# AOD-9604

- Canonical: https://residue.info/c/aod-9604/
- Also called: AOD9604, hGH fragment 177-191 analogue, Tyr-hGH(177-191)
- Evidence grade: D (Preclinical only). All peer-reviewed efficacy data we found are from rats and mice. A phase IIa program was reported underway in 2002, but no results are indexed in PubMed.
- Status: Not FDA-approved · FDA compounding nomination withdrawn
- PubChem CID: 71300630
- Updated: 2026-10-19 · Reviewed by: Residue Editorial Team

AOD-9604 is a synthetic analog of growth hormone's fat-releasing C-terminal region. In obese rodents it reduced weight gain and raised fat oxidation without full growth hormone's effect on blood sugar, and did not bind the growth-hormone receptor [1][2]. No human efficacy results are published in PubMed, and FDA lists serious adverse events that may be associated with it [3].

## Key findings
- In obese Zucker rats, oral AOD-9604 at 500 µg/kg for 19 days cut body-weight gain by more than half compared with controls, without impairing insulin sensitivity [2]. (anchor: https://residue.info/c/aod-9604/#kf-pmid-11146367)
- In obese mice, both hGH and AOD-9604 reduced weight gain and increased fat oxidation, but AOD-9604 did not cause hyperglycemia, did not compete for the hGH receptor and did not induce cell proliferation [1]. (anchor: https://residue.info/c/aod-9604/#kf-pmid-11673763)
- Its fat-reducing effect in mice depended on beta-3 adrenergic receptors: it failed in beta-3 knockout mice [4]. (anchor: https://residue.info/c/aod-9604/#kf-pmid-11713213)
- A 2004 drug-development profile reported phase IIa trials underway by February 2002 [5]; we found no published results. (anchor: https://residue.info/c/aod-9604/#kf-pmid-15134286)
- AOD-9604 does not interfere with the WADA immunoassay for hGH isoforms [6]. (anchor: https://residue.info/c/aod-9604/#kf-pmid-24124033)

## Effects by system
- Body fat (rodents) (grade D): Reduced weight gain and increased lipolysis and fat oxidation in obese rats and mice [2][1]. (anchor: https://residue.info/c/aod-9604/#effect-body-fat-rodents)
- Glucose (rodents) (grade D): No hyperglycemia or loss of insulin sensitivity, unlike intact hGH [1][2]. (anchor: https://residue.info/c/aod-9604/#effect-glucose-rodents)
- Human data (grade D): No published human efficacy trial indexed in PubMed [7]. (anchor: https://residue.info/c/aod-9604/#effect-human-data)

## How does AOD-9604 work?

Human growth hormone has metabolic actions, including stimulating fat breakdown, that researchers in the 1990s mapped to its C-terminal region. AOD-9604 is a synthetic analog of that "lipolytic domain" [2]. The key finding of the mouse work is that it does not compete for the hGH receptor and does not stimulate cell proliferation — so whatever it does to fat, it does not do by acting as a small growth hormone [1].

The mechanism appears to involve beta-3 adrenergic receptors, the main lipolytic receptor on fat cells. Chronic treatment restored repressed beta-3 receptor RNA in obese mice to lean-mouse levels, and in beta-3 receptor knockout mice neither hGH nor AOD-9604 produced the expected weight loss or lipolysis [4].

## What have studies found?

**Rats.** Obese Zucker rats given oral AOD-9604 (500 µg/kg daily for 19 days) gained 15.8 g versus 35.6 g in controls. Their fat tissue showed higher lipolytic activity, and euglycemic clamps showed no adverse effect on insulin sensitivity — in contrast to chronic intact hGH [2].

**Mice.** Both hGH and AOD-9604 reduced body-weight gain in obese mice, with higher fat oxidation and plasma glycerol. Unlike hGH, AOD-9604 did not induce hyperglycemia or reduce insulin secretion [1].

**Humans.** A 2004 drug-development profile stated that phase IIa trials in obesity were underway by February 2002 [5]. The full PubMed record for AOD-9604 has only a couple of dozen entries, none tagged as a clinical trial [7], and ClinicalTrials.gov returns no registered studies [8]. The only human-relevant paper in our set is an anti-doping assay study, which found AOD-9604 does not affect the WADA hGH isoform immunoassay [6].

FDA's entry for AOD-9604 notes possible significant immunogenicity risk and complexities in impurity characterization. It says FDA has identified no, or only limited, safety-related information, so it lacks sufficient information to know whether the drug would cause harm in humans, and it has also identified serious adverse events that may be associated with AOD-9604, though causality is not clear [3].

## What is still unknown?

- **The phase II results.** Whatever the early-2000s human trials found has not been published in a PubMed-indexed journal in the records we fetched.
- **Translation.** Rodent fat-metabolism effects frequently fail to translate to people; without human data, none can be assumed.

## Frequently asked questions
**Is AOD-9604 FDA-approved?**
No. Drugs@FDA has no application for it. FDA lists AOD-9604 among withdrawn compounding nominations, says it lacks sufficient information to know whether the drug would cause harm in humans, and notes serious adverse events that may be associated with it, though causality is not clear [3].

**How is AOD-9604 different from growth hormone?**
It is a modified fragment from the C-terminus of hGH. In mice, it reduced weight gain like hGH but did not bind the hGH receptor, raise blood sugar or stimulate cell proliferation [1].

**Has AOD-9604 been tested in people?**
A phase IIa program was reported underway by 2002 [5], but PubMed indexes no human efficacy results and ClinicalTrials.gov lists no study [8].

**Is AOD-9604 the same as tesamorelin?**
No. Tesamorelin is a GHRH analog that makes the pituitary release growth hormone and is FDA-approved for HIV-associated abdominal fat [9]. AOD-9604 is a fragment of growth hormone itself, with only animal data published [1].


## Sources
[1] Increase of fat oxidation and weight loss in obese mice caused by chronic treatment with human growth hormone or a modified C-terminal fragment. Heffernan MA et al. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2001. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11673763/
[2] Metabolic studies of a synthetic lipolytic domain (AOD9604) of human growth hormone. Ng FM et al. Horm Res. 2000. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11146367/
[3] Certain Bulk Drug Substances for Use in Compounding that May Present Significant Safety Risks. U.S. FDA, content current as of 04/22/2026. https://www.fda.gov/drugs/human-drug-compounding/certain-bulk-drug-substances-use-compounding-may-present-significant-safety-risks
[4] 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. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11713213/
[5] AOD-9604 Metabolic. Wilding J Curr Opin Investig Drugs. 2004. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15134286/
[6] AOD-9604 does not influence the WADA hGH isoform immunoassay. Orlovius AK et al. Drug Test Anal. 2013. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24124033/
[7] PubMed search: (AOD9604[tiab] OR AOD-9604[tiab]). 22 records at fetch. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=(AOD9604%5Btiab%5D%20OR%20AOD-9604%5Btiab%5D)
[8] ClinicalTrials.gov registry search: AOD9604 OR AOD-9604. 0 registered studies at fetch. https://clinicaltrials.gov/search?intr=AOD9604%20OR%20AOD-9604
[9] EGRIFTA SV prescribing information: Indications and Usage. FDA-approved labeling via openFDA/DailyMed, version effective 2026-07-29. https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=3d783378-b02d-4f19-99dd-0fc91a042224

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