Ipamorelin

Areas of active research — not promised effects

Each tag links to other compounds with research into that goal. Research use only: these are areas of study, not human-use claims.

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Ipamorelin is not an FDA-approved drug and has never received marketing authorisation in the United States. It was placed on the FDA's 503A Category 2 bulk drug substances list (significant safety concerns) in 2023 alongside other unapproved peptides, restricting its use in compounding pharmacies. In September 2024, the FDA removed ipamorelin acetate from Category 2 after nominators withdrew their nominations. The Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee (PCAC) reviewed ipamorelin acetate and ipamorelin free base at its October 29, 2024 meeting and voted against recommending inclusion on the 503A Bulk Drug Substances List. This means ipamorelin is currently neither on Category 2 nor approved for compounding — it occupies a regulatory gray zone. Compounding pharmacies have no confirmed legal pathway to prepare ipamorelin prescriptions. Sale is legally restricted to licensed research institutions for non-clinical research use only (RUO).

Transparent blend · bci-1.0 · never paid-placement

Primary name

Ipamorelin

Origin

Ipamorelin (Aib-His-D-2-Nal-D-Phe-Lys-NH2) is a fully synthetic five-amino-acid peptide developed in the late 1990s by Novo Nordisk. It was designed as a selective agonist of the growth hormone secretagogue receptor type 1a (GHS-R1a), optimising the GH-releasing potency of earlier GHRPs while eliminating the off-target adrenocortical and lactotroph activation seen with GHRP-2 and GHRP-6. It does not correspond directly to any naturally occurring endogenous peptide sequence.

Registry IDs

PubChem CID

9831659

CAS

170851-70-4

InChIKey

NEHWBYHLYZGBNO-BVEPWEIPSA-N

DrugBank

DB12370

ChEMBL

CHEMBL58547

Molecular formula

C38H49N9O5

Molar mass

711.9 g/mol

Monoisotopic

711.38566570 Da

InChIKey

NEHWBYHLYZGBNO-BVEPWEIPSA-N

Appearance

White to off-white lyophilised powder

Solubility

Soluble in water and dilute aqueous acid (e.g. 0.5–1% acetic acid); poorly solub…

Sequence not available in current seed.

Stability: Moderately stable in lyophilised form under cold and dry conditions; susceptible to proteolytic degradation and aggregation in solution, particularly at elevate

Vial sizes

2 mg · 5 mg · 10 mg

Purity grades

≥98% HPLC

Salt forms

Free base (primary)

• GHS hazard class on file
• PPE & spill response
• Disposal guidance
• Not-for-human-consumption posture

How much research exists, and of what maturity — never a verdict on whether it works.

Mechanism of action

• Ipamorelin binds and activates GHS-R1a (the ghrelin receptor), a Gq/11-coupled GPCR expressed predominantly on anterior pituitary somatotrophs and hypothalamic arcuate nucleus neurons
• Receptor engagement activates phospholipase C, generates inositol trisphosphate, mobilises intracellular calcium, and triggers exocytosis of stored growth hormone
• Ipamorelin acts synergistically with endogenous GHRH to amplify pulsatile GH release while also partially suppressing somatostatin tone in the hypothalamus
• A key pharmacological distinction from other GHRPs is its high receptor selectivity: at physiological concentrations it does not meaningfully activate adrenocortical or lactotroph pathways, so cortisol and prolactin co-elevation are minimal compared with GHRP-2 or GHRP-6

Pharmacokinetics (ADME)

Half-life

~2 hours (subcutaneous)

Clearance

Primarily proteolytic and renal; no published population PK data identified

PK–PD note: Following subcutaneous injection, peak plasma concentrations are reached within approximately 15–30 minutes and peak GH pulse occurs at approximately 30–60 minutes post-dose. GH levels return toward b…

Reading the evidence

• Evidence quality and gaps vary by application — see the cited grades above.
• Indexed-article counts span all evidence tiers, not only completed human trials.
• No first-party human-dosing, efficacy, or benefit claims are made here.

Key reviews & evidence-gap sources

• Ishida S, et al. Growth hormone secretagogues: history, mechanism of action, and clinical development. JCSM Rapid Communications. 2020. — Anchoring systematic review of GHS class including ipamorelin; could not fetch full text (HTTP 403) but confirmed via search metadata
• FDA Briefing Document, Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee (PCAC) Meeting, October 29, 2024 — Ipamorelin-related bulk drug substances — FDA evaluation citing PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, ClinicalTrials.gov; references Beck et al. 2014 (NCT00672074) and NCT01280344
• Beck DE, et al. Prospective, randomized, controlled, proof-of-concept study of the Ghrelin mimetic ipamorelin for the management of postoperative ileus in bowel resection patients. Int J Colorectal Dis. 2014;29(12):1527-34. — Phase 2 RCT publication; reported no significant efficacy differences vs placebo for primary endpoint
• Wikipedia — Ipamorelin — Aggregator/encyclopedia overview; corroborates GHS-R1a agonist classification

2 registered trials — 0 currently recruiting.

Phase 2
NCT00672074
Safety and Efficacy of Ipamorelin for Management of Post-Operative Ileus

COMPLETED

Phase 2
NCT01280344
Safety and Efficacy of Ipamorelin Compared to Placebo for the Recovery of Gastrointestinal Function

COMPLETED

Summary (literature)

In the Phase II postoperative ileus RCTs, ipamorelin administered IV at 0.03 mg/kg twice daily for up to 7 days was generally well tolerated; the overall incidence of treatment-emergent adverse events was 87.5% (ipamorelin) versus 94.8% (placebo), indicating no excess adverse eve…

WADA status

Prohibited at all times (in- and out-of-competition) under WADA 2026 Prohibited List, Section S2 — Peptide Hormones, Growth Factors, Related Substances and Mime…

Dominant research route: Intravenous (human PK/PD reference route in Gobburu 1999); intranasal and oral studied in animals (Johansen 1998; Ankersen 1998). SC is the dominant community/anecdotal route, not the dominant cited-research route.

Human PK/PD dose-escalation trial; 5 infusion rates (4.21–140.45 nmol/kg over 15 min), 8 healthy male subjects per dose level

Bioavailability: Reference route (100% by definition). Dose-proportional PK: terminal half-life ~2 h, clearance 0.078 L/h/kg, Vd(ss) 0.22 L/kg. GH peak at 0.67 h; SC50 for half-maximal GH stimulation 214 nmol/L.

Gobburu et al. 1999 (Pharm Res 16:1412–1416) is the principal human PK/PD study; IV infusion only, no extravascular bioavailability derived from it.

Male Sprague-Dawley rat PK; intranasal application compared with IV bolus

Bioavailability: Intranasal bioavailability of ipamorelin estimated at ~20% in rat; lower than NNC 26-0235/NNC 26-0194/GHRP-2 (~50%). Attributed to ipamorelin's extremely hydrophilic nature limiting transepithelial flux.

Johansen et al. 1998 (Xenobiotica 28:1083–1092). Animal (rat) in-vivo PK; no human intranasal bioavailability data located.

Animal (dog/swine) GH-response study; oral administration of 2.7 mg/kg ipamorelin

Bioavailability: No oral bioavailability figure reported for ipamorelin itself; a derivative (NNC 26-0235) showed ~10% oral bioavailability in dogs. Ipamorelin increased basal GH >10-fold after oral dosing at 2.7 mg/kg (species per study design).

Ankersen et al. 1998 (J Med Chem 41:3699–3704). Demonstrates oral GH pharmacodynamic activity in animals, not oral bioavailability of ipamorelin. Peptide; oral absorption expected to be limited.

No published human SC pharmacokinetic/bioavailability study located; SC used in long-term animal efficacy models (e.g., rat glucocorticoid-catabolism model, 100 µg/kg TID for 3 months)

Bioavailability: No cited human SC bioavailability value available; community sources estimate small-peptide SC bioavailability in a general range, but no ipamorelin-specific primary PK figure was retrieved.

SC is the dominant community/recreational administration route per aggregator sources, but no primary human SC PK study was located in this search. RUO: no first-party dosing claim.

No primary PK study located; secondary aggregator states ipamorelin is 'effective via intravenous, intramuscular, and subcutaneous administration'

Bioavailability: No cited IM bioavailability value available.

IM route appears only in non-primary aggregator descriptions; no peer-reviewed IM PK/bioavailability data retrieved.

Animal & human figures are kept visibly separate so studied animal doses are never misread as human guidance.

Sorted A–Z by vendor — never by price

Weekly median $/mg from the live vendor crawl.

Researched storefront prices, bucketed

p25 $5.20 · median $8.60 · p75 $9.20 · 9 researched vendors

Legit, COA-backed band: $4.20–$9.80/mg.

Value rule: don't just buy the cheapest — a price under $3/mg is a red flag. Pair price with COA and independent-test grade.

Estimated cost of research (10 mg)

Vial (best researched price)

$42

Bacteriostatic water (generic estimate)

$6

Syringes / supplies (generic estimate)

$12

What each test proves — general guidance, plus this compound's researched purity data

Purity on the current market (researched)

~98–99%+ HPLC purity claimed by research-chemical vendors with Janoshik verification; standalone Ipamorelin COAs advertise ≥98–>99% purity, while CJC-1295/Ipamorelin blend reports from Janoshik confirm identity and amount (e.g., Ipamorelin 5.61 mg and 4.86 mg per vial) but do not report a HPLC purity percentage for blends.

Independent labs cited for this compound

none found — no FDA recall or market withdrawal specifically naming Ipamorelin was identified in retrieved sources (the Tailor Made Compounding warning letter referenced a voluntary recall of tesamorelin, not ipamorelin, products).

Buyer red-flag checklist

• No FDA-approved drug product containing Ipamorelin; not on the 503A bulks list and PCAC voted against inclusion (Oct 29, 2024), so 503A compounding is not permitted.
• Subject to FDA Import Alert 66-41 (DWPE of unapproved new drugs) for commercial/promotional shipments.
• Cited by name in a 2020 FDA Warning Letter (Tailor Made Compounding) as an ineligible bulk substance for 503A compounding.
• Widely sold as a 'research chemical' / 'not for human consumption' while marketed in practice for human GH-secretagogue use — label/use mismatch.
• Substitution risk: low per-mg pricing and lack of mass-spec identity testing can result in cheaper GH-secretagogues (e.g., sermorelin) being sold in place of Ipamorelin.
• Blend products (e.g., CJC-1295 + Ipamorelin) often lack a HPLC purity percentage on Janoshik reports (only identity + amount), so purity claims for blends are not directly verifiable from those COAs.

GMP vs research-grade: the chemistry (SPPS + HPLC + MS) is identical — the difference is the quality system.

Underdosing / mislabeling: No independent lab dataset quantifying Ipamorelin-specific underdosing prevalence was retrieved. A vendor guide notes that very low per-mg pricing can indicate substitution (e.g., sermorelin sold in place of CJC-1295) and that absence of mass spectrometry prevents distinguishing related GH-secretagogue peptides — a substitution/underdosing risk relevant to Ipamorelin, but no prevalence figure is available.

• FDA Import Alert 66-41 — Detention Without Physical Examination of Unapproved New Drugs Promoted In The U.S. Unapproved new drugs (including peptides not FDA-approved and not on the 503A/503B bulks lists) may be detained without physical examination; Ipamorelin has no FDA approval and is not on the 503A bulks list, so promotional/commercial shipments are subject to DWPE. (A related alert, 66-57, is also cited for unapproved prescription drug shipments from online pharmacies.)66-41
• An RUO label is not an import exemption — CBP judges actual intended use.
• Lyophilized powder is ambient-stable in transit; temperature control needed for > 7-day transit.
• US-warehouse vendors dodge import scrutiny — they cost more but ship more reliably.

Every item dated & sourced

Prohibited. Ipamorelin is listed by name under Section S2 (Peptide Hormones, Growth Factors, Related Substances and Mimetics) of the WADA Prohibited List as a growth hormone secretagogue (GHS); prohibited at all times (in- and out-of-competition).

No granted patents identified in current seed. Composition-of-matter coverage is limited given the peptide's synthetic origin.

• IACUC / IRB research context
• RUO buyer responsibilities & documentation
• Veterinary / alternative-use where lawful
• Jurisdiction-aware "who may lawfully obtain"

What people discuss

Reported concerns — discussion, not established effects

Reading caveats

• Self-selection bias: positive long-term logs over-represented
• Confounding with CJC-1295 co-administration in most reports
• TRT / HCG co-use confounding in male forum cohorts
• Vendor-affiliated content (aggregators sell the compound)
• Influencer marketing amplification (podcast/celebrity endorsements)
• Lack of baseline bloodwork in most self-reports

Manually researched from reddit, youtube, x, bluesky— theme weights are research estimates, not live counts; aggregated & de-identified. No individual posts, quotes, or usernames are ever shown.

Relative research / market volume — populated once the activity stream is wired

Inline tooltips for lyophilized, RUO, EU/mg, SPPS, 503A and more.

Toggle plain-language ↔ scientific in the header.

• How to read a COA
• Free base vs acetate
• Understanding evidence grades

Synthetic pentapeptide GHS-R1a agonist that triggers pulsatile GH release with high selectivity; minimal cortisol or prolactin co-elevation. Research use only. Approximately 52 articles are indexed (literature last scanned 2026-05-29). US regulatory status: Not FDA-approved; removed from 503A Category 2 (Sep 2024); PCAC voted against 503A inclusion (Oct 2024); regulatory gray zone. Research use only.

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