AOD-9604
AOD-9604 (Advanced Obesity Drug 9604)
Research Parameters
- Typical Dose Range
- 250 to 500 mcg daily subcutaneous (research standard). Morning, fasted.
- Half-Life
- ~20 to 30 minutes
- Administration Route
- Subcutaneous, Oral
Dosing information is for research purposes only and has not been evaluated by the FDA.
AOD-9604 is what you get when researchers ask: can we isolate the fat-burning part of human growth hormone from the part that makes everything else grow? That's the entire design premise. The peptide is a specific fragment of HGH, the tail end, amino acids 176 to 191, that drives lipolysis without activating the IGF-1 growth pathway.
The honest read on the research: effect size in human obesity trials was modest, which is why it didn't advance to Phase III as an obesity drug. It's still in research rotation for two reasons. One, the FDA granted it GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) status, which means the safety profile is unusually clean for this class. Two, more recent research is looking at it for cartilage and joint health, which has opened a second research application.
For research purposes only.
Mechanism of Action
AOD-9604 is a 15-amino-acid fragment of human growth hormone (the C-terminal 176 to 191 region). It was engineered at Monash University specifically to retain lipolytic activity while removing the growth-signaling effects that activate IGF-1. The mechanism involves beta-adrenergic pathway activation in adipose tissue without GH receptor binding.
Citations
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is AOD-9604 used for in research?
Research centers on fat metabolism, body composition, and in more recent work cartilage and joint health. It's designed to isolate the fat-loss effects of GH without the growth-signaling effects. For research purposes only.
- How does AOD-9604 compare to semaglutide for fat loss research?
Very different mechanisms. Semaglutide works on appetite and insulin via GLP-1 receptors; AOD-9604 works on fat cell breakdown (lipolysis) via a GH-fragment mechanism. Effect size in the semaglutide trials is larger. For research purposes only.
- Why doesn't AOD-9604 affect IGF-1 like full GH does?
Because it's only the lipolytic fragment of the GH molecule. The growth-signaling region that activates IGF-1 is not part of the sequence. That's the entire design rationale. For research purposes only.