AOD-9604

Also known as: Anti-Obesity Drug 9604, hGH fragment 176-191

WellnessWeight Management

In plain English

AOD-9604 is a small fragment of human growth hormone that was developed as a fat-loss drug because in animals it seemed to encourage fat breakdown without growth-hormone-like effects on blood sugar. Importantly, it failed to beat placebo for weight loss in its main human trial, so it was not approved as a weight-loss drug. It is marketed by some as a supplement/peptide, but you should not expect meaningful weight loss based on the controlled human data.

The science

AOD-9604 corresponds to the C-terminal region (residues 176-191) of human growth hormone and showed lipolytic and fat-oxidation effects in rodent models (e.g., Heffernan et al., 2001). However, human development for obesity was terminated in 2007 after a 24-week, 536-subject phase 2b trial failed to meet its primary weight-loss endpoint versus placebo; earlier smaller studies suggested modest, non-durable signals. It was later granted GRAS status as a food ingredient (a safety, not an efficacy, designation). In short, human clinical evidence does not support clinically meaningful weight loss, and it is not FDA-approved as a drug.

References

• Heffernan MA et al., Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 2001 (preclinical mechanism)
• Moré CE et al., J Endocrinol Metab 2014 (safety/human data summary)