Ipamorelin: what the trials show, status and safety
Summary
Ipamorelin is a lab-made peptide of five building blocks that prompts the pituitary gland to release growth hormone, by docking onto the receptor for the hunger hormone ghrelin. Novo Nordisk described it in 1998, and the company Helsinn ran two mid-stage trials in patients whose bowel had gone quiet after surgery. The one published trial failed on the question it was designed to answer, and development stopped. No country has approved it, the world anti-doping list names it, and in Australia even possessing it is an offence.
Key findings at a glance
- It failed the question it was built to answer. In 117 adults after bowel surgery, it took a median of 25.3 hours until a solid meal stayed down, against 32.6 hours on the dummy treatment, a gap small enough to be chance (p = 0.15) [1].
- 0 in favour, 12 against, 1 abstention. On 29 October 2024, an FDA advisory committee voted against allowing pharmacies to compound preparations with ipamorelin [2].
- 320 participants, and no result ever published. The largest trial in people finished in May 2014 and has never appeared in a journal or in the registry [3].
- Named on the anti-doping list. Section S2.2.4 of the 2026 Prohibited List names ipamorelin among the substances that make the body release growth hormone, banned at all times [4].
- In Australia, merely possessing it is an offence. The Poisons Standard lists it as prescription-only and then again in the appendix that makes possession without a permit illegal (Appendix D, clause 5, item 25) [5].
- The famous selectivity was shown in pigs. The stress hormone cortisol and its trigger hormone did not rise noticeably, even above 200 times the dose that gets growth hormone going, while the two comparison peptides pushed both up [6].
- Nothing is known about the way people actually inject it. For injections under the skin, the FDA found no data on uptake, on effect or on safety [7].
What it is
Ipamorelin is a lab-made peptide of five building blocks. It is not a hormone and not a copy of one. Novo Nordisk made it in the mid-1990s and published the first description in 1998 under the code NNC 26-0161 [6], [7]. It has no brand name, for the simple reason that no product containing it has ever been licensed anywhere.
Two of its five building blocks do not occur in normal proteins, and two of them are mirror images of the natural form. That construction slows down the enzymes that would otherwise break the peptide apart. It grew out of an older family of growth hormone releasing peptides, from versions that had lost a particular pair of building blocks in the middle [6]. The company that made it stopped working on it, and nobody has picked it up since.
Quick facts
| Field | Value | Ref |
|---|---|---|
| Development code | NNC 26-0161 | [8] |
| Class | Makes the body release growth hormone by switching on the ghrelin receptor | [6], [7] |
| Structure | Five building blocks, capped at one end, two of them mirror images | [6], [8] |
| Sequence | Aib-His-D-2-Nal-D-Phe-Lys-NH2 | [6] |
| Formula and mass | C38H49N9O5, 711.9 g/mol | [8] |
| Melting point, free base | 144 to 147 °C | [7] |
| How long it lasts in people | About 2 hours in the final phase, after an infusion into a vein | [9] |
| How it was given in human trials | Into a vein, and nothing else | [1], [9] |
| Status | Dropped after the mid-stage trials, approved nowhere | [3], [7] |
| Developer | Novo Nordisk A/S; later Helsinn Therapeutics (U.S.), Inc | [6], [10] |
| CAS registry number | 170851-70-4, free base | [8] |
| PubChem CID | 9831659 | [8] |
| UNII | Y9M3S784Z6 | [8] |
| Entry in an official reference book | None, in any of the pharmacopoeias checked | [7] |
How it works
Ipamorelin docks onto the receptor for the hunger hormone ghrelin, and everything else follows from that one action [6].
- The growth hormone cells of the pituitary. Once the peptide docks, those cells let out a burst of growth hormone. Blocking experiments showed that the effect runs through the ghrelin receptor and not through the other, separate receptor for the natural releasing hormone [6]. In people, a single infusion produced one peak of growth hormone after about 40 minutes (0.67 hours) [9].
- Selectivity, but in one species only. In pigs that were awake, the stress hormone cortisol and its trigger hormone stayed at the level seen with the natural releasing hormone, even far above the effective dose. The two comparison peptides pushed both up [6].
- The muscle in the gut wall. Ghrelin receptors outside the brain may speed up the emptying of the stomach and the passage through the bowel, by way of the nerves that drive gut movement. This was shown in rats [11], [12].
- The reward system. Ghrelin receptors also sit in the part of the brain that handles reward. The FDA states that the laboratory studies were not enough to show whether ipamorelin can become habit-forming [7].
- An effect on body fat that runs past growth hormone. In mice, ipamorelin raised the proportion of body fat and made the animals eat more, while growth hormone itself lowered the proportion of fat [13].
Two further effects have each been reported only once and never confirmed: rats with an oversensitive gut felt less pain [14], and pieces of rat pancreas released insulin in the dish [15].
One distinction matters here. Ipamorelin only prompts a release, so it depends on a pituitary gland that works and still has growth hormone in store. It is not growth hormone, and it cannot stand in for it [7].
What the trials found
Growth hormone release
Phase 1 Forty-eight healthy men took part, and 40 of them were analysed across five dose levels, with six men on the drug and two on a dummy at each level, each of them given a 15-minute infusion into a vein. The more they received, the higher their growth hormone climbed; it peaked after about 40 minutes (0.67 hours) and had fallen back to barely measurable levels within 6 hours at every dose [9]. The body cleared it steadily (0.078 litres per hour per kilogram of body weight), and the final phase of its stay lasted about 2 hours.
That is the entire published record of what the peptide does in people. It measured a stand-in marker in the blood after a single dose into a vein. Nothing that a patient would notice was measured at all. The lowest dose group and the dummy group were left out of the analysis because their growth hormone levels were too low to work with [7].
Postoperative ileus
Phase 2 RCT The question the trial set out to answer was how long it took, from the first dose, until a patient could keep down a standard solid meal. Among 117 adults who had had part of their bowel removed and were assigned by chance to one group or the other, the median time was 25.3 hours on ipamorelin against 32.6 hours on the dummy treatment, a difference small enough to be chance (p = 0.15) [1]. The authors report no meaningful difference in any of the other measures either.
Mid-stage trial in which neither patients nor doctors knew who got what, 117 adults after bowel surgery. The difference is small enough to be chance, p = 0.15. Source [1].
Development stopped after this result. A review quoted by the FDA states that ipamorelin did not shorten the time until the first meal, and that this is why the work on it was dropped [7].
The trial nobody has seen
A second mid-stage trial divided 320 adults between four groups and finished in May 2014 [3]. No results were ever posted in the registry, and a full-text search of the PubMed literature database turns up no publication [7]. It is still the largest study of ipamorelin ever run in people, and nobody outside knows how it came out.
Animal findings that did not carry over
Animal data In rats whose bellies had been opened surgically, a single dose into a vein shortened the time until the bowel moved again, and repeated doses meant more stool, more food eaten and more weight gained [11]. The share of a meal still sitting in the stomach fell from 78 to 52 percent, against 44 percent in animals that had not been operated on [12]. The direction was consistent across the animal work, and the human trial failed all the same.
Bone and growth
Animal data Over 15 days in adult female rats, the shin bone grew in length a little faster, from 42 to 52 thousandths of a millimetre a day, a difference too large to be chance (P < 0.0001). The growth factor IGF-1, its carrier proteins and the markers of bone turnover all stayed where they were [16].
Over 12 weeks, the bones held more mineral, but they were not any denser. The bones had simply grown thicker rather than more solid [17].
Animal data Given for three months alongside a steroid, which normally eats into bone and muscle, ipamorelin quadrupled the rate at which new bone was laid down on the outer surface, and the muscles pulled harder than with the steroid alone [18]. In a shorter rat study, the weight loss caused by the steroid shrank from 13.6 ± 2.9 grams to 1.6 ± 2.0 grams, and the growth factor IGF-1 rose [19].
Signs of tolerance
Animal data After 15 days of treatment, a test dose of ipamorelin released slightly less growth hormone than it had at the start, and the drop was too consistent to be chance (P < 0.03). The response to the natural releasing hormone and the amount of growth hormone stored in the pituitary were unchanged [16]. A separate 21-day study found the hormone-producing cells structurally intact but holding less growth hormone at rest [20].
What is still unknown
- Actual growth hormone deficiency. No published study has tested ipamorelin in patients who have it. Three sets of guidelines from hormone specialists do not mention the peptide at all [7].
- Injecting under the skin. For that route, the FDA found no data on uptake, on effect or on safety, and it is exactly the route people use outside trials [7].
- Body shape, sleep, recovery and ageing in people. There is no human study on any of these. The FDA names them as marketing claims rather than findings [7].
- Whether the selectivity holds in people. Cortisol and its trigger hormone have never once been measured in a human study of ipamorelin [7], [9].
- Anything beyond a week. The longest documented use in a person is 7 days [1].
Side effects and safety
Everything known about safety in people comes from one analysis of 114 participants and from two reports of side effects. No authority has ever weighed the benefits against the risks, so there is no approved package insert and nobody is watching what happens on the market.
How often each event occurred in the mid-stage trial, ipamorelin against the dummy treatment [1], [7]:
| Event | Type | Ipamorelin | Placebo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raised blood sugar at discharge | Appeared during treatment | 14.3% | 8.6% |
| Low potassium in the blood | Appeared during treatment | 12.5% | 3.4% |
| Trouble sleeping | Appeared during treatment | 10.7% | 5.2% |
| Back in hospital within 30 days | Serious | 12.5% | 8.6% |
| Infection | Serious | 10.7% | 10.3% |
| Leak at the surgical join in the bowel | Serious | 3.6% | 1.7% |
Serious events occurred in 10 of 56 participants on ipamorelin, or 17.9 percent, against 9 of 58 on the dummy treatment, 15.5 percent [1]. Most of them began after the treatment had already ended. Nausea, vomiting and a bloated belly were the most common complaints overall, and in plain numbers they were less frequent on ipamorelin than on the dummy.
Two people in the ipamorelin group died. Both had had part of the bowel removed because of colon cancer, and in both the surgical join then leaked. The recorded causes were too much potassium in the blood together with clots in the main artery, blood poisoning, a perforated ulcer, and kidney failure with blood poisoning during pneumonia [7].
The FDA writes that it is unclear whether the deaths had anything to do with ipamorelin. It cites them all the same as one reason for filing the substance among possible safety risks [21].
Two reports of mild side effects sat in the FDA database as of 30 September 2023, both from preparations mixed in a pharmacy [7]. One concerned a nasal spray, the other a mixture with a second peptide, which makes it impossible to say what caused what. The database for food supplements held no case at all.
The gaps are the real story here. Nobody has tested what a single dose or repeated doses do to an animal, whether the peptide damages genetic material, whether it harms fertility or an unborn child, whether it causes cancer, whether it provokes the immune system or whether it clumps together [7]. The FDA regards both chemical forms as poorly characterised, because the test certificates left out any check for impurities, clumps and bacterial residues.
On top of that come the risks known for this whole family. The package inserts of every approved growth hormone product warn about tumours, about blood sugar problems and diabetes, about raised pressure inside the skull and about water retention [7]. Raised blood sugar was already more frequent on ipamorelin in the only controlled trial in people [1].
Doses used in trials
The doses below are simply what the cited studies gave, listed so that the results can be understood. They are not advice on how to use anything.
| Study | Model | Dose | Route | Frequency | Duration | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gobburu 1999, phase 1 | 48 healthy men | 4.21, 14.02, 42.13, 84.27, 140.45 nmol/kg | Into a vein | One 15-minute infusion | Once | [9] |
| Beck 2014, phase 2 (NCT00672074) | 117 adults after bowel surgery | 0.03 mg/kg | Into a vein | Twice a day | Day 1 to day 7, or until discharge | [1], [10] |
| NCT01280344, phase 2, never published | 320 adults after bowel surgery | 0.03 or 0.06 mg/kg | Into a vein | Two or three times a day | Not published | [3] |
| Semenistaya 2015, excretion study | 1 volunteer | Not reported | Into the nose | Once | Urine collected over 2 days | [22] |
| Raun 1998, dose and response | Rats and pigs that were awake | Half-effect dose 80 nmol/kg in rats, 2.3 nmol/kg in pigs | Into a vein | Once | Once | [6] |
| Johansen 1999, bone growth | Adult female rats | 0, 18, 90, 450 µg per animal per day | Under the skin | Three times a day | 15 days | [16] |
| Svensson 2000, bone mineral | Female rats, 13 weeks old | 0.5 mg/kg per day | Under the skin, from a small pump | Continuously | 12 weeks | [17] |
| Andersen 2001, steroid model | Female rats, 8 months old | 100 µg/kg | Under the skin | Three times a day | 3 months | [18] |
| Malmlöf 1999, growth hormone response | Rats with a permanent vein line | 0.4 or 1.6 mg/kg per day | Into a vein | Four times a day | 10 days | [19] |
| Venkova 2009, quiet bowel model | Rats after abdominal surgery | 0.01 to 1 mg/kg | Into a vein | Once, or four times a day | Once, or over 2 days | [11] |
| Greenwood-Van Meerveld 2012 | Rats after abdominal surgery | 0.014 to 0.14 µmol/kg | Into a vein | Once | Once | [12] |
| Mohammadi 2020, pain perception | Rats with an oversensitive gut | 0.01, 0.1, 1.0 mg/kg | Into a vein | Once | Once | [14] |
| Lu 2024, chemotherapy model | Ferrets | 1 to 3 mg/kg | Into the belly | Every 24 hours | Up to 72 hours | [23] |
Every dose given to a person above went into a vein, in hospital, under supervision. Animal doses in milligrams per kilogram cannot be scaled up to people. For injections under the skin, the route pharmacies proposed, the FDA found no data at all on uptake, on effect or on safety [7].
Development and approval status
From discovery to prohibition
- 1998First described at Novo NordiskGrowth hormone released in pigs without a rise in stress hormones, ref [6]
- 1999First study in 48 healthy menA single infusion into a vein, ref [9]
- 2008Mid-stage trial starts in patients whose bowel stalled after surgerySponsor Helsinn Therapeutics, 117 patients, ref [10]
- 2014Trial published, the main question failed, development stops25.3 against 32.6 hours, p = 0.15, refs [1], [7]
- 2014Dose-finding trial ends without ever being published320 participants, no results posted, ref [3]
- 2023Filed by the FDA on 29 September among possible safety risksCategory for substances that may pose serious risks, ref [21]
- 2024Advisory committee votes 0 to 12 against on 29 OctoberThe applications had already been withdrawn, refs [2], [7]
- 2026Named on the anti-doping list and in the Australian Poisons StandardBanned at all times, and possessing it is an offence, refs [4], [5]
- 1998 — the first description appears in a peer-reviewed journal, from the growth hormone department at Novo Nordisk [6].
- 1999 — the first study in healthy men is published, and no side effects are reported [7], [9].
- 2008 to 2014 — Helsinn Therapeutics runs two mid-stage trials in patients whose bowel stalled after surgery [3], [10].
- 2014 — the first of those trials publishes a failure on its main question, and development ends [1], [7].
- 2023 — on 29 September, one chemical form of ipamorelin is filed by the FDA among the substances that may pose a serious safety risk [21].
- 2024 — the applications are withdrawn on 19 September, and the advisory committee votes against on 29 October [2], [7].
- 2026 — the substance stands named both on the anti-doping list and in the Australian Poisons Standard [4], [5].
| Market | Status | Note | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | Not approved | Filed among possible safety risks for compounding | [7], [21] |
| European Union | Not approved | No marketing authorisation | [24] |
| Germany | Not approved | Follows the European route | [24] |
| United Kingdom | Not approved | No marketing authorisation | [25] |
| Australia | Prescription-only | Possessing it is an offence | [5] |
| Canada | Not approved | No entry in the database | [26] |
| Switzerland | Not approved | Handing it on is illegal | [27] |
Every register query behind this table was run on 6 September 2026.
Australia stands apart here, and the point is worth stating plainly. The Poisons Standard of June 2026 lists ipamorelin as prescription-only and then a second time in an appendix [5]. That appendix is headed with the rule that possessing these substances without authority is illegal.
Ipamorelin appears there as item 25, and item 21 of the same table catches every substance that makes the body release growth hormone, without naming any of them. The same entries stood in the June 2024 version [28].
Switzerland has taken direct action against this family of substances. On 22 June 2026, customs, the medicines authority and the anti-doping agency jointly checked 46 consignments and held 23 of them back, of which 21 were classed as doping material [27].
Anti-doping
Ipamorelin is banned in sport at all times, both in and out of competition, and it counts as a non-specified substance, which is the stricter of the two categories. It is printed on the list by name rather than merely caught by a general clause. The 2025 list carried exactly the same wording [29].
Section S2.2.4 of the 2026 Prohibited List names it among "growth hormone secretagogues (GHS) and their mimetics e.g. anamorelin, capromorelin, ibutamoren (MK-677), ipamorelin, lenomorelin (ghrelin), macimorelin and tabimorelin" [4].
Testing for it is well established. Laboratories have tested and validated methods that find both ipamorelin itself and the fragments it breaks down into, and one of those fragments remained detectable after the peptide itself had disappeared [22]. One attempt to dodge the tests is documented: a slightly lengthened version called Gly-ipamorelin turned up in doping material seized by Danish customs [30], [31]. The wider picture for this family is at peptides banned in sport.
Compared with related peptides
| Peptide | Class | Approval | Anti-doping | Distinguishing finding |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ipamorelin | Switches on the ghrelin receptor | None, anywhere | Named, S2.2.4 [4] | No rise in stress hormones in pigs, even above 200 times the effective dose [6] |
| GHRP-2 | Peptide that releases growth hormone | None in the FDA database [32] | Named as pralmorelin, S2.2.4 [4] | Stronger in pigs than ipamorelin, but pushed the stress hormones up [6] |
| GHRP-6 | Peptide that releases growth hormone | None in the FDA database [32] | Named, S2.2.4 [4] | Rats cleared it from the blood five times faster, mostly through the bile [33] |
| Ibutamoren (MK-677) | Not a peptide, but works the same way | None in the FDA database [32] | Named, S2.2.4 [4] | Works when swallowed; no direct comparison with ipamorelin in the sources cited here |
| Tesamorelin | Copy of the natural releasing hormone | Approved, licence BLA 022505 [32] | Named, S2.2.4 [4] | The only prescription medicine in this table |
| Sermorelin | Copy of the natural releasing hormone | None in the FDA database [32] | Named, S2.2.4 [4] | Acts on a different receptor from ipamorelin [6] |
Two things set ipamorelin apart from its neighbours, and both are narrow. In pigs it released growth hormone without raising the stress hormones, where the two older peptides raised both [6]. In rats it stayed in the blood five times longer than GHRP-6 and left the body mainly through the kidneys rather than through the bile [33].
Everything else in the table they have in common. All six fall under the same banned section, and only tesamorelin is an approved medicine. The anti-doping list files ipamorelin among the newer releasing substances rather than with the older peptides, even though it grew out of exactly that chemical family [4], [6].
Common misconceptions
- "It became legal when the FDA took it off that list." The entry lapsed because the applicants withdrew on 19 September 2024, not because anyone reassessed its safety. The committee then voted 0 in favour and 12 against [2], [7]. One chemical form is still filed among the substances that may pose a serious risk [21].
- "Ipamorelin together with CJC-1295 is an established combination." No clinical study has ever tested the two together. The FDA record calls it a fashionable combination that one doctor reported, and notes that the report said nothing about whether it improved anything at all [7]. Both substances appear in the same banned section and in the same Australian appendix [4], [5].
- "Selective means no hormonal side effects." In the original work, selective meant exactly one measured thing: the stress hormones did not rise in pigs [6]. What the released growth hormone and the growth factor IGF-1 then do is a separate question, and in the human trial both raised blood sugar and low potassium were more common on the drug [1], [7].
- "It is growth hormone, or a stand-in for it." It is a peptide of five building blocks that prompts the pituitary to release the growth hormone it already has, so it needs a pituitary that works [7]. In mice, the two pushed the proportion of body fat in opposite directions [13].
- "The gut results in animals prove that it works in people." They do not. The effect could be repeated in rats and was simply absent in the randomised trial [1], [11], [12].
- "It has barely been studied, so the question is open." It has been studied well enough, and the answer was unfavourable: one first study in healthy men, two completed mid-stage trials with 437 participants between them, and a regulatory assessment running to 44 pages [2], [3], [7], [9].
- "What is sold as ipamorelin is ipamorelin." Seized doping material contained Gly-ipamorelin, a slightly lengthened version built to slip past the tests [30], [31]. No official reference book holds an entry that would define a quality standard for it [7].
- "The Trifecta study is a running trial of ipamorelin." In that observational study of 52 veterans, ipamorelin is one of at least six ingredients in a supplement group. There is no ipamorelin group and no question about ipamorelin being asked [34].
Frequently asked questions
Is ipamorelin approved anywhere?
No. No country has licensed it as a medicine, for any condition at all. Searches of the registers in the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Switzerland were run on 6 September 2026 and came back empty.
What is ipamorelin?
It is a lab-made peptide of five building blocks, written as Aib-His-D-2-Nal-D-Phe-Lys-NH2. It switches on the receptor for the hunger hormone ghrelin and thereby sets off a burst of growth hormone. Novo Nordisk first described it in 1998 under the code NNC 26-0161.
Did ipamorelin work in the trials?
Not on the question it was tested against. In 117 adults whose bowel had been operated on, it took a median of 25.3 hours before they could keep down a solid meal, against 32.6 hours on a dummy treatment. That gap was small enough to be chance (p = 0.15), and the authors found no meaningful difference in any of the other measures either.
Is ipamorelin selective, with no rise in cortisol?
That finding comes from pigs, in which the stress hormone cortisol and its trigger hormone did not rise noticeably, even at more than 200 times the dose that gets growth hormone going. Nobody ever checked it in people. The single human study of the peptide effect measured growth hormone and neither of the stress hormones.
What are the known side effects of ipamorelin?
In the mid-stage trial, low potassium in the blood was seen in 12.5 percent of those on ipamorelin against 3.4 percent on the dummy treatment, raised blood sugar at discharge in 14.3 against 8.6 percent, and trouble sleeping in 10.7 against 5.2 percent. Two people in the ipamorelin group died after the surgical join in their bowel leaked, and the FDA states that it is unclear whether the deaths had anything to do with the drug.
Is ipamorelin banned in sport?
Yes, at all times, both in and out of competition. Section S2.2.4 of the 2026 Prohibited List names it by name among the substances that make the body release growth hormone, and it counts as a non-specified substance, the stricter of the two categories. The 2025 list carried the same wording.
Is it legal to possess ipamorelin in Australia?
No, not without a permit. The Australian Poisons Standard lists it as prescription-only and then again in an appendix that is headed with the rule that possessing these substances without authority is illegal. The same entry stood in the June 2024 version.
Did the FDA clear ipamorelin for compounding?
The opposite happened. On 29 October 2024 the advisory committee on pharmacy compounding voted 0 in favour and 12 against, with 1 abstention, and it did so for both chemical forms of the substance. One of those forms is still filed under the category for substances that may pose a serious safety risk.
Why does this page list ipamorelin doses?
Because they are simply facts from the studies, published in the papers and registry records cited here. Every dose given to a person went into a vein, in hospital, under supervision. They describe what was given in those studies and are not guidance for anyone.
What is still unknown about ipamorelin?
Almost everything outside the trials themselves. There are no safety data for injecting it under the skin, and no studies on repeated doses, on damage to genetic material or on cancer. Nobody has ever taken it for longer than 7 days, and the largest trial has never been published.
Sources
- Beck DE, Sweeney WB, McCarter MD, Ipamorelin 201 Study Group (2014). Prospective, randomized, controlled, proof-of-concept study of the ghrelin mimetic ipamorelin for the management of postoperative ileus in bowel resection patients. International Journal of Colorectal Disease 29(12):1527-1534. PMID 25331030. DOI 10.1007/s00384-014-2030-8
- FDA. Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee, Summary Minutes, 29 October 2024; approved 15 January 2025. Votes 3b and 3c: 0 yes, 12 no, 1 abstention. https://www.fda.gov/media/185412/download
- ClinicalTrials.gov. NCT01280344, phase 2 dose-finding study in gastrointestinal recovery after bowel resection; sponsor Helsinn Therapeutics (U.S.), Inc; n = 320; completion May 2014; hasResults false. Retrieved 6 September 2026. https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT01280344
- World Anti-Doping Agency. The 2026 Prohibited List, in force from 1 January 2026; section S2.2.4; official text as annex to BGBl. III No. 219/2025. Retrieved 6 September 2026.
- Therapeutic Goods (Poisons Standard—June 2026) Instrument 2026, F2026L00633, registered 28 May 2026. Schedule 4 entry "IPAMORELIN"; Appendix D, clause 5, item 25. https://www.legislation.gov.au/F2026L00633/asmade
- Raun K, Hansen BS, Johansen NL, Thøgersen H, Madsen K, Ankersen M, Andersen PH (1998). Ipamorelin, the first selective growth hormone secretagogue. European Journal of Endocrinology 139(5):552-561. PMID 9849822. DOI 10.1530/eje.0.1390552
- FDA. Briefing Document, Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee meeting, 29 October 2024: Ipamorelin-related bulk drug substances; document dated 19 August 2024. https://www.fda.gov/media/182088/download
- PubChem. Compound CID 9831659, ipamorelin; formula C38H49N9O5, 711.9 g/mol, CAS 170851-70-4, UNII Y9M3S784Z6. Retrieved 6 September 2026. https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/9831659
- Gobburu JV, Agersø H, Jusko WJ, Ynddal L (1999). Pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic modeling of ipamorelin, a growth hormone releasing peptide, in human volunteers. Pharmaceutical Research 16(9):1412-1416. PMID 10496658. DOI 10.1023/a:1018955126402
- ClinicalTrials.gov. NCT00672074, safety and efficacy of ipamorelin for the management of postoperative ileus; sponsor Helsinn Therapeutics (U.S.), Inc; n = 117; April 2008 to December 2009; hasResults false. Retrieved 6 September 2026. https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT00672074
- Venkova K, Mann W, Nelson R, Greenwood-Van Meerveld B (2009). Efficacy of ipamorelin, a novel ghrelin mimetic, in a rodent model of postoperative ileus. Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics 329(3):1110-1116. PMID 19289567. DOI 10.1124/jpet.108.149211
- Greenwood-Van Meerveld B, Tyler K, Mohammadi E, Pietra C (2012). Efficacy of ipamorelin, a ghrelin mimetic, on gastric dysmotility in a rodent model of postoperative ileus. Journal of Experimental Pharmacology 4:149-155. PMID 27186127. DOI 10.2147/JEP.S35396
- Lall S, Tung LY, Ohlsson C, Jansson JO, Dickson SL (2001). Growth hormone (GH)-independent stimulation of adiposity by GH secretagogues. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications 280(1):132-138. PMID 11162489. DOI 10.1006/bbrc.2000.4065
- Mohammadi EN, Louwies T, Pietra C, Northrup SR, Greenwood-Van Meerveld B (2020). Attenuation of visceral and somatic nociception by ghrelin mimetics. Journal of Experimental Pharmacology 12:267-274. PMID 32801950. DOI 10.2147/JEP.S249747
- Adeghate E, Ponery AS (2004). Mechanism of ipamorelin-evoked insulin release from the pancreas of normal and diabetic rats. Neuroendocrinology Letters 25(6):403-406. PMID 15665799
- Johansen PB, Nowak J, Skjærbæk C, Flyvbjerg A, Andreassen TT, Wilken M, Ørskov H (1999). Ipamorelin, a new growth-hormone-releasing peptide, induces longitudinal bone growth in rats. Growth Hormone & IGF Research 9(2):106-113. PMID 10373343. DOI 10.1054/ghir.1999.9998
- Svensson J, Lall S, Dickson SL, Bengtsson BA, Rømer J, Ahnfelt-Rønne I, Ohlsson C, Jansson JO (2000). The GH secretagogues ipamorelin and GH-releasing peptide-6 increase bone mineral content in adult female rats. Journal of Endocrinology 165(3):569-577. PMID 10828840. DOI 10.1677/joe.0.1650569
- Andersen NB, Malmlöf K, Johansen PB, Andreassen TT, Ørtoft G, Oxlund H (2001). The growth hormone secretagogue ipamorelin counteracts glucocorticoid-induced decrease in bone formation of adult rats. Growth Hormone & IGF Research 11(5):266-272. PMID 11735244. DOI 10.1054/ghir.2001.0239
- Malmlöf K, Johansen PB, Haahr PM, Wilken M, Oxlund H (1999). Methylprednisolone does not inhibit the release of growth hormone after intravenous injection of a novel growth hormone secretagogue in rats. Growth Hormone & IGF Research 9(6):445-450. PMID 10629165. DOI 10.1054/ghir.1999.0128
- Jiménez-Reina L, Cañete R, de la Torre MJ, Bernal G (2002). Influence of chronic treatment with the growth hormone secretagogue ipamorelin, in young female rats: somatotroph response in vitro. Histology and Histopathology 17(3):707-714. PMID 12168778. DOI 10.14670/HH-17.707
- FDA. Certain bulk drug substances for use in compounding that may present significant safety risks; page updated 22 April 2026; entry "Ipamorelin acetate", 503B, added 29 September 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2026. https://www.fda.gov/drugs/human-drug-compounding/certain-bulk-drug-substances-use-compounding-may-present-significant-safety-risks
- Semenistaya E, Zvereva I, Thomas A, Thevis M, Krotov G, Rodchenkov G (2015). Determination of growth hormone releasing peptides metabolites in human urine after nasal administration of GHRP-1, GHRP-2, GHRP-6, hexarelin, and ipamorelin. Drug Testing and Analysis 7(10):919-925. PMID 25869809. DOI 10.1002/dta.1787
- Lu Z, Ngan MP, Liu JYH, Yang L, Rudd JA (2024). The growth hormone secretagogue receptor 1a agonists, anamorelin and ipamorelin, inhibit cisplatin-induced weight loss in ferrets. Physiology & Behavior 284:114644. PMID 39043357. DOI 10.1016/j.physbeh.2024.114644
- European Medicines Agency. Full-text medicines search for "ipamorelin"; no result. Retrieved 6 September 2026. https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/medicines
- MHRA. No United Kingdom marketing authorisation identified for ipamorelin. Checked 6 September 2026.
- Health Canada. Drug Product Database, active ingredient API query "ipamorelin"; empty result. Retrieved 6 September 2026. https://health-products.canada.ca/api/drug/activeingredient/?ingredientname=ipamorelin
- Swiss Federal Office for Customs and Border Security, Swissmedic and Swiss Sport Integrity. Joint operation "Peptide 2026", statement of 22 June 2026; 46 consignments checked, 23 held back, 21 classed as doping material. https://www.bazg.admin.ch
- Therapeutic Goods (Poisons Standard—June 2024) Instrument 2024, F2024L00589. Identical Schedule 4 and Appendix D, clause 5, item 25 entries. Checked 6 September 2026.
- World Anti-Doping Agency. The 2025 Prohibited List, section S2.2.4; wording identical to the 2026 list including the named entry for ipamorelin. Checked 6 September 2026.
- Gajda PM, Holm NB, Hoej LJ, Rasmussen BS, Dalsgaard PW, Reitzel LA, Linnet K (2019). Glycine-modified growth hormone secretagogues identified in seized doping material. Drug Testing and Analysis 11(2):350-354. PMID 30136411. DOI 10.1002/dta.2489
- Krug O, Thomas A, Malerød-Fjeld H, Dehnes Y, Laussmann T, Feldmann I, Sigmundsdottir H, Thevis M (2018). Analysis of new growth promoting black market products. Growth Hormone & IGF Research 41:1-6. PMID 29864719. DOI 10.1016/j.ghir.2018.05.001
- openFDA. Drugs@FDA API queries for generic and brand name. "tesamorelin" returns BLA 022505, Theratechnologies, EGRIFTA; "sermorelin" and "ibutamoren" return NOT_FOUND. Retrieved 6 September 2026. https://api.fda.gov/drug/drugsfda.json
- Johansen PB, Hansen KT, Andersen JV, Johansen NL (1998). Pharmacokinetic evaluation of ipamorelin and other peptidyl growth hormone secretagogues with emphasis on nasal absorption. Xenobiotica 28(11):1083-1092. PMID 9879640. DOI 10.1080/004982598238976
- ClinicalTrials.gov. NCT07717866, Trifecta Research Study; observational cohort, n = 52; ipamorelin appears only as one component of a supplementation arm. Retrieved 6 September 2026. https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT07717866
Cite this page
The facts on this page were checked on 6 September 2026, and every register search behind the status table was run on that date. Nobody is developing ipamorelin any more, so the regulatory and anti-doping entries are the parts most likely to change.
myPeptides Research & Editing. (2026). Ipamorelin: what the trials show, status and safety. Version 1.0, 6 September 2026. myPeptides Peptide Register. Retrieved from https://mypep.app/peptides/ipamorelin
How pages in this register are compiled and graded is described under methodology; the full register is at peptides.
| Version | Date | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | 2026-09-06 | Initial publication |
Last verified: 6 September 2026. Next review: on publication of NCT01280344, on any change in the FDA compounding lists, or on any change in the anti-doping or Poisons Standard classification.