOD-9604 quick reference
What is AOD-9604?
Short peptide copied from a piece of growth hormone.
Used by community as a fat-loss add-on.
Not approved. No published human weight-loss result.
How AOD-9604 works
Copies the tail end of growth hormone.
In obese mice it raised fat burning and cut weight gain.
In mice it did not bind the GH receptor or raise blood sugar.
The human safety paper saw no IGF-1 rise.
What AOD-9604 is studied for
893 people in six company trials; serious events spread evenly.
No peer-reviewed human weight-loss result found.
Obese mice gained less weight and burned more fat.
Oral dosing cut weight gain by over half in 19 days.
Injected into rabbit knees, it improved cartilage scores.
It does not change the WADA growth hormone isoform test.
AOD-9604 dosing protocol
| Route studied | Amount in the human trials |
|---|---|
| Human injection dose | Not established |
| Phase 1 / 2a, single IV dose | 25 to 400 mcg per kg of body weight |
| Phase 2a, oral capsules | 9, 27 or 54 mg, single or daily for 7 days |
| Phase 2b, oral capsules, 12 weeks | 1, 5, 10, 20 or 30 mg daily (300 adults) |
| Phase 2b, oral tablets, 24 weeks | 0.25, 0.5 or 1 mg daily (502 adults) |
From Stier H et al. J Endocrinol Metab 2013, a safety summary of six company trials. It does not report weight-loss results. These are trial schedules, not a label.
Label and trial amounts come from the sources below. Community amounts are what people report; they have not been tested.
Mixing
Can gel. Community adds 0.5 mL weak acetic acid, then 2 mL BAC water.
What the research found
No weight-loss numbers were found in a published paper. The safety paper covers six company trials. What it does show:
Stier H, Vos E, Kenley D. J Endocrinol Metab 2013;3:7-15. Authors were linked to the sponsor. Secondary reports say the larger phase 2b did not meet its weight goal; I could not confirm that in a primary source.
AOD-9604 community experience
What users report. Not tested in trials.
Positive reports
- Subtle waist change A few notice less lower-belly fat after weeks.
- Cutting add-on Used as a small extra on a tracked diet.
- Morning use Fits easily with fasting and training.
Negative & mixed
- Often no effect Many report no noticeable change.
- Gelling Vials can clump or gel when mixed.
- Hard to attribute Diet, training and other drugs hide any effect.
AOD-9604 stacking
Added when a cut stalls. Extra effect never measured.
Not studied together.
Both touch the GH axis. Not studied together.
AOD-9604 side effects & safety
Common
- Headache, diarrhea and gas at 54 mg oral.
- Injection-site irritation (community).
- Nausea (community).
- Gelled vials raise dose and quality doubts.
Less common
- Five serious events in the 300-person trial, judged unrelated.
- No IGF-1 or glucose test changes seen.
- Long-term injected use is unstudied.
Precautions
- WADA bans it for tested athletes.
- Pregnancy or breastfeeding: no data.
- Cancer history: talk to a doctor first.
- Do not use a vial that clumps or looks cloudy.
Our verdict on AOD-9604
Oral trials raised no clear safety flags, but fat loss was never shown. At best a weak add-on.
AOD-9604 FAQ
Does AOD-9604 work for fat loss?
No published human trial shows it does.
Is it banned in sport?
Yes. WADA lists it under growth hormone fragments.
Why does it gel?
The peptide can aggregate; community uses weak acid first.
Sources
- Stier H, Vos E, Kenley D. Safety and tolerability of the hexadecapeptide AOD9604 in humans. J Endocrinol Metab 2013;3(1-2):7-15
- Drug testing and analysis 2013: AOD-9604 does not influence the WADA hGH isoform immunoassay (PubMed 24124033)
- Heffernan M et al. Increase of fat oxidation and weight loss in obese mice by chronic treatment with hGH or a modified C-terminal fragment. Int J Obes 2001 (PubMed 11673763)
- Metabolic studies of a synthetic lipolytic domain (AOD9604) of human growth hormone. Horm Res 2000 (PubMed 11146367)
- Effect of intra-articular injection of AOD9604 with or without hyaluronic acid in rabbit osteoarthritis model. Ann Clin Lab Sci 2015 (PubMed 26275694)
- WADA Prohibited List 2026, section S2.3 (growth hormone fragments, e.g. AOD-9604)