The GH Fragment

AOD-9604

Also known as Growth hormone fragment 176-191

Summary coverage

At a glance

What it is: A growth hormone fragment studied for lipolysis, with mixed human data.

Evidence: Small human studiesHow the tiers workOur comparison tables characterise AOD-9604 as having limited, mixed human data. Why this tier

Half-life: Not established in available literature
Routes: Not established in available literature
Category: Metabolic
FDA: Nomination withdrawn; As of 3 August 2026. What that means
WADA: Prohibited (S2.2.3)

Not schedulable in Claritide. Our sources publish no dosing figure for AOD-9604, so there is nothing to build a schedule from.

Evidence

Why this tier

Our comparison tables characterise AOD-9604 as having limited, mixed human data. It is listed alongside other metabolic peptides without a cited trial in our material.

Overview

What it is

AOD-9604 is a fragment of the growth hormone molecule studied for fat loss through lipolysis, the breakdown of stored fat. Our comparison tables list it with limited and mixed human data and no FDA approval. It is included here for completeness; our sources publish no dosing figures for it.

Mechanism

How it works

AOD-9604 is described in our material as a growth hormone fragment that acts on lipolysis, the process by which stored triglycerides in fat cells are broken down into free fatty acids that can be burned. That is the same downstream effect growth hormone itself produces, isolated to a fragment of the molecule. Our sources do not describe the receptor-level detail beyond this, and they characterise the human data as mixed.

Dosing

Commonly researched ranges

These are figures reported in published literature and practitioner protocols: a commonly researched range, not a recommendation. Claritide does not tell you what to take.

Not established in available literature. Our sources describe AOD-9604 without publishing a dosing figure, so Claritide does not print one.

Cycle guidance: Not established in available literature
Goals: Fat loss

Legal standing

Where this sits with the FDA

Dated, sourced, and separate from whether it works. Removal from a warning list is not permission to compound.

Nomination withdrawnas of 3 August 2026 · US

FDA 503A bulks · nomination withdrawn

Off the nomination list and not on the 503A bulks list: limbo, not permission.

Last change · Nomination withdrawn in the September 2024 tranche; the exact date is not verified in our sources.

Primary source

Sport

WADA status

The 2026 Prohibited List entered force on 1 January 2026.

Prohibited (S2.2.3)

The 2026 List names “AOD-9604 and hGH 176-191” under S2.2.3. Prohibited at all times.

Reconstitution

Mixing recipes our sources document

Concentration (mg/mL) = vial mg ÷ diluent mL. On a U-100 barrel, 1 unit = 0.01 mL.

Not established in available literature. Use the calculator with the figures printed on your own vial.
Open the calculator

Expectations

Week by week

What our material describes people reporting. Individual responses vary widely.

Not established in available literature.

Tolerability

Side effects

Grouped by how often our sources report them. Percentages appear only where a published trial figure exists.

Not established in available literature. Absence from this page does not mean absence of risk. It means our sources publish no side-effect profile for AOD-9604.

Safety

Contraindications and interactions

Do not use if

Our sources do not publish a contraindication list for AOD-9604 beyond general research-peptide caution

Interactions

Not established in available literature.

Absence from this list does NOT mean safety. It means lack of research.

Handling

Storage and cost

Storage: Our sources do not publish storage guidance specific to AOD-9604. General peptide storage rules apply to any lyophilized research peptide.
Cost: Not established in available literature

Deep dive

AOD-9604 in full

Limited coverage

AOD-9604 appears in two comparison tables in our material and nowhere else: the metabolism table on our MOTS-C page and the weight-loss table on our retatrutide page. We cite no study for it and publish no dosing figures, no route, no cycle length and no side effect profile.

What our sources do say

AOD-9604 is a growth hormone fragment. Its described mechanism is lipolysis: breaking stored triglycerides in fat cells into free fatty acids that can be used as fuel. That is the same downstream effect growth hormone produces on fat tissue, isolated to a fragment of the molecule rather than the whole thing.

Both tables rate the evidence the same way. Our MOTS-C page: "Limited (mixed human data)". Our retatrutide page: "Limited data". FDA status in both: not approved. Availability: research.

"Mixed human data" is a specific and unflattering description. It does not mean early promise or insufficient study. It means trials exist and they disagree.

Why it is in this library at all

Because you will encounter it. AOD-9604 is widely sold and widely discussed as a fat-loss peptide, and a library that quietly omits the compounds it cannot support is less useful than one that names them and says why.

If you are comparing options for fat loss, our material covers retatrutide, tirzepatide, semaglutide, the tesamorelin/ipamorelin stack and MOTS-C with real detail. It does not cover AOD-9604 with any. That contrast is the honest answer.

References

Sources

This record is built from our own guides and comparison tables, which cite no primary literature for AOD-9604. That is itself worth knowing.

Every record in this library is free to read, and it stays free. Your own schedule, vials and log live in the app: Claritide for iPhone.