Evidence strength for the context described on this page.
PEPTIDE ATLAS / METABOLIC & FAT LOSS / AOD-9604
Not FDA-approvedInsufficient
AOD-9604
ALSO KNOWN ASHGH fragment 176–191
A modified growth-hormone fragment marketed for fat loss without an established safe, effective dose.
01CATEGORYMetabolic & fat loss
02REGULATORY STATUSNot FDA-approved
03COMMON ROUTEStudied orally and intravenously; commonly marketed as subcutaneous injection or oral product
04DOSE BASISHuman studies + reported clinic use
HOW TO USE THIS PAGE
Read the profile in the order that protects the decision.
- 01Verify what it is
Confirm the exact molecule, route, regulatory lane and actual human evidence.
- 02Read limits before dose
Unsupported claims, contraindications and uncertainty come before any protocol.
- 03Build the monitoring plan
Define the target, baseline checks, reassessment point and stop rules with a qualified clinician.
This peptide does not have an FDA-approved product or dose for the claims described here. Research dosing and vendor protocols are not consumer prescribing guidance.
RESEARCH PASSPORT
The five facts to know first.
REVIEWED
JULY 2026
Status is product-, formulation- and indication-specific.
Trial, label or reported-practice basis is always named.
Official labels, regulators, trials and indexed literature where available.
Peptide hormones, growth factors and related substances may be prohibited.
Check Global DRO ↗OVERVIEW
What AOD-9604 is.
A synthetic fragment related to a region of human growth hormone. Marketing claims focus on fat metabolism while implying fewer growth effects than full GH; convincing clinical benefit has not been established.
HOW IT IS THOUGHT TO WORK
Proposed to influence lipolysis and fat metabolism, largely from preclinical rationale.
EFFECTS & EVIDENCE
What the evidence supports—and what it does not.
- No well-established clinical fat-loss effect
- Meaningful human weight loss
- Long-term safety
- Bioavailability or equivalence across oral, topical and injectable products
Evidence grade: Insufficient. For an approved drug, “high” refers only to its labeled indication—not every off-label or wellness claim.
DOSAGE CONTEXT
Best available dosing range.
Human studies + reported clinic useBest human-study range: 0.25–1 mg orally once daily for up to 24 weeks; efficacy was inconsistent. Most published U.S. clinic protocols use 250–500 mcg subcutaneously once daily for 4–12 weeks. The injectable range is reported practice, not an FDA-approved or validated standard.
BEST AVAILABLE GENERIC RANGE
Men and women.
The basis is named above. Reported-use ranges describe what clinics or communities publish; they are not proof of safety, efficacy, legality or product quality.
- Schedule in that source context
- Clinics commonly publish once-daily morning use for 4–12 weeks; oral research continued as long as 24 weeks.
- How to interpret it
- Route is a major evidence gap: the best-described human studies used oral dosing, while current clinics often market injections. Similar numbers do not make the routes equivalent, and weight-loss efficacy was not consistently demonstrated.
ACTUAL HUMAN DOSES REPORTED IN THE RECORD
Research regimens may use different routes, diagnoses, formulations and monitoring. They cannot automatically be converted into a general protocol.
- Oral obesity studies: 0.25–1 mg once daily for up to 24 weeks; safety appeared similar to placebo, but the largest study did not confirm meaningful weight-loss efficacy.
- Earlier 12-week oral research reported the largest signal near 1 mg daily, but later results were inconsistent.
- Route
- Studied orally and intravenously; commonly marketed as subcutaneous injection or oral product
- Duration
- Reported clinic cycles: 4–12 weeks; oral trials: up to 24 weeks
- Men & women
- No validated male/female dose difference. Pregnancy and reproductive safety remain inadequately characterized.
Clinician verification required. Always double-check the exact molecule or salt, concentration, route, volume, schedule, indication, patient-specific contraindications, interactions and applicable law with the prescribing clinician and dispensing pharmacy. A disclaimer does not make an unapproved product FDA-approved, and a reported-use range is not a prescription.
MONITORING
What should be tracked.
- No validated monitoring protocol can make an unapproved product proven
SAFETY
Risks, red flags and reasons to avoid it.
- Immunogenicity and peptide-impurity concerns
- Unknown potency and sterility
- FDA notes limited safety information and reports of serious adverse events with uncertain causality
- Self-injection
- Products represented as FDA-approved
- Substituting it for evidence-based obesity treatment
Stop and seek careGet urgent medical help for trouble breathing, facial or throat swelling, chest pain, fainting, severe persistent abdominal pain, neurologic changes, severe hypoglycemia, uncontrolled vomiting or a prolonged painful erection.
CLINICIAN VISIT CHECKLIST
Six questions worth bringing with you.
Molecule or analog, salt, concentration, route, manufacturer or compounder, lot and beyond-use date.
Name the diagnosis or target, how it will be measured and the realistic time to reassess.
Ask how it compares with FDA-approved, lower-risk or better-studied alternatives.
Label, human trial, specialty guideline or clinic convention—and whether that route and formulation match.
Baseline checks, follow-up measures, interactions, pregnancy considerations and symptoms that mean stop.
Pharmacy license, prescription, identity/potency testing, sterility controls and who handles a product complaint.
Do not improvise reconstitution or convert “units” without the exact concentration. Mixing, storage and beyond-use instructions are product-specific; confirm them with the dispensing pharmacy.
PRIMARY SOURCES
Read the record yourself.
We prioritize official prescribing information, FDA regulatory material, registered trials and indexed biomedical literature. A source supports the specific statement beside it—not every claim made about the molecule.
PRODUCTS & TREATMENT ACCESS
There is no product we can responsibly recommend.
Sold in gray-market and some compounded settings; not FDA-approved.
Availability is not evidence. The absence of an approved dose is itself a central fact, not a missing detail.
Evidence before affiliate revenue.
We do not rank or sell unapproved research peptides. Use the Atlas to discuss safer, evidence-backed alternatives with a qualified clinician.
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