Compound record · Growth hormone axis

Sermorelin

Also Geref · GHRH(1-29) · GRF 1-29 · Sermorelin acetate · Sermo

GHRH(1–29) fragment (growth-hormone-releasing hormone analogue)

Growth hormone axisEvidence · LimitedLate-stage clinical trialsWADA · Prohibited at all times

Formerly licensed GHRH fragment, now compounded for adult use with little evidence

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Record reviewed 1 September 2026 · 6 references

In the AERVYN range

1 pen carries Sermorelin

Single-compound pen
Sermorelin
Peptide pen · 10 mg / 3 mL
£190 · In stock

Class: GHRH(1–29) fragment
Route: Subcutaneous injection (nightly in studies)
Regulatory history: FDA-approved 1997 (Geref); discontinued 2008, not for safety
Current status: Not authorised anywhere; compounded in the US
Adult evidence: One 6-week study in 11 men; IGF-1 unchanged

01 Overview

What Sermorelin is

Summary

Sermorelin is the first 29 amino acids of human growth-hormone-releasing hormone — the shortest fragment that keeps full activity. It was FDA-approved in 1997 (Geref) for diagnosing and treating growth-hormone deficiency in children, but the products were discontinued in 2008 for commercial reasons and no sermorelin medicine is authorised anywhere today. In the US it is widely prescribed as a compounded 'anti-ageing' injection, a use supported only by very small, short studies.

Mechanism

Binds GHRH receptors on pituitary somatotrophs, triggering release of the body's own growth hormone in its natural pulsatile pattern; the resulting GH rise increases IGF-1 production by the liver. Its plasma half-life is only 11–12 minutes, so each dose produces a single short GH pulse, and the response depends on a functioning pituitary and remains subject to normal feedback by somatostatin and IGF-1.

Routes studiedSubcutaneous injection, Intravenous

Anti-dopingProhibited at all times

02 Evidence by goal

What has been shown, for which goal

Grades follow one scale across the site. Limited overall means: small or short human studies, mixed results, or evidence mainly for a related use.

Longevity
Preliminary
The only adult trial of sermorelin itself (11 healthy men aged 64–76, 2 mg nightly for six weeks) increased night-time GH release but did not raise IGF-1 or change body composition, glucose or lipids. No trial has measured ageing-related outcomes, and the Endocrine Society does not support GH-axis therapy for age-related decline.
Muscle & recovery
Insufficient
Two of six strength measures improved in the same 11-man study without any change in lean mass; there are no controlled trials of sermorelin for muscle, strength or recovery.
Fat loss / body composition
Insufficient
DXA-measured fat did not change in the one adult study and there are no fat-loss trials. The related GHRH analogue tesamorelin reduces visceral fat in HIV lipodystrophy, but that result cannot be assumed to transfer.
Sleep
Insufficient
Physiology studies of full-length GHRH given at night have shown effects on slow-wave sleep, but sermorelin has not been studied for sleep complaints in any clinical trial.

03 Regulatory status

Where it is authorised, and for what

Status is recorded per jurisdiction from regulator sources and reviewed by hand. It is never inferred from another region's decision.

United Kingdom

Not authorised

Not authorised as a medicine in the UK; no MHRA marketing authorisation has ever been granted.

Sermorelin holds no UK product licence. It could only be supplied as an unlicensed 'special' or import against a named-patient prescription, with the prescriber taking responsibility; licensed somatropin products exist for genuine GH deficiency.

StatusNot authorised

Status last reviewed1 September 2026

SourceOur maintained database — never inferred

04 Dosing research

What the evidence says about exposure

Published human studies and the doses, routes and durations they used — reported as research information, not a recommendation.

Research information — not a recommendation. These are the exposures used in published human studies, reported so you can see what has been tested. They are not dosing instructions and do not apply to any individual.

Study 01

Geref International Study Group — once-daily GHRH(1–29) in GH-deficient children

Thorner M et al., J Clin Endocrinol Metab 1996;81:1189–1196 · Source

Registrational (Phase 3)1996

Design: Multicentre, open-label, single-arm
Population: Previously untreated prepubertal children with GH deficiency (86 of 110 evaluable for efficacy)
Participants: n = 110
Duration: 12 months
Route: Subcutaneous injection

Doses studied: 30 µg/kg once daily at bedtime
Outcome at this exposure: Mean height velocity rose from 4.1 cm/year at baseline to 8.0 cm/year at 6 months and 7.2 cm/year at 12 months; 74% were judged responders at 6 months. Bone age advanced in step with height age.
Adverse events observed: Generally well tolerated; no adverse changes in biochemistry or hormones, no change in fasting glucose and no excessive IGF-1 generation. Injection-site reactions were the most frequent complaint in the paediatric programme.

Study 02

Single nightly GHRH(1–29) injections in healthy elderly men

Vittone J et al., Metabolism 1997;46:89–96 · Source

Physiological study1997

Design: Open-label, uncontrolled before-and-after study
Population: Healthy, non-obese men aged 64–76 with low baseline IGF-1
Participants: n = 11
Duration: 6 weeks
Route: Subcutaneous injection

Doses studied: 2 mg once nightly (self-injected at home)
Outcome at this exposure: Night-time GH release increased (mean level, peak area and amplitude) with no change in IGF-1, IGFBP-3 or GH-binding protein. Two of six strength measures and one endurance test improved; weight, waist-to-hip ratio, DXA fat and muscle, glucose tolerance and lipids did not change.
Adverse events observed: No significant adverse effects observed over six weeks.

There are no placebo-controlled trials of sermorelin for adult 'anti-ageing', body-composition, sleep or recovery outcomes. A frequently cited 16-week study in older adults (Khorram et al., JCEM 1997) used a different, more potent GHRH analogue ([Nle27]GHRH(1–29)-NH2) and is not sermorelin data. Adult doses used by compounding clinics (typically 200–500 µg nightly) have not been evaluated in any trial.

05 Safety

Adverse effects and contraindications

Common effects seen in trials or reports, serious effects that warrant urgent review, and conditions under which use is not appropriate or needs assessment.

Common adverse effects

Injection-site pain, redness or swelling
Facial flushing or warmth shortly after injection
Headache
Dizziness
Nausea
Transient taste disturbance
Hives (urticaria) — uncommon

Serious adverse effects

Allergic reactions including urticaria (rare)
Glucose intolerance if GH is elevated for prolonged periods (theoretical; not seen in the paediatric trial)
Fluid retention — oedema, joint pain, carpal tunnel syndrome — with GH excess
Possible acceleration of an existing malignancy (GH and IGF-1 are growth factors)
Anti-GHRH antibodies developed in some treated children, without evident loss of effect
Quality-related harms (contamination, wrong potency) from compounded or unregulated products

Contraindications

CancerDo not use
GH and IGF-1 are growth factors; any active or recent malignancy should be regarded as excluding GH-axis stimulation until reviewed by the treating oncologist.
Acromegaly or pituitary tumourDo not use
Further stimulation of GH release in acromegaly or with a pituitary tumour is inappropriate.
Hormonal disorderCaution
Sermorelin needs a working pituitary; it is ineffective after pituitary surgery, irradiation or in hypopituitarism, and any pituitary or adrenal disorder requires endocrine assessment first.
Thyroid diseaseCaution
Untreated hypothyroidism blunts the GH response to GHRH; thyroid function should be normal before the response can be judged.
DiabetesCaution
Sustained increases in GH raise blood glucose and oppose insulin; glucose was unchanged in the paediatric trial but adult data are minimal.

Do not use = should not be used · Caution = needs assessment

06 Interactions

Medicine classes that need review

Grouped by how seriously the combination should be taken. Class labels match the medicines questionnaire in the assessment.

Major
Moderate
Minor

Major

Combination should be reviewed by a prescriber before use.

Growth hormone
Somatropin
Duplicate GH-axis stimulation; exogenous GH suppresses the pituitary response sermorelin relies on and makes IGF-1 exposure additive.

Moderate

Monitoring or dose review is usually advised.

Corticosteroid
Prednisolone, dexamethasone, hydrocortisone
Glucocorticoids blunt GH release in response to GHRH and raise glucose; GH in turn increases cortisol clearance, so replacement doses may need review.
Insulin
Lantus, NovoRapid, Humalog, Tresiba
GH opposes insulin; glucose monitoring is advised if GH-axis stimulation is sustained.

Minor

Generally compatible; awareness is sufficient.

Sulfonylurea
Gliclazide, glimepiride, glipizide
Glucose control may shift; monitoring advised.
Other glucose-lowering medicine
Metformin, SGLT2 inhibitors, DPP-4 inhibitors
Glucose-lowering effect may be partly offset; monitoring advised.
Thyroid hormone
Levothyroxine, liothyronine
Thyroid status affects the GH response; ensure replacement is adequate and stable.
Hormone replacement therapy
Oestrogen, progesterone
Oral oestrogens blunt hepatic IGF-1 generation and can mask the biochemical response.
Anti-inflammatory painkiller
Ibuprofen, naproxen, diclofenac
Cyclo-oxygenase inhibitors such as aspirin and indometacin have blunted GH responses to GHRH in physiology studies; relevance to routine use is uncertain.

07 Pregnancy & breastfeeding

Status in pregnancy

Not recommended

No adequate human pregnancy or breastfeeding data (the former US label carried a pregnancy category C). Stimulating the GH axis offers no benefit in pregnancy, and compounded products add quality uncertainty.

08 Monitoring

What is usually monitored

Parameters that trials and product information track. A clinician decides what applies to an individual.

01IGF-1 at baseline and periodically — a normal result is the expected finding with nightly sermorelin
02Fasting glucose and HbA1c
03Thyroid function before starting and if the response is poor
04Blood pressure and any swelling or joint symptoms
05Age-appropriate cancer screening
06Documentation of the compounded product's potency and sterility testing

09 Combinations

What is known about combining it

Notes on pairing with other compounds in the directory: whether the combination has been studied in people, and where mechanisms overlap.

Tesamorelin
No human studies
Overlap · Both are GHRH analogues acting on the same pituitary receptor.
Duplicate GHRH stimulation with no human data and no rationale.
CJC-1295
No human studies
Overlap · Both are GHRH(1–29)-based analogues; CJC-1295 acts for days rather than minutes.
Duplicate mechanism; no human data for the combination.
Ipamorelin
No human studies
Overlap · Both raise GH and IGF-1 via complementary receptors (GHRH and ghrelin receptor).
Commonly co-marketed as 'Sermorelin/Ipamorelin'; no clinical trial has tested the combination.
Somatropin
No human studies
Overlap · Duplicate GH-axis stimulation; injected GH suppresses the response to sermorelin.
No rationale or data for combining; IGF-1 and glucose effects would be additive.
IGF-1 LR3
No human studies
Overlap · Additive IGF-1 activity from an untested analogue.
No human data; IGF-1 LR3 has never been studied in people.
Semaglutide
No human studies
No human studies of GHRH analogues combined with GLP-1 medicines.
BPC-157
No human studies
Marketed together as 'recovery' stacks; no human data for the combination and BPC-157 lacks human efficacy data.
TB-500
No human studies
No human data on the combination; TB-500 itself has no human efficacy data.

Discuss any proposed combination with a qualified healthcare professional.

10 Source considerations

Supply, quality and legitimacy

How the compound reaches people in practice, and what that means for product quality.

01No licensed sermorelin product exists anywhere; in the US it is available only as a compounded preparation, and elsewhere only from unregulated online sellers.
02Compounded sermorelin is not FDA-evaluated for safety, effectiveness or quality — potency and sterility depend entirely on the individual pharmacy.
03'Research chemical' vials are not medicines and are frequently mislabelled or under-dosed.
04Prescribing for adult 'anti-ageing' is off the original paediatric indication and rests on very small studies.

11 Questions for your clinician

Take these to your appointment

Specific to this compound. The personal assessment adds questions drawn from your own history and medicines.

01Have I actually been diagnosed with growth-hormone deficiency, and if so why is sermorelin being suggested rather than licensed somatropin?
02What outcome are we expecting, given that the only adult trial did not raise IGF-1 or change body composition?
03What are my baseline IGF-1, glucose, HbA1c and thyroid results, and when will they be rechecked?
04Which pharmacy compounds the product, and can I see its potency and sterility testing?
05Do I have any cancer, pituitary or thyroid history that changes the decision?

The personal assessment tailors this list to your responses.

12 Alternatives

Compounds with stronger evidence or firmer regulatory footing

Listed for overlapping goals. Whether any is appropriate depends on your history — the assessment maps that for you.

13 References

Sources behind this record

Regulator documents and peer-reviewed publications used to derive every grade and statement above.

The Peptide Checkup provides educational information and a structured summary of published research and regulatory status. It is not medical advice, does not diagnose or treat any condition, and does not replace a consultation with a qualified healthcare professional.

Personal assessment

Check Sermorelin against your history

Seven minutes of structured questions about your goal, history and medicines, mapped against this record by a deterministic, clinician-reviewable rules engine. The report tells you when not to buy.

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