Ipamorelin

Name	What it means
Ipamorelin free base	A synthetic pentapeptide with FDA/NCATS UNII Y9M3S784Z6. The verified sequence is Aib-His-D-2-Nal-D-Phe-Lys-NH2.138,145
Ipamorelin acetate	FDA treats the acetate and free base as separate bulk drug substances. Free-base formula and mass should not be copied onto the acetate.139,140
Blends	Sermorelin/ipamorelin, tesamorelin/ipamorelin and CJC/ipamorelin are separate interventions. A record about one blend is not monotherapy evidence.150,152

Human evidence

Human evidence includes intravenous studies, other routes and a multimodal subcutaneous case series; route, population and product define which findings apply.

Record	What it can tell us
Acute intravenous study	Healthy men received 15-minute infusions. Terminal half-life was about two hours and growth hormone peaked around 0.67 hours. The sources disagree on the number enrolled.139,141
Postoperative trial	117 people enrolled and 114 entered the safety and modified intention-to-treat analysis. Median time to a tolerated meal was 25.3 versus 32.6 hours, p=.15. Key and secondary efficacy analyses were not significant.142,143
Second phase 2 trial	The registry reports 320 participants and three intravenous schedules. It posts no results and no verified linked publication, so completion is not evidence of benefit.144
Other routes	One volunteer received nasal ipamorelin for a urine-detection study. A 1998 publisher title names iontophoresis and intravenous use but exposes no sample size or results.146,147
Subcutaneous case series	Four women received daily ipamorelin inside multimodal fertility programs. The uncontrolled report cannot isolate efficacy or establish pregnancy safety.148

Safety and status

A monitored intravenous trial, a compounded blend and an online vial each has a specific product and risk context.

Outcome	Ipamorelin / placebo
Any treatment-emergent adverse event	87.5% / 94.8%139,142
Serious adverse event	17.9% / 15.5%139
Hypokalemia	12.5% / 3.4%139
Insomnia	10.7% / 5.2%139
Hyperglycemia at discharge	14.3% / 8.6%139

Postoperative intravenous data

FDA described two deaths in the postoperative program but said their relation to ipamorelin was unclear. Three ipamorelin participants stopped because of nausea, hypertension or hypotension; the list gives no separate incidence rate for each event. These findings came from postoperative intravenous use.^139,149

Product-quality records

One compounded sermorelin/ipamorelin blend was recalled for lack of sterility assurance. A separate import-alert record describes material declared as aspartic acid that contained undeclared ipamorelin. The records are individual examples without a market-wide frequency estimate.^150,151

US status checked in 2026

Dated FDA and DailyMed searches returned no matching approved drug or finished-product label. At the 2024 compounding committee meeting, separate votes on including the free base and acetate were each 0 yes, 12 no and 1 abstention. FDA still lists ipamorelin acetate under its 503B Category 2 safety-concern table. Those status findings are country-specific.^{140,149,153,154}

Country classifications

Australia lists ipamorelin as a prescription medicine with additional possession controls. New Zealand classifies it as prescription. Scheduling or classification is not proof that a finished ipamorelin product is approved.^156,157

Shared CJC/ipamorelin reports

A separate CJC-1295 alias query recovered three reports that also named a CJC/ipamorelin product: two listed it as suspect or co-suspect and one as concomitant. This is not a complete ipamorelin count, and the reporter-assigned roles do not establish causality.^169,170

Common questions

Questions here cover route, product identity, human results and safety.

01 What about CJC-1295 or mod GRF?

The studies provide no reliable evidence on the CJC-1295/ipamorelin blend's effects or safety. The controlled clinical records used intravenous ipamorelin.^139,150,152

02 What dose and timing were actually studied?

The published postoperative trial used 0.03 mg/kg by intravenous infusion twice a day for up to seven days. A second completed trial used three intravenous schedules but posted no results. One uncontrolled four-woman case series reported 200 mcg under the skin daily for six to seven weeks as part of a larger program. None of these records validates online timing or cycle advice. The schedules describe study protocols only.^{142,143,144,148}

03 Can it be combined with other peptides?

Interactions with those combinations remain unknown in these sources. FDA records about specific blends describe those products only.^152,150

04 Will it help me build muscle or lose fat?

The cited studies do not establish muscle gain, fat loss, recovery, performance or height. One acute study showed a growth-hormone pulse. A 114-person postoperative trial missed its main endpoint, a completed 320-person trial posted no results, and a four-woman case series used several treatments at once.^{141,142,144,148}

05 How does it compare with HGH and other secretagogues?

Ipamorelin activates the ghrelin receptor. HGH is the hormone itself, while sermorelin and tesamorelin act through the GHRH receptor. Claims that ipamorelin is more selective come mainly from animal and laboratory work. Animal and laboratory selectivity findings do not show better results or better long-term safety in people.^138,139,145

06 What side effects have been seen?

In the 114-person postoperative intravenous trial, treatment-emergent adverse events occurred in 87.5% of the ipamorelin group and 94.8% of placebo; serious events occurred in 17.9% and 15.5%. FDA also described two deaths in the postoperative program but said their relation to ipamorelin was unclear. The completed 320-person trial posted no results, and the four-woman subcutaneous report did not track adverse events systematically. Long-term safety of injections under the skin is uncertain.^{139,149,142,144,148}

07 Is the two-hour half-life from injections under the skin?

No. The roughly two-hour half-life comes from an intravenous study in healthy men. A one-person study used the nasal route to study urine detection. A 1998 title confirms iontophoresis and intravenous use but gives no readable numbers. A four-woman case series used injections under the skin but did not measure pharmacokinetics.^{141,146,147,148,139}

08 Can I trust an online vial?

A vial label does not prove identity, dose, sterility or purity. FDA records include a compounded sermorelin/ipamorelin blend recalled for lack of sterility assurance and imported material declared as aspartic acid that contained undeclared ipamorelin. Those examples provide no market-wide frequency estimate.^150,151,149

09 What is known about injection reactions?

A reliable reaction rate is unavailable from these records. FDA found two historical nonserious reports involving compounded products: one nasal ipamorelin product and one injected sermorelin/ipamorelin combination. The four-woman injection report did not collect adverse events systematically.^139,148

10 Do studies support reconstitution or storage instructions?

These studies do not validate mixing or storage instructions for unverified vials or blends. Dated US searches found no approved ipamorelin label with product-specific directions.^153,154,149

11 How fast does it work, and does it last?

In the acute intravenous study, growth hormone peaked around 0.67 hours and terminal half-life was about two hours. Those laboratory measurements do not prove sleep, fat-loss, muscle or recovery benefits. The seven-day postoperative trial missed its main endpoint. Lasting benefits after stopping are unproven in these studies.^141,142,143

12 What do we know about women and pregnancy?

A four-woman case series used daily subcutaneous ipamorelin inside individualized programs with other treatments. It reports four pregnancies, three births and one miscarriage. Without a control group or systematic adverse-event tracking, it cannot show a fertility benefit or safety in pregnancy.¹⁴⁸

13 What about heart rate, glucose, appetite or fluid retention?

In the postoperative intravenous trial, hyperglycemia at discharge was reported in 14.3% of the ipamorelin group and 8.6% of placebo. Three ipamorelin participants stopped because of nausea, hypertension or hypotension; the source gives no separate rate for each event. These findings do not establish chronic subcutaneous rates or answer appetite and fluid-retention questions.^141,139

14 What exactly is ipamorelin?

Ipamorelin free base is a synthetic five-amino-acid peptide: Aib-His-D-2-Nal-D-Phe-Lys-NH2. FDA treats the free base and acetate as separate bulk substances. A short intravenous growth-hormone pulse shows activity, not clinical benefit, a long-term schedule or vial identity.^{138,139,145,141}

15 Does it improve sleep?

A sleep benefit has not been demonstrated in the cited studies. In the postoperative intravenous trial, insomnia was reported in 10.7% of the ipamorelin group and 5.2% of placebo.^139,142