Ipamorelin

aka NNC 26-0161, ipamorelin acetate

Gh SecretagogueGh StimulationMuscle GrowthFat LossSleepBody CompositionBone DensityGh Axis

Last reviewed April 27, 2026 by Doserr editorial team · 13 references on this page

Information on this page is sourced from published research and is for educational purposes only. It does not constitute medical advice.

TL;DR

What it is: A selective synthetic pentapeptide that prompts the pituitary to release growth hormone without raising cortisol.
What it's used for: Community-used for body composition and sleep, the only controlled human trial (postoperative ileus) failed its primary endpoint.
Evidence level:limitedOne human RCT exists and it did not reach significance.

Dose at a glance

	Beginner	Common	Higher end
Per dose	100 mcg	200-300 mcg	300 mcg
Daily total	100 mcg	200-900 mcg (1-3x daily)	600-900 mcg (2-3x daily)
Schedule	Once daily (pre-bed)	1-3x daily	2-3x daily
Cycle length	1-2 weeks (assessment), then re-evaluate	8-12 weeks on, 3-4 weeks off	8-12 weeks on, 3-4 weeks off

Synthesized from community-reported ranges. Not a recommendation. Route varies by compound — see Common route in What people report below.

Half-life: Approximately 2 hours terminal t1/2 in human volunteers (IV infusion dose-escalation study, PMID: 10496658). Rat data show rapid clearance after IV bolus, predominantly urinary excretion, and approximately 20% nasal bioavailability (PMID: 9879640). Human pharmacokinetic data available for IV route only, SC bioavailability in humans is not characterized in published literature.
Typical dose range: Doses below are from published research, not recommendations. Animal studies: 18-450 mcg/day SC in adult female rats (PMID: 10373343), 100 mcg/kg SC three times daily in adult female rats (PMID: 11735244). Human PK study: IV infusion at 4.21-140.45 nmol/kg over 15 minutes (PMID: 10496658). Phase 2b RCT: IV infusion 0.03 mg/kg twice daily for up to 7 days (PMID: 25331030).
Route: Subcutaneous (SC) in most animal studies, intravenous (IV) in the human PK study and Phase 2b RCT.
Evidence tier: limited
Animal or in-vitro studies only — no published human efficacy data.

Each topic links to the studies behind it. Click a topic to expand.

The only controlled human efficacy trial (Phase 2b RCT, postoperative ileus) failed its primary endpoint, p=0.15 (PMID: 25331030), no approved indication exists
SC pharmacokinetics in humans are not characterized in published research, the human PK study used IV infusion only (PMID: 10496658)
No published human data on IGF-1 response to repeated ipamorelin dosing, the claim is mechanistically plausible but empirically unverified for this compound
No published controlled human trials have measured body composition outcomes with ipamorelin specifically (PMID: 32257855)
Long-term human safety data are absent, the longest human observation window in published research is 7 days (PMID: 25331030)
Pituitary desensitization with chronic human use has not been characterized, short-term rat data are reassuring but not directly applicable

Reconstitution math, both directions.

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