Ipamorelin is a synthetic pentapeptide studied as a growth hormone secretagogue — a compound that prompts the pituitary to release growth hormone. Its selectivity was shown in animal and cell studies in the 1990s; the human work is thin — one small pharmacokinetic study and one Phase 2 trial that did not meet its endpoints. It is not approved by any regulator, for any use, anywhere.
By Tessaro Pty Ltd, the maker of Pepti · Last reviewed
This page is a reference, not a protocol. It sets out what the published research on ipamorelin reports, how much of it is human rather than animal, and what a clean log holds. It gives no dose figure and no schedule, and a section below explains why.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Class / type | Synthetic pentapeptide; a growth hormone secretagogue, described in a human trial as a ghrelin-receptor agonist (Raun et al., 1998; Beck et al., 2014) |
| Evidence base | Mechanism and selectivity characterised in cultured cells, rats and swine (animal and in vitro). Human data limited to one small pharmacokinetic study and one Phase 2 trial (human) |
| Half-life | Approximately two hours (terminal), from one human pharmacokinetic study (Gobburu et al., 1999) |
| Regulatory status | Not approved in any jurisdiction, for any indication; sold only as a research peptide |
Most of what is known about ipamorelin comes from animal and laboratory work. When it was first described in 1998, this pentapeptide released growth hormone potently in cultured rat pituitary cells, in anaesthetised rats and in conscious swine — all animal and in-vitro models, not people (Raun et al., 1998). Its notable feature was selectivity: unlike some earlier growth-hormone-releasing peptides, it did not raise ACTH or cortisol above the levels seen with natural growth-hormone-releasing hormone, and none of the secretagogues tested changed FSH, LH, prolactin or TSH (Raun et al., 1998).
The human record is much thinner, and it is the part worth reading carefully. One early study gave ipamorelin to a small group of healthy volunteers and modelled how it moved through the body (Gobburu et al., 1999) — the source of the half-life figure below, and essentially the only published human pharmacokinetic study of the compound. The one human efficacy trial of any size, a Phase 2 randomised, placebo-controlled study in patients recovering from bowel surgery, did not succeed: there were no significant differences between ipamorelin and placebo on the primary or secondary efficacy measures, and development in that indication did not continue (Beck et al., 2014).
The honest summary is strong preclinical characterisation and thin, largely negative human data: the mechanism is clear in animals, but the compound has not shown a clinical benefit in a controlled human trial, and it is not an approved medicine anywhere.
One human pharmacokinetic study reported a short terminal half-life of approximately two hours for ipamorelin (Gobburu et al., 1999). A half-life is the time it takes for half of what is present to clear, so a two-hour figure describes a compound that comes and goes quickly: largely gone within a day of a single administration, with no meaningful build-up from one administration to the next.
Two things follow for a record. With a fast-clearing compound, timing carries weight, so the clock time of each entry is worth capturing precisely rather than rounding to “morning”. And the figure comes from a single early-phase study, so treat it as indicative. Pepti's half-life calculator charts a decay curve from whatever half-life you enter; it does not supply the number, and a curve drawn from one small study is a sketch, not a measurement.
Ipamorelin has no approved product label, so there is no authorised storage instruction specific to it. What can be said is general, drawn from how approved lyophilised peptides in the same family are handled. Tesamorelin, an approved growth-hormone-releasing-hormone analogue supplied as a freeze-dried (lyophilised) powder, is a useful reference point: its labelling directs that the sealed powder be kept in its original carton and protected from light, reconstituted only with the sterile diluent provided, and mixed by rolling the vial gently rather than shaking (tesamorelin prescribing information, US FDA via DailyMed).
As a dry powder in a sealed vial the material is comparatively stable; once a diluent is added it becomes a solution with a limited life, so labels in this family direct that it be used promptly, any unused portion discarded, and used only if clear and free of particles (tesamorelin prescribing information). The exact temperature, diluent and in-use window differ by product, so the only correct source for a given vial is whatever the supplier specifies. A record should capture the date a vial was reconstituted, so its in-use window stays visible.
Here is how Pepti's parts apply, using only figures you already have.
Reconstitution, as arithmetic. If your vial arrived as a lyophilised powder, the reconstitution calculator turns the amount stated on the vial, the volume of diluent you add, and the figure you already have into a draw volume, a count of syringe units, and how many draws the vial holds. Each is a variable you supply; the calculator does the arithmetic and supplies no figure of its own.
Site rotation. Growth-hormone secretagogues are given by subcutaneous injection, so the same spot is easy to overuse. Pepti remembers your last site and moves you through a fixed 12-site rotation; the injection site rotation guide explains the zone system in full.
Decay from your own half-life. The half-life decay calculator charts how a starting amount falls over successive half-lives — but only from a half-life you enter. For ipamorelin, enter the roughly two-hour estimate above if you want a curve, and read the result as indicative.
Ipamorelin is not an approved medicine. There is no approved label anywhere, which means no authorised dose, no approved schedule, and no titration guidance outside a research setting. Any figure published as a “typical dose” for an unapproved compound is not drawn from an approved source, because none exists — it comes from forum consensus, vendor copy, or someone's reading of a study protocol run under monitoring conditions that do not apply elsewhere.
Pepti converts a figure you already have into a draw volume and syringe units, tracks what is left in each vial, and remembers where the last injection went. It does not supply the figure, and it will not, for this compound or any other. Pages that publish dose tables for research peptides are publishing folklore with the typography of evidence; the figure belongs to you and whoever directs your use, and the arithmetic is what we are for.
A record worth keeping holds the following.
Ipamorelin is a synthetic pentapeptide first described in 1998 as a growth hormone secretagogue: a compound that stimulates the pituitary to release growth hormone. In cultured cells, rats and swine it released growth hormone without significantly raising ACTH, cortisol or other pituitary hormones (Raun et al., 1998). A later human trial described it as a ghrelin-receptor agonist (Beck et al., 2014). It is not an approved medicine.
No. Ipamorelin is not approved by any regulator, in any country, for any use, and is sold only as a research peptide. In 2024 the US Food and Drug Administration's Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee reviewed ipamorelin as a bulk drug substance nominated for pharmacy compounding, a process that applies only to substances that are not approved drug products (FDA, 2024).
One human pharmacokinetic study reported a short terminal half-life of approximately two hours in healthy volunteers (Gobburu et al., 1999). That is a single early-phase measurement rather than a well-established value, so treat it as indicative. A short half-life means the compound clears quickly, so the dated history of a record matters more than any single entry in it.
No. Pepti supplies no dose figures for ipamorelin or for anything else. It records the figure you already have from whoever directs your use, converts it into a draw volume and syringe units, tracks what is left in each vial, and keeps the site sequence. The arithmetic is ours; the figure is not.
This page is a reference on published evidence and record-keeping. It does not recommend ipamorelin or any other substance, and it provides no dose figure, no titration amount, and no schedule. Ipamorelin is not approved for any use.
The Pepti peptide tracker for iPhone keeps the log, the site sequence, the vial count and your own notes in one place.
Not medical advice. Pepti is a record-keeping and measurement tool, not a medical device.
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