AOD-9604: Research, Handling and Batch Documentation

Identity and research status

Also referred to as

Anti-Obesity Drug 9604, HGH Frag 176-191

Sequence

Tyr-Leu-Arg-Ile-Val-Gln-Cys-Arg-Ser-Val-Glu-Gly-Ser-Cys-Gly-Phe

One-letter Sequence

YLRIVQCRSVEGSCGF

Parent Fragment

Human growth hormone residues 177 to 191, with an N-terminal tyrosine added

Disulfide Bond

Cys7 to Cys14, corresponding to Cys182 and Cys189 of hGH

Molecular Formula

C78H123N23O23S2

Molecular Weight

1,815.1 g/mol

CAS Number

221231-10-3

PubChem CID

71300630

UNII

7UP768IP4M

Class

Hexadecapeptide, growth hormone C-terminal fragment analogue

Development Codes

AOD9604, LAT8881, Tyr-hGH177-191

Physical Form

White to off-white lyophilised powder

CAS number

221231-10-3

Mechanism, in brief

AOD-9604 does not work through the growth hormone receptor. Heffernan and colleagues tested this directly in 2001 using BaF-B03 cells transfected with the human GH receptor: AOD-9604 did not compete with radiolabelled hGH for receptor binding and did not drive the cell proliferation that hGH drives in the same assay. That single result is the reason the peptide leaves IGF-1 alone in every study that has measured it, and it is the mechanistic difference that separates the fragment from the parent hormone.

1. No growth hormone receptor engagement. In hGH receptor transfected BaF-B03 cells, AOD-9604 neither displaced 125I-hGH nor induced proliferation, which is the assay-level basis for the absence of IGF-1 and mitogenic effects.
2. Beta-3 adrenergic receptor upregulation. Fourteen days of intraperitoneal treatment raised repressed beta-3 adrenergic receptor RNA in ob/ob mouse fat toward lean-mouse levels, an indirect sensitisation rather than direct agonism.
3. Increased lipolysis and fat oxidation. Treated obese mice showed higher plasma glycerol and higher in vivo fat oxidation, with body weight gain reduced relative to saline controls over the same period.
4. Carbohydrate metabolism left intact. Euglycaemic clamp studies in Zucker rats found no deterioration in insulin sensitivity after chronic dosing, in contrast to intact hGH tested in the same design.
5. Rapid proteolytic clearance. In pigs the peptide is cleared from plasma with a half-life of roughly 3 minutes, degraded by sequential removal of amino acids from the N-terminus, so exposure is short and pulsatile rather than sustained.

The full research write-up, including the findings behind each claim and the model each came from, is on the AOD-9604 10mg 10mg page.

Vial sizes available

Every size of AOD-9604 Volta lists, in stock or not. Each is a separate catalogue page with its own batch number and specification table.

• AOD-9604 10mg 10mgBatch #: VPAO10100
  Restocking

Purity and batch documentation

Volta's release specification is >99% (HPLC). That is a threshold we set. >99% is the specification every batch is released to. The figure on a certificate is what a laboratory measured for one lot.

No third-party certificate has been published for AOD-9604yet. The certificates Volta does publish, with the laboratory's own verification link on each, are in the certificate archive.

Research on AOD-9604

Handling and stability

Regulatory context

United States

Not FDA-approved as a drug. FDA granted GRAS status for food use (2014). Available as research chemical.

Canada

Not approved by Health Canada.

United Kingdom

Not MHRA-approved.

• the legal status of research peptides in Canada
• Health Canada's regulatory position

Primary sources

1. Ng FM, Sun J, Sharma L, Libinaka R, Jiang WJ, Gianello R. Metabolic studies of a synthetic lipolytic domain (AOD9604) of human growth hormone. Hormone Research (2000). doi:10.1159/000053183
2. Heffernan MA, Thorburn AW, Fam B, Summers R, Conway-Campbell B, Waters MJ, Ng FM. Increase of fat oxidation and weight loss in obese mice caused by chronic treatment with human growth hormone or a modified C-terminal fragment. International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders (2001). doi:10.1038/sj.ijo.0801740
3. Heffernan M, Summers RJ, Thorburn A, Ogru E, Gianello R, Jiang WJ, Ng FM. The effects of human GH and its lipolytic fragment (AOD9604) on lipid metabolism following chronic treatment in obese mice and beta(3)-AR knock-out mice. Endocrinology (2001). doi:10.1210/endo.142.12.8522
4. Stier H, Vos E, Kenley D. Safety and Tolerability of the Hexadecapeptide AOD9604 in Humans. Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism (2013). doi:10.4021/jem157w
5. More MI, Kenley D. Safety and Metabolism of AOD9604, a Novel Nutraceutical Ingredient for Improved Metabolic Health. Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism (2014). doi:10.14740/jem213w
6. Kwon DR, Park GY. Effect of Intra-articular Injection of AOD9604 with or without Hyaluronic Acid in Rabbit Osteoarthritis Model. Annals of Clinical and Laboratory Science (2015). PMID 26275694
7. Cox HD, Smeal SJ, Hughes CM, Cox JE, Eichner D. Detection and in vitro metabolism of AOD9604. Drug Testing and Analysis (2015). doi:10.1002/dta.1715
8. Orlovius AK, Thomas A, Schanzer W, Thevis M. AOD-9604 does not influence the WADA hGH isoform immunoassay. Drug Testing and Analysis (2013). doi:10.1002/dta.1557
9. Vanhee C, Moens G, Deconinck E, De Beer JO. Identification and characterization of peptide drugs in unknown pharmaceutical preparations seized by the Belgian authorities: case report on AOD9604. Drug Testing and Analysis (2014). doi:10.1002/dta.1687
10. Wilding J. AOD-9604 Metabolic. Current Opinion in Investigational Drugs (2004). PMID 15134286
11. National Center for Biotechnology Information. AOD9604 (CID 71300630) compound record: formula, exact mass, CAS registry number and identifiers. PubChem Compound Summary (2026)
12. UniProt Consortium. Somatotropin (GH1), Homo sapiens: mature 191-residue sequence and cysteine positions. UniProtKB P01241 (2026)
13. Lateral Pharma Pty Ltd. A Phase IIa Study of the Efficacy and Safety of Oral LAT8881 in Neuropathic Pain. ClinicalTrials.gov (2020)
14. Lateral Pharma Pty Ltd. A Two-part Proof-of-Concept Study Assessing the Safety and Efficacy of LAT8881 in Lumbar Radicular Pain. ClinicalTrials.gov (2023)