Sermorelin
Sermorelin is the original, unmodified growth-hormone-releasing hormone fragment, used in anti-aging and wellness clinics to restore more youthful growth hormone and IGF-1 levels. It has genuine clinical trial history in both pediatric growth-hormone deficiency and healthy aging adults, and today it is administered through compounding pharmacies as a nightly injection. It remains a foundational choice for people starting a growth-hormone-support protocol.
$100 / 10 mg vial
Dosing
Community reported
| Timeframe | Dosage | Frequency | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-2 | 200 mcg | once daily at bedtime | Starting dose1 |
| Weeks 3-4 | 300 mcg | once daily at bedtime | |
| Weeks 5-6 | 400 mcg | once daily at bedtime | |
| Weeks 7-8 | 500 mcg | once daily at bedtime | Stated adult range ceiling2 |
- Cycle length 3-6 months typical for adult off-label use.
- Sermorelin's original FDA-approved product was discontinued; current adult use is compounded and off-label, per the source page's own framing.
Batches on hand
Availability
30 vials on hand.
MKM-SMO10-26072630 vials
Full research
Evidence tier
Human trials, not approved for this use
Sermorelin has genuine randomized controlled trial evidence in both pediatric GH-deficiency and healthy-aging-adult populations, and it carries real FDA approval history, but no FDA approval currently exists for any sermorelin use today, diagnostic or therapeutic, because both NDAs were withdrawn in 2009; every present-day administration of sermorelin, including doses that mirror the old approved diagnostic-test dose, is therefore off-label.
Original dosing schedule
The Dosing table above this section now shows a community- or vendor-sourced schedule (peptidedosages.com). The regulatory-label or clinical-trial dosing this entry was originally built on is kept here, unchanged, rather than removed.
Clinical trial
| Timeframe | Dosage | Frequency | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single dose | 1 mcg/kg | single IV bolus | Secondary-sourced1 |
- Sourced to a secondary review article (PubMed 18031173), not confirmed against the original FDA label text for NDA 19-863, which could not be independently retrieved (returned an HTTP 404 error). Flagged for primary-source verification.
Clinical trial
| Timeframe | Dosage | Frequency | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3-36 months | 30 mcg/kg | once daily at bedtime |
Clinical trial
| Timeframe | Dosage | Frequency | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14-day course | 0.5-1 mg | twice daily | Men aged 60-781 |
- A 14-day washout preceded a second 14-day treatment period in this crossover design.
Identity
| Full name | Sermorelin acetate (INN: sermorelin) |
|---|---|
| Class | GHRH-receptor agonist, native-sequence human GHRH(1-29) fragment |
| Brand names | Geref, Geref Diagnostic |
| Molecular weight | 3358 g/mol |
| Sequence | Tyr-Ala-Asp-Ala-Ile-Phe-Thr-Asn-Ser-Tyr-Arg-Lys-Val-Leu-Gly-Gln-Leu-Ser-Ala-Arg-Lys-Leu-Leu-Gln-Asp-Ile-Met-Ser-Arg-NH2 |
Mechanism of action
Plain language
This is a lab-made copy of the first 29 building blocks of the body's own natural growth-hormone-releasing hormone, unmodified, so it behaves the most like the real thing of anything in this category, but it also disappears from the blood the fastest.
Technical
GHRH-receptor agonist, native sequence, with no DPP-4-resistance substitutions and no albumin-binding chemistry, making it the shortest fully bioactive fragment of endogenous GHRH and the closest analog in this category to physiologic signaling. Because it remains subject to normal somatostatin negative feedback, unlike exogenous recombinant human GH, it is thought to preserve a pulsatile GH release pattern and to reduce the risk of pituitary tachyphylaxis relative to continuous stimulation. It is sometimes paired with the ghrelin-receptor agonist ipamorelin for the same class-level receptor-complementarity mechanism used elsewhere in this category.
Why: No product approved today
Sermorelin held two FDA-approved NDAs from 1990 to 2009, and the FDA explicitly determined the 2009 withdrawal was not for reasons of safety or effectiveness. But both approvals were withdrawn, and nothing sermorelin-branded is FDA-approved today: every product currently sold as sermorelin is compounded under 503A or 503B pharmacy law, carrying no FDA-approved label. The compound's genuine trial history should not be read as a current approval.
Sources: Determination That GEREF, 2013
Why: Fastest-clearing analog
As the native, unmodified GHRH(1-29) sequence, sermorelin has no DPP-4-resistance substitutions and no albumin-binding chemistry, and is reported in secondary sources with a half-life of approximately 11 to 12 minutes, the fastest-clearing GHRH analog in this category. This specific figure was not confirmed against a primary clinical-pharmacology publication.
Sources: Modified GRF (1-29).
Why: Genuine pediatric RCT evidence
Unlike most of this category, sermorelin has real randomized controlled trial support: therapeutic daily dosing in pediatric idiopathic growth hormone deficiency, and a separate RCT in healthy aging men that partially reversed age-related declines in GH and IGF-1. Neither use is FDA-approved today.
Sources: Sermorelin: a review, Corpas E, Harman, 1992
What it’s used for
Human trials, not approved for this use
- Historically FDA-approved, now withdrawn, as a diagnostic test for pituitary somatotroph capacity to secrete growth hormone in children suspected of growth hormone deficiency, administered as a single intravenous provocative-test dose.
Sources: Determination That GEREF, 2013, Sermorelin: a review
- Historically FDA-approved, now withdrawn, for therapeutic daily dosing in pediatric idiopathic growth hormone deficiency, with direct randomized controlled trial support.
Sources: Sermorelin: a review
- Randomized controlled trial support in healthy aging adults, to partially reverse the age-related decline in GH and IGF-1; this use was never FDA-approved.
Sources: Corpas E, Harman, 1992
Off-label / community use
- Current wellness and anti-aging use through compounding pharmacies is off-label in every case, because no FDA approval currently exists for any sermorelin indication, diagnostic or therapeutic, since both of its NDAs were withdrawn in 2009.
Sources: Determination That GEREF, 2013
Pharmacokinetics
| Half-life |
Community reported, unsourced Approximately 11 to 12 minutes Sources: Modified GRF (1-29). No citable figure. No primary clinical-pharmacology publication reporting an exact human half-life value for sermorelin was independently retrieved. A related tertiary source describing native GRF(1-29) more generally cites a half-life under 10 minutes, possibly as low as 5 minutes. Treat the specific minute-level figure as approximate and secondary-sourced pending confirmation against the original Geref label's clinical pharmacology section, which could not be accessed directly. |
|---|
Reconstitution
| Vial strength | 6 mg, 9 mg, or 15 mg lyophilized vial (compounded) |
|---|---|
| Diluent | Bacteriostatic water |
| Diluent volume | 3 mL (6 mg vial, worked example) |
| Concentration | 2 mg/mL (2000 mcg/mL) for a 6 mg vial reconstituted with 3 mL |
Worked example
A 6 mg vial reconstituted with 3 mL bacteriostatic water yields 6 mg / 3 mL = 2 mg/mL = 2000 mcg/mL. On a U-100 insulin syringe, 1 unit (0.01 mL) delivers 2000 mcg/mL x 0.01 mL = 20 mcg. A 200 mcg dose therefore draws to the 10-unit mark (10 x 20 mcg = 200 mcg); a 300 mcg dose draws to the 15-unit mark. If a 9 mg vial is instead reconstituted with 3 mL, the concentration becomes 3 mg/mL (3000 mcg/mL) and each unit delivers 30 mcg instead of 20, so a 200 mcg dose at that concentration would require fewer than 7 units, not 10, which is the kind of error that happens when a vial-strength label is not rechecked against the specific reconstitution volume used.
Sources: Empower Pharmacy, Sermorelin
Dose calculator
Enter a vial strength, diluent volume, and desired dose to see the resulting concentration, dose volume, and units on a standard U-100 insulin syringe. Nothing entered here is saved, stored, or sent anywhere – the calculation runs only in your browser.
Enable JavaScript to use the interactive calculator. The worked example above already shows a complete calculation for this compound.
Storage and post-reconstitution stability
Unopened storage
Lyophilized powder stored per pharmacy instructions, described by the cited compounding-pharmacy source as room temperature, refrigerated, or frozen depending on the specific formulation, protected from light. None of this storage guidance is FDA-validated, because no FDA-approved sermorelin product currently exists.
Post-reconstitution stability – Vendor claim
Approximately 1 to 4 weeks. Refrigerated
Sources: Empower Pharmacy, Sermorelin
No citable figure. Per compounding-pharmacy labeling; no FDA-approved sermorelin product currently exists, so this figure is not regulatory-validated.
Safety
Notable risks
- In the pediatric RCT literature reviewed, the most common adverse events were transient facial flushing and pain at the injection site, reported with both intravenous and subcutaneous administration.
Sources: Sermorelin: a review
- No signal for serious adverse events was reported in the Corpas adult study or in the pediatric review identified in this research.
Sources: Corpas E, Harman, 1992, Sermorelin: a review
- Because sermorelin stimulates endogenous GH and consequently IGF-1, the same class-level cautions applied to tesamorelin under its current FDA label, avoiding active malignancy and monitoring IGF-1 and glucose tolerance with sustained use, are reasonable extrapolations, but no FDA-approved label currently exists to formally establish contraindications or monitoring requirements for sermorelin, since both of its NDAs were withdrawn in 2009.
Sources: Determination That GEREF, 2013
Sources
- Determination That GEREF (Sermorelin Acetate) Injection… Were Not Withdrawn From Sale for Reasons of Safety or Effectiveness. Federal Register, document 2013-04827. (2013)
- Sermorelin: a review of its use in the diagnosis and treatment of children with idiopathic growth hormone deficiency.
- Corpas E, Harman SM, Pineyro MA, Roberson R, Blackman MR. Growth hormone (GH)-releasing hormone-(1-29) twice daily reverses the decreased GH and insulin-like growth factor-I levels in old men. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1992;75(2):530-535. (1992)
- Modified GRF (1-29). Wikipedia (tertiary source, cited for a general native GRF(1-29) half-life figure).
- Empower Pharmacy, Sermorelin Acetate Injection (vial strengths, reconstitution and storage guidance, commercial compounding-pharmacy source)
- peptidedosages.com, Sermorelin 5 mg vial dosage protocol
This is a research and educational reference, not medical advice. Nothing on this site is a recommendation to use any compound.