AOD-9604.INFO explains a modified fragment of human growth hormone in plain language. We do not sell anything.

Green illustration of a short peptide chain breaking away from a larger folded protein above a layer of fat cells

HGH FRAGMENT 177-191 · 16 AMINO ACIDS

AOD-9604.
One Small Piece of Growth Hormone

Australian scientists cut a short piece from the end of the growth hormone molecule and found it still affected fat in mice. A tablet version went through human trials in the 2000s but was dropped in 2007. This site explains what the compound is, what the trials showed and where it stands today.

Learn the Basics Read the Studies

No country has approved AOD-9604 as a medicine, and the World Anti-Doping Agency considers it prohibited. Research-grade AOD-9604 is meant for laboratory work only. Nothing on this site is medical advice.

A chain of 16 amino acids

Tested in about 900 adults

Development for obesity stopped in 2007

The Idea Behind It

Human growth hormone is a large protein of 191 amino acids, and it does many jobs at once: it drives growth, affects blood sugar and helps release stored fat. In the early 1990s a team led by Frank Ng at Monash University in Melbourne asked whether the fat-related effect could be separated from the rest. They focused on the last 15 amino acids of the hormone, and AOD-9604 is that short stretch with one extra amino acid, tyrosine, added at the front.

In mice and rats the fragment slowed fat build-up without the effects on growth or blood sugar seen with the full hormone. A Melbourne company, Metabolic Pharmaceuticals, turned it into a once-daily tablet and tested it in several hundred volunteers.

The largest trial did not show useful weight loss, and the obesity programme ended. Since then AOD-9604 has turned up in sport and in online markets, while regulators have kept their distance. The pages below go through each part of that story.

Quick Facts

What it is	A modified fragment of human growth hormone (amino acids 177 to 191, plus a tyrosine at the start)
Length	16 amino acids, sometimes called a hexadecapeptide
Molar mass	About 1,815 g/mol
Developed by	Monash University and Metabolic Pharmaceuticals, Melbourne, Australia
Tested as	An oral once-daily tablet for obesity, in trials from 2001 to 2007
Outcome	No significant weight loss versus placebo in the main 24-week trial
Status	Not approved anywhere; prohibited at all times under WADA rules

A Quick Note

This website does not give medical advice, and research-grade AOD-9604 is not made for human use. Questions about weight, metabolism or joints are best discussed with a doctor.