Podcast episode 94 (in German)
AOD-9604 – thoroughly studied, and still a no
October 2, 2026
AOD-9604 is the rare exception in this series: a peptide that fails not because human data are missing, but because of the data that exist. 893 people, six randomized studies — and still a no. The reason for that is the most interesting part.
What it is about
Growth hormone breaks down fat and at the same time makes tissue grow. AOD-9604 is the attempt to keep only the first effect: an Australian company split off 16 amino acids from the rear end of the molecule and turned them into a drug of its own. Between 2001 and 2006 it was tested in six randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies in 893 mostly overweight adults. The episode separates two results that are regularly mixed up in advertising: the safety data are good, the weight loss did not work. The large 24-week study missed its primary endpoint; in 2007 development was discontinued and approval for weight loss was refused. Today the same substance is sold as a dietary supplement — with exactly these safety data as the argument.
Key points
- Six randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies between 2001 and 2006 tested AOD-9604 in 893 adults — more investigation than 99 percent of the substances in this database have ever seen.
- Safety could not be distinguished from placebo: no serious side effects, no increase in IGF-1, no antibody formation and no impaired glucose handling over up to 24 weeks.
- A medium-sized 12-week study initially looked useful: 2.6 kilograms of weight loss versus 0.8 kilograms on placebo.
- The decisive large study with 536 participants over 24 weeks missed its primary endpoint; in 2007 the program was discontinued and approval for weight loss was refused.
- This large study was never published in a peer-reviewed journal — a 2013 review gives 536 participants, a second source 534.
- In the US the substance is generally recognized as safe and may therefore be included in dietary supplements; that is a statement about safety, not about efficacy.
- AOD-9604 is on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s prohibited list and can be reliably detected in urine; the episode gives human evidence 5, safety 4, use 2 and hype 1 with a negative direction.
Where the data stop
What is missing here is not the investigation but its verifiability. The study on which the program failed was never published in a peer-reviewed journal. Even the number of participants is known only second-hand: once 536, once 534. That does not change the result, because the discontinuation of the program and the refused approval are independently documented. But a study that nobody can read counts only by half — and that is exactly why the evidence axis shows a 5 and no higher number.
The second limit is time. The safety profile was good up to 24 weeks. What happens beyond that, nobody has measured. And for healthy people without clinical overweight there are no data anyway, because the studies were carried out in a different group.
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Published on October 2, 2026.
The topic in the database
- A growth hormone fragment designed specifically for fat loss – without the classic GH effects on blood sugar and IGF-1, with good short-term …AOD-9604
Information only, not medical advice and not a usage or dosage recommendation. Prescription-only and unapproved substances belong in the hands of a physician. Last updated: 2026-09-19.