AOD-9604 vs HGH Fragment 176-191
Two forms of the same growth-hormone tail. One was developed into a named obesity drug candidate and tested in people; the other inherited the marketing without the trial record.
Short answer
The evidence gap decides this one. AOD-9604 has human clinical data behind it, while HGH fragment 176-191 has only preclinical or minimal evidence, resting mostly on animal or lab work. Both are marketed for fat loss, but only AOD-9604 has human trial data behind that use. Both are sold gray-market as research chemicals.
AOD-9604
A GH-tail fragment with a clean safety record that reached human obesity trials — but showed no significant weight loss versus placebo, and the program was discontinued.
Full AOD-9604 evidence reviewHGH Fragment 176-191
The C-terminal tail of GH sold as 'the fat-burning part' — but its developed cousin AOD-9604 failed human obesity trials, and the raw fragment has no human trials at all.
Full HGH Fragment 176-191 evidence reviewAOD-9604 vs HGH Fragment 176-191: head to head
- FDA status / approved use
AOD-9604
Not FDA-approved for any use; its obesity drug program was discontinuedHGH Fragment 176-191
Not an approved drug anywhere; sold as research-use-only powder; flagged in anti-doping testing- Marketed for
AOD-9604
Fat lossHGH Fragment 176-191
Fat loss- Outcome areas
AOD-9604
Weight loss / appetiteHGH Fragment 176-191
Weight loss / appetite- Evidence grade
AOD-9604
Clinical dataHGH Fragment 176-191
Preclinical / minimal- How it works
AOD-9604
Growth hormone fragment that increased fat breakdown and reduced fat storage in lab studiesHGH Fragment 176-191
Growth hormone tail fragment claimed to drive fat breakdown without GH's growth effects- Route and dosing
AOD-9604
Sold as injectable vials and compounded products; tested orally in trialsHGH Fragment 176-191
Self-injected, often once or twice daily by convention; no validated dose- Headline human result
AOD-9604
No statistically significant weight loss vs placebo in its pivotal placebo-controlled obesity trial of several hundred adultsHGH Fragment 176-191
Its modified version AOD-9604 failed to produce significant weight loss vs placebo in obesity trials- Strongest evidence
AOD-9604
Wilding, Curr Opin Investig Drugs 2004AOD-9604 evidence reviewPubMed 15134286HGH Fragment 176-191
Ng, Horm Res 2000. Little or no controlled human outcome data for the marketed useHGH Fragment 176-191 evidence reviewPubMed 11146367- Key safety signal
AOD-9604
Well tolerated in trials; gray-market products have unverified identity, dose and purityHGH Fragment 176-191
No human safety profile; injection-site reactions reported; product content unverified- How it is obtained
AOD-9604
Sold gray-market as a research chemical; no approved or legitimately compounded human productHGH Fragment 176-191
Sold gray-market as a research chemical; no approved or legitimately compounded human product
| AOD-9604 | HGH Fragment 176-191 | |
|---|---|---|
| FDA status / approved use | Not FDA-approved for any use; its obesity drug program was discontinued | Not an approved drug anywhere; sold as research-use-only powder; flagged in anti-doping testing |
| Marketed for | Fat loss | Fat loss |
| Outcome areas | Weight loss / appetite | Weight loss / appetite |
| Evidence grade | Clinical data | Preclinical / minimal |
| How it works | Growth hormone fragment that increased fat breakdown and reduced fat storage in lab studies | Growth hormone tail fragment claimed to drive fat breakdown without GH's growth effects |
| Route and dosing | Sold as injectable vials and compounded products; tested orally in trials | Self-injected, often once or twice daily by convention; no validated dose |
| Headline human result | No statistically significant weight loss vs placebo in its pivotal placebo-controlled obesity trial of several hundred adults | Its modified version AOD-9604 failed to produce significant weight loss vs placebo in obesity trials |
| Strongest evidence | Wilding, Curr Opin Investig Drugs 2004AOD-9604 evidence reviewPubMed 15134286 | Ng, Horm Res 2000. Little or no controlled human outcome data for the marketed useHGH Fragment 176-191 evidence reviewPubMed 11146367 |
| Key safety signal | Well tolerated in trials; gray-market products have unverified identity, dose and purity | No human safety profile; injection-site reactions reported; product content unverified |
| How it is obtained | Sold gray-market as a research chemical; no approved or legitimately compounded human product | Sold gray-market as a research chemical; no approved or legitimately compounded human product |
marks a row where the two differ. “Not established” marks a cell the available evidence does not answer. Evidence grades come from our evidence matrix, which grades each molecule on the human data for the use it is marketed for.
- Clinical data:
- Tested in humans — but investigational, discontinued, or proven only on a surrogate marker (not the marketed outcome).
- Preclinical / minimal:
- Evidence is largely animal, in-vitro, or anecdotal. Little or no controlled human outcome data for the marketed use.
Our verdict
These are close chemical cousins, not competitors. HGH Fragment 176-191 is a synthetic copy of the last sixteen amino acids of growth hormone; AOD-9604 reproduces that same C-terminal region with a tyrosine added at the front, and it is the version that carries the clinical paper trail. That trail is unflattering: AOD-9604 advanced into a pivotal placebo-controlled obesity trial and failed to produce statistically significant weight loss versus placebo, after which the program was discontinued; it was, by the trial record, well tolerated, so it failed on efficacy rather than safety. The raw fragment sold today has no human efficacy trials of its own, meaning it is marketed on a mechanism whose one fair human test came back negative. Neither is FDA-approved; both circulate as unverified research-only material, and both are anti-doping detection targets.
AOD-9604 fits if
AOD-9604 is the one to study if you want the rare case where a fat-loss peptide was actually put through a placebo-controlled human trial, and what the answer was.
HGH Fragment 176-191 fits if
The Fragment 176-191 page is the one to read if you are being sold the raw tail peptide and need to see exactly which evidence belongs to it and which belongs to its developed cousin.
AOD-9604 vs HGH Fragment 176-191: common questions
- Is either AOD-9604 or HGH fragment 176-191 FDA-approved?
- No. AOD-9604 is not FDA-approved for any use; its obesity drug program was discontinued. HGH fragment 176-191 is not an approved drug anywhere; sold as research-use-only powder; flagged in anti-doping testing.
- Which has stronger human evidence, AOD-9604 or HGH fragment 176-191?
- AOD-9604. It has human clinical data (key source: Wilding, Curr Opin Investig Drugs 2004), while HGH fragment 176-191 has only preclinical or minimal evidence (key source: Ng, Horm Res 2000).
- What are the main safety concerns with AOD-9604 and HGH fragment 176-191?
- AOD-9604 is well tolerated in trials; gray-market products have unverified identity, dose and purity. HGH fragment 176-191 has no human safety profile; injection-site reactions reported; product content unverified.
Key studies behind each
AOD-9604
- Ng FM, Sun J, Sharma L, Libinaka R, et al. (2000). Metabolic studies of a synthetic lipolytic domain (AOD9604) of human growth hormone. Horm Res. PubMed 11146367
- Heffernan M, Summers RJ, Thorburn A, Ogru E, et al. (2001). 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. PubMed 11713213
- Wilding J. (2004). AOD-9604 Metabolic. Curr Opin Investig Drugs. PubMed 15134286
- Vanhee C, Moens G, Deconinck E, De Beer JO. (2014). Identification and characterization of peptide drugs in unknown pharmaceutical preparations seized by the Belgian authorities: case report on AOD9604. Drug Test Anal. PubMed 24976118
HGH Fragment 176-191
- Ng FM, Sun J, Sharma L, Libinaka R, et al. (2000). Metabolic studies of a synthetic lipolytic domain (AOD9604) of human growth hormone. Horm Res. PubMed 11146367
- Heffernan MA, Thorburn AW, Fam B, Summers R, et al. (2001). Increase of fat oxidation and weight loss in obese mice caused by chronic treatment with human growth hormone or a modified C-terminal fragment. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. PubMed 11673763
- Wilding J. (2004). AOD-9604 Metabolic. Curr Opin Investig Drugs. PubMed 15134286
- Halford JC. (2006). Obesity drugs in clinical development. Curr Opin Investig Drugs. PubMed 16625817
The full evidence reviews
- AOD-9604: the “anti-obesity drug” peptide that failed its own trials
A synthetic growth-hormone tail fragment built to burn fat. Its mechanism is real and its safety was clean — but the pivotal human obesity trial showed no significant weight loss versus placebo, and the program was discontinued.
Updated August 2026
- HGH Fragment 176-191: the GH “fat-loss fragment,” read against the trial that failed
It’s the C-terminal tail of growth hormone, sold as the part that burns fat. The honest anchor: its developed cousin AOD-9604 reached human obesity trials and failed to beat placebo — and the raw fragment sold today has no human trials at all.
Updated August 2026
Where to get it
Where to get peptide therapy
Clinician-led telehealth services that prescribe compounded peptides. The specific peptides offered vary by provider — confirm AOD-9604 availability before ordering.
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