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Aod2.0
AOD-9604 Research
Mostly mechanism / observationalLimited safety
8 peer-reviewed studies
What the evidence says
Mostly mechanism / observational
Most AOD-9604 studies are mechanism or observational rather than RCTs that measure a clinical effect — keep findings provisional.
Most evidence is from mixed-quality studies published 1978–2026.
Based on 8 studies
Confidence
Low
By outcome
Weight management
Mostly mechanism / observational6 studies
Lipolysis & metabolic effects
Mostly mechanism / observational4 studies
Joint pain & arthritis
Too few graded studies1 study
Steady research
1 study in the last 5 years
197820022026
1Animal2001
Both hGH and its C-terminal fragment reduce body weight gain, increase fat oxidation, and stimulate lipolysis in obese mice, yet AOD9604 does not interact with the hGH receptor.
Obese (ob/ob) and lean C57BL/6J mice treated with hGH, AOD9604 or saline for 14 days via mini-osmotic pumps
Both hGH and AOD9604 significantly reduced body-weight gain, increased in-vivo fat oxidation and raised plasma glycerol (an index of lipolysis)
Unlike hGH, AOD9604 did NOT induce hyperglycaemia or reduce insulin secretion
2Animal2001
Long-term treatment with hGH and AOD9604 in beta(3)-AR knock-out mice failed to produce the change in body weight and increase in lipolysis that was observed in wild-type control mice.
Heffernan M, Summers RJ, Thorburn A, Ogru E, Gianello R, Jiang WJ, Ng FM. · Endocrinology (2001)
Obese mice and beta-3 adrenergic-receptor (beta3-AR) knock-out mice treated with hGH or AOD9604 for 14 days
Both compounds reduced body weight/fat and raised repressed beta3-AR RNA toward lean levels in obese mice
In beta3-AR knock-out mice, chronic AOD9604 failed to reduce body weight or increase lipolysis — the effect depends on an intact beta-adrenergic system
3Animal2000
The analogue of the hGH lipolytic domain may have the potential to be developed into an orally usable and safe therapeutic agent for obesity.
Ng FM, Sun J, Sharma L, Libinaka R, Jiang WJ, Gianello R. · Horm Res (2000)
Obese Zucker rats given oral AOD9604 at 500 microg/kg/day for 19 days
Reduced body-weight gain by over 50% versus control and increased adipose-tissue lipolytic activity
Euglycaemic-clamp showed no adverse effect on insulin sensitivity, in contrast to intact hGH
4Animal2015
Intra-articular AOD9604 injections using ultrasound guidance enhanced cartilage regeneration, and combined AOD9604 and HA injections were more effective than HA or AOD9604 injections alone.
Kwon DR, Park GY. · Ann Clin Lab Sci (2015)
Collagenase-induced knee-osteoarthritis model in 32 rabbits; weekly intra-articular saline, hyaluronic acid (HA), AOD9604, or AOD9604+HA
Gross-morphology and histopathology cartilage-degeneration scores were significantly worse in saline controls than in all treated groups
AOD9604+HA had the lowest degeneration scores and the shortest lameness period of all groups
5Review2026
A parallel 'gray market' of unapproved compounds has emerged, operating largely outside of regulatory oversight ... Many unapproved peptides demonstrate favorable tissue repair and metabolic outcomes in animal models, but rigorous human safety data are scarce, and there is potential for serious harm to patients.
Mendias CL, Awan TM. · Sports Med (2026)
Narrative review of approved and unapproved direct-to-patient peptides in sports medicine, explicitly including AOD-9604 (anti-obesity drug 9604)
Frames AOD-9604 within a grey market of unapproved peptides operating outside regulatory oversight
Notes favourable animal-model metabolic outcomes but scarce rigorous human safety data and potential for serious harm
A single dose of the peptides containing the amino acids sequence 178-191 of the hGH molecule significantly reduced insulin sensitivity of the animals in intravenous insulin tolerance tests.
Ng FM, Bornstein J. · Am J Physiol (1978)
In-vivo study in normal rats of synthetic hGH C-terminal fragments spanning the 176-191 region (the AOD-9604 parent sequence)
Fragments containing residues 178-191 produced a short-lived rise in blood glucose and a sustained rise in plasma insulin
Those fragments also reduced insulin sensitivity in insulin-tolerance tests, while shorter fragments (179-191, 180-191) were inert
7Review2004
Metabolic is developing AOD-9604 for the potential treatment of obesity. By February 2002, phase IIa trials were underway.
Wilding J. · Curr Opin Investig Drugs (2004)
Drug-development profile of AOD-9604 (Metabolic Pharmaceuticals) as an investigational anti-obesity agent
Documents that the compound advanced into phase IIa clinical trials for obesity
Captures the obesity-therapeutic ambition that the program ultimately failed to fulfil
8Review2006
A human growth hormone fragment (AOD-9604) that increases adipose tissue breakdown ... Of these, only rimonabant has got as far as completing phase III clinical trials.
Halford JC. · Curr Opin Investig Drugs (2006)
Review of anti-obesity drugs then in clinical development, including AOD-9604 as a hGH fragment that increases adipose-tissue breakdown
Places AOD-9604 among early-stage candidates that had not advanced to completed late-phase efficacy trials
Independent contemporaneous account that AOD-9604 remained an unproven development-stage compound