Ostarine vs RAD-140
One was taken through two phase 3 trials and failed the endpoint that mattered. The other has never been tested for muscle in anyone, at any dose, in any phase.
Short answer
Ostarine rests on firmer ground than RAD-140, with human clinical data against only preclinical or minimal evidence, resting mostly on animal or lab work. Someone focused on muscle growth, recomposition and muscle preservation while cutting or on a GLP-1 has trial data to go on with Ostarine; RAD-140, marketed for muscle gain and strength, is still an early-research option.
Ostarine
Enobosarm, MK-2866, GTx-024
Reliably adds lean body mass and just as reliably fails to improve physical function — the two phase 3 POWER trials found both, which is why no regulator has ever approved it.
Full Ostarine evidence reviewRAD-140
Testolone, RAD140
One human trial exists and it was an oncology phase 1 — there is no trial of RAD-140 for muscle building in anyone, while the cholestatic liver injury is a matter of published record.
Full RAD-140 evidence reviewOstarine vs RAD-140: head to head
- FDA status / approved use
Ostarine
Never approved in any country; not a legal supplement ingredient; sold as a research chemicalRAD-140
Approved nowhere; cannot legally be sold in the US as a supplement or drug; banned in sport- Marketed for
Ostarine
Muscle growth, recomposition, muscle preservation while cutting or on a GLP-1RAD-140
Muscle gain, strength, 'steroid alternative'- Outcome areas
Ostarine
Muscle / strength / lean massRAD-140
Muscle / strength / lean mass; Liver / detox- Evidence grade
Ostarine
Clinical dataRAD-140
Preclinical / minimal- How it works
Ostarine
Binds the androgen receptor, acting strongly in muscle and bone, weakly in prostateRAD-140
Non-steroidal molecule that binds the androgen receptor, aiming for muscle and bone selectivity- Route and dosing
Ostarine
Oral, 3 mg daily in phase 3 trialsRAD-140
Oral; 50 to 150 mg once daily in a cancer trial- Headline human result
Ostarine
Beat placebo on lean body mass but not physical function in two phase 3 trials of 651 lung cancer patientsRAD-140
Not established- Strongest evidence
Ostarine
POWER phase 3 program, Lancet Oncol 2013Ostarine evidence reviewPubMed 23499390RAD-140
First-in-human phase 1, Clin Breast Cancer 2022. Little or no controlled human outcome data for the marketed useRAD-140 evidence reviewPubMed 34565686- Key safety signal
Ostarine
Case reports of cholestatic liver injury; suppresses testosterone and lowers HDL cholesterolRAD-140
Liver injury: AST rose in 59.1% of trial patients; at least eight drug-induced liver injury case reports- How it is obtained
Ostarine
Sold gray-market as a research chemical; no approved human productRAD-140
Sold gray-market as a research chemical; no approved human product
| Ostarine | RAD-140 | |
|---|---|---|
| FDA status / approved use | Never approved in any country; not a legal supplement ingredient; sold as a research chemical | Approved nowhere; cannot legally be sold in the US as a supplement or drug; banned in sport |
| Marketed for | Muscle growth, recomposition, muscle preservation while cutting or on a GLP-1 | Muscle gain, strength, 'steroid alternative' |
| Outcome areas | Muscle / strength / lean mass | Muscle / strength / lean mass; Liver / detox |
| Evidence grade | Clinical data | Preclinical / minimal |
| How it works | Binds the androgen receptor, acting strongly in muscle and bone, weakly in prostate | Non-steroidal molecule that binds the androgen receptor, aiming for muscle and bone selectivity |
| Route and dosing | Oral, 3 mg daily in phase 3 trials | Oral; 50 to 150 mg once daily in a cancer trial |
| Headline human result | Beat placebo on lean body mass but not physical function in two phase 3 trials of 651 lung cancer patients | Not established |
| Strongest evidence | POWER phase 3 program, Lancet Oncol 2013Ostarine evidence reviewPubMed 23499390 | First-in-human phase 1, Clin Breast Cancer 2022. Little or no controlled human outcome data for the marketed useRAD-140 evidence reviewPubMed 34565686 |
| Key safety signal | Case reports of cholestatic liver injury; suppresses testosterone and lowers HDL cholesterol | Liver injury: AST rose in 59.1% of trial patients; at least eight drug-induced liver injury case reports |
| How it is obtained | Sold gray-market as a research chemical; no approved human product | Sold gray-market as a research chemical; no approved 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
Neither is approved and both are prohibited in sport at all times, but the evidence bases are not comparable. Enobosarm (ostarine) has two completed phase 3 trials in 651 lung-cancer patients, POWER 1 and POWER 2, which beat placebo on lean body mass in both and on physical function in neither — the drug arm fell below its own placebo in POWER 2 — and that dissociation is why the compound was never approved. RAD-140 has one human trial, a phase 1 dose-escalation study in 22 women with metastatic breast cancer, and no published trial of any phase testing whether it builds muscle or strength in healthy people; its documented human effects are hepatic, with liver chemistries the three most common adverse events in that trial and at least eight published case reports of cholestatic liver injury. This is not a safety ranking either way: ostarine has its own published cases of cholestatic injury, and roughly half of products sold online as SARMs contain no SARM at all.
Ostarine fits if
Ostarine is the one to study if the question is what happens when a SARM is finally held to a properly powered functional endpoint, and what that answer does to every muscle-preservation pitch built on lean mass alone.
RAD-140 fits if
RAD-140 is the one to study if the question is how far a compound can travel on rodent data — everything claimed for its physique use is extrapolated, while everything documented about it in people is harm.
Ostarine vs RAD-140: common questions
- Is either Ostarine or RAD-140 FDA-approved?
- No. Ostarine has never been approved in any country; not a legal supplement ingredient; sold as a research chemical. RAD-140 is approved nowhere; cannot legally be sold in the US as a supplement or drug; banned in sport.
- Which has stronger human evidence, Ostarine or RAD-140?
- Ostarine. It has human clinical data (key source: POWER phase 3 program, Lancet Oncol 2013), while RAD-140 has only preclinical or minimal evidence (key source: First-in-human phase 1, Clin Breast Cancer 2022).
- What are the main safety concerns with Ostarine and RAD-140?
- For Ostarine, watch for case reports of cholestatic liver injury; suppresses testosterone and lowers HDL cholesterol. With RAD-140, liver injury: AST rose in 59.1% of trial patients; at least eight drug-induced liver injury case reports.
Key studies behind each
Ostarine
- Dias JP, Dobs AS. (2026). Will Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators Ever Reach The Clinic? J Clin Endocrinol Metab. PubMed 41670367
- Dalton JT, Barnette KG, Bohl CE, Hancock ML, et al. (2011). The selective androgen receptor modulator GTx-024 (enobosarm) improves lean body mass and physical function in healthy elderly men and postmenopausal women: results of a double-blind, placebo-controlled phase II trial. J Cachexia Sarcopenia Muscle. PubMed 22031847
- Dobs AS, Boccia RV, Croot CC, Gabrail NY, et al. (2013). Effects of enobosarm on muscle wasting and physical function in patients with cancer: a double-blind, randomised controlled phase 2 trial. Lancet Oncol. PubMed 23499390
- Crawford J, Prado CM, Johnston MA, Gralla RJ, et al. (2016). Study Design and Rationale for the Phase 3 Clinical Development Program of Enobosarm, a Selective Androgen Receptor Modulator, for the Prevention and Treatment of Muscle Wasting in Cancer Patients (POWER Trials). Curr Oncol Rep. PubMed 27138015
RAD-140
- LoRusso P, Hamilton E, Ma C, et al. (2022). A First-in-Human Phase 1 Study of a Novel Selective Androgen Receptor Modulator (SARM), RAD140, in ER+/HER2- Metastatic Breast Cancer. Clin Breast Cancer. PubMed 34565686
- Miller CP, Shomali M, Lyttle CR, et al. (2011). Design, Synthesis, and Preclinical Characterization of the Selective Androgen Receptor Modulator (SARM) RAD140. ACS Med Chem Lett. PubMed 24900290
- Yu Z, He S, Wang D, Patel HK, Miller CP, et al. (2017). Selective Androgen Receptor Modulator RAD140 Inhibits the Growth of Androgen/Estrogen Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer Models with a Distinct Mechanism of Action. Clin Cancer Res. PubMed 28974548
- Jayaraman A, Christensen A, Moser VA, Vest RS, Miller CP, et al. (2014). Selective androgen receptor modulator RAD140 is neuroprotective in cultured neurons and kainate-lesioned male rats. Endocrinology. PubMed 24428527
The full evidence reviews
- Ostarine (enobosarm): the clinical drug behind the black-market compound
Ostarine is enobosarm — a real SARM with two completed phase 3 trials. They found the same thing twice: lean body mass went up, physical function did not. That dissociation, not the bodybuilding folklore, is what you need to know.
Updated August 2026
- RAD-140 (testolone): what the evidence actually shows
One human trial exists, and it was an oncology study. There is no trial of RAD-140 for muscle building in anyone — while the liver injury is documented in published case reports.
Updated August 2026