Sermorelin

Sermorelin (GHRH 1-29) is a 29 amino acid fragment of growth hormone releasing hormone, once an FDA-approved drug for childhood growth hormone deficiency whose US approvals were withdrawn in 2009.

Last updated: October 2026

What is Sermorelin?

Sermorelin is a 29 amino acid peptide, the first 29 residues of the 44 amino acid hormone the hypothalamus uses to switch on growth hormone. A 1999 drug review calls it "the shortest synthetic peptide with full biological activity of GHRH". PubChem gives it the formula C149H246N44O42S and a molecular weight of 3357.9, and the WHO drug index lists it under two separate codes, one for treatment and one as a pituitary function test. It is a recognised pharmaceutical entity rather than a research chemical, and the rest of our peptide library covers the compounds it is sold beside.

As a medicine it was sold as Geref. The FDA approved it twice, a pituitary diagnostic in 1990 and a treatment for childhood growth hormone deficiency in 1997, both held by EMD Serono. The maker discontinued both products in 2008, the FDA withdrew the approvals in 2009, and in 2013 the agency recorded that the withdrawal was not for reasons of safety or effectiveness. That is a statement about why a company stopped selling a drug, not a verdict that the drug is safe, and there is no current FDA label.

What is sold today is not that discontinued product. In the United States sermorelin is supplied through pharmacy compounding, and the FDA currently lists sermorelin acetate in its 503B Category 1 for outsourcing facilities, an under-evaluation status rather than an approval; for contrast it places ipamorelin in a higher-risk category. One caution runs through the whole literature: the full length 44 amino acid hormone and longer-acting engineered versions such as CJC-1295 are different molecules, and much of what circulates online as "sermorelin research" is really data on one of those.

Sources: PubMed 18031173

How It Works

Receptor, not replacement: sermorelin binds the growth hormone releasing hormone receptor on the pituitary and prompts the gland to release its own growth hormone, rather than adding growth hormone from outside. A 1999 review describes it as the shortest fragment of GHRH that keeps full biological activity.

A short pulse, not a flood: in healthy men the peptide clears from plasma within minutes (a disappearance half time of about 4 minutes measured by infusion, and a plasma half life of roughly 10 to 20 minutes in a review), yet growth hormone stays elevated for about 3 hours after a single injection.

A ceiling, not a dial: in the adult intravenous dose response, the lowest dose tested (0.25 micrograms/kg) already released growth hormone and the maximum came at 1 to 2 micrograms/kg, so beyond that more peptide did not produce more growth hormone (dose-response study, not a recommendation).

It needs an intact pathway and it fatigues: in a genetic mouse model with a broken GHRH receptor, repeated dosing did nothing (animal study, Little mice, intraperitoneal), and continuous exposure blunts the response over time, which is the pharmacological reason the drug was dosed once daily at bedtime rather than continuously.

Sources: PubMed 18031173; PubMed 7962295; PubMed 14499707; PubMed 8329825; PubMed 2862212; PubMed 8329829

What the Evidence Shows

In children with growth hormone deficiency, height velocity (growth in height per year) increased on the approved-era regimen of 30 micrograms/kg once daily at bedtime (trial dose, not a recommendation), with the largest gain around 6 months
Head to head, growth hormone itself outperformed sermorelin: mean height velocity was about 9 cm per year on sermorelin versus about 15 on growth hormone, and doubling the sermorelin dose did not close the gap (randomised paediatric trial)
In healthy elderly men, 2 mg nightly for 6 weeks raised nighttime growth hormone output, but not IGF-I (insulin-like growth factor 1) or DEXA scan measures of muscle and fat (trial dose, not a recommendation)
A dose related rise in 24 hour growth hormone and IGF-I did appear in older men, but only at the higher dose of 1 mg twice daily (trial dose, not a recommendation), and that trial measured hormones, not physique
A related analog, not sermorelin itself, raised lean body mass in men only over 16 weeks, with no other change in body composition or bone density (trial, [Nle27]GHRH analog)
As a rapid pituitary stimulus it was used to test growth hormone reserve, though the test discriminated poorly between deficient and short but normal children (diagnostic trials)

Sources: PubMed 8772599; PubMed 8329830; PubMed 9005976; PubMed 1379256; PubMed 9141536; PubMed 7735368; PubMed 2074087

Doses Used in Published Research

Phase	Dose	Frequency	Duration
Childhood GH deficiency (approved-era regimen)	30 micrograms/kg once daily (trial dose, not a recommendation)	Subcutaneous, at bedtime	Up to 12 months, n=110 children
Childhood GH deficiency (head to head vs growth hormone)	30 or 60 micrograms/kg per day (trial dose, not a recommendation)	Subcutaneous	6 months, n=60; height velocity 9.2 and 9.3 cm/yr vs 14.6 for growth hormone
Pituitary function test (diagnostic use)	1 microgram/kg as a single intravenous bolus (trial dose, not a recommendation)	Intravenous, single dose	Single test; poor discrimination between deficient and short normal children
Healthy elderly men (flat dose)	2 mg once nightly (trial dose, not a recommendation)	Subcutaneous, at night	6 weeks, n=11; no change in IGF-I or DEXA muscle and fat
Healthy older men (dose response)	0.5 mg and 1 mg twice daily (trial dose, not a recommendation)	Subcutaneous, twice daily	14 days per dose; significant rise only at the higher dose
Older adults (a related analog, not sermorelin)	10 micrograms/kg nightly (trial dose, not a recommendation)	Subcutaneous; drug was [Nle27]GHRH(1-29), an analog	16 weeks, n=19; lean body mass rose in men only, no other body composition change
Animal study (highest daily dose in the corpus)	1200 micrograms per day (animal study, prepubertal female rats, subcutaneous)	Subcutaneous injection or slow release pellet	19 days; body weight rose at the highest dose

Disclaimer: these are doses used in published studies, shown with the study behind each figure. Sermorelin has no current FDA dosing label: its US approvals were withdrawn in 2009 and the original labeling was never posted, so there is no approved dose to report. This is educational, not a recommendation or a protocol. Any dose, schedule, or decision to use a compound belongs with a licensed prescriber.

Sources: PubMed 8772599; PubMed 8329830; PubMed 7735368; PubMed 2074087; PubMed 9005976; PubMed 1379256; PubMed 9141536; PubMed 10731083

Side Effects

Common

⚠Injection site reactions, the most consistently reported effect across trials and class reviews (paediatric trial; class review)
⚠Transient facial flushing, reported mainly at the higher intravenous doses (adult study; drug review)
⚠Anti-GHRH antibodies with repeated dosing: 39 of 40 children developed them over 6 months in one randomised trial, with no effect on growth, and they faded after treatment stopped (paediatric trials)
⚠Loss of growth hormone response over time (tachyphylaxis) with continuous or prolonged exposure (paediatric infusion study)

Rare

•Transient hyperlipidemia over 16 weeks, reported with a related analog rather than sermorelin itself (trial)
•Some impairment of glucose tolerance in the elderly, reported with a longer-acting PEGylated GHRH, not sermorelin (trial)
•No death, hospitalisation, or cancer signal was reported for sermorelin in any study gathered for this page, which reflects small, short, mostly paediatric trials and is not proof of long term safety

Sources: PubMed 8329830; PubMed 42395176; PubMed 2866496; PubMed 18031173; PubMed 7735367; PubMed 8329829; PubMed 9141536; PubMed 16061831

Who Should NOT Use Sermorelin

✕No official contraindication list exists for sermorelin: its FDA labeling was never publicly posted, so any hard list would be invented rather than sourced. The points below are cautions grounded in the record, not a label.
✕Competitive athletes under anti-doping rules: growth hormone releasing hormone and its analogues, sermorelin included, are on the WADA prohibited list per a peer reviewed analysis
✕Anyone counting on an approved, quality controlled product: sermorelin has no current FDA label, and 2026 reviews flag uncertainty over composition, dose and purity in unregulated supply
✕Pregnancy or breastfeeding: no reproductive or developmental toxicology for sermorelin surfaced in the literature gathered here, so safety is simply unknown
✕People whose growth hormone problem is in the pituitary rather than the hypothalamus: sermorelin acts only through a functioning pituitary GHRH receptor, and a normal response to it cannot rule out deficiency (drug review)

Sources: PubMed 34665524; PubMed 42395176; PubMed 18031173

What to Expect

First hours

The peptide clears within minutes, but the growth hormone pulse it triggers stays elevated for about 3 hours after a single injection (healthy adults).

First weeks

In adults, growth hormone output rose while IGF-I and DEXA body composition did not change at 2 mg nightly over 6 weeks (trial dose, not a recommendation).

6 to 12 months

In children, height velocity gains were largest around 6 months and smaller by 12, and most children developed reversible anti-GHRH antibodies on repeated dosing (paediatric trials).

After stopping

Growth returned to pretreatment rates once treatment stopped in children, so the effect did not persist.

Adult before and after

No human trial gathered here measured a body composition change at sermorelin doses and found one: the adult DEXA trials showed no change, or a change only with a related analog.

Sources: PubMed 8329825; PubMed 9005976; PubMed 8772599; PubMed 8329830; PubMed 2140733; PubMed 9141536

Notes from Ho Chi Minh City

In Ho Chi Minh City the sermorelin conversation is a clinic conversation, not a pharmacy one. Long Châu will sell you recombinant growth hormone, the Saizen 6mg listing is real, but a search for sermorelin returns nothing, and the Drug Administration of Vietnam register sits behind a login, so its formal status here is genuinely undetermined. The Vietnamese language clinic pages that discuss it lean on United States price ranges of 10 to 20 USD per dose and a five nights on, two nights off schedule that matches no trial in the literature.

That gap between the marketing and the trial record is the whole story: a drug approved for children in 1997, discontinued by its own maker in 2008, with a thin adult evidence base that never showed the physique change the market implies. Dose, route, and whether to use it at all are decisions for a licensed prescriber. For the study by study timeline, and an honest look at what before and after photos can and cannot show, read the sermorelin before and after guide.

Sources: PubMed 9005976; PubMed 9141536

Sourcing in Vietnam

Sermorelin is not a shelf product in Vietnamese retail pharmacies as far as this could be checked: Long Châu's catalogue returns no result for it, even though the same catalogue lists recombinant growth hormone. Pharmacity and An Khang could not be searched from here, so their position is unknown rather than a confirmed no. The national drug register could not be queried without an account, so registration status is undetermined, and no Vietnamese price appears on any page reviewed.

Where sourcing happens it is through compounding or importers rather than pharmacies, so a certificate of analysis and cold chain handling matter, and a quote far below what other sellers charge is a counterfeit signal. See the Peptides Vietnam supply index and COA guide before buying.

Disclosure: Some links on this page are referral links. Peptides Vietnam may earn a fee at no cost to you. Editorial content is never sold.

Our supply partner lists sermorelin on Peptara's sermorelin page. A research listing is not an approved medicine, and nothing on it turns the trial doses above into a dose to take.

FAQ

Q: What dose of sermorelin did studies use?

A: No sermorelin dose is currently approved, because the FDA approvals were withdrawn in 2009 and the original label was never posted. Trials gave children with growth hormone deficiency 30 micrograms/kg once daily at bedtime (PMID 8772599), and older men 2 mg nightly for 6 weeks (PMID 9005976) or 0.5 mg and 1 mg twice daily for 14 days (PMID 1379256). One Vietnamese clinic page advertises 200 to 1000 micrograms per day (a clinic marketing claim, no trial), a range that matches no study in the literature. Disclaimer: these are trial figures, not a recommendation, and any dose is a decision for a licensed prescriber.

Q: What do sermorelin before and after results actually show?

A: Less than the marketing implies: no human study gathered here measured a body composition change at sermorelin doses and found one. In healthy elderly men, a flat 2 mg nightly for 6 weeks (trial dose, not a recommendation, PMID 9005976) raised growth hormone output but did not change IGF-I (insulin-like growth factor 1) or DEXA body scan measures of muscle and fat. The one adult trial that reported a lean body mass gain, in men only, used a related analog rather than sermorelin and reported no other body composition change (PMID 9141536). A chart review often cited as evidence gave sermorelin together with GHRP-6 and GHRP-2, so its IGF-1 rise cannot be pinned on sermorelin, and it reported no physique measure at all (retrospective review of 14 men, PMID 28830317).

Q: Is sermorelin FDA approved?

A: Not now: the FDA approved two Geref products, a pituitary diagnostic in 1990 and a treatment for childhood growth hormone deficiency in 1997. The maker discontinued both in 2008, the FDA withdrew the approvals effective June 2009, and in 2013 the agency confirmed the products were not withdrawn for reasons of safety or effectiveness. The current Drugs@FDA status is Discontinued and there is no current label. A Vietnamese clinic page stating sermorelin is FDA approved for children is out of date on that point.

Q: Is sermorelin the same as GHRH, CJC-1295 or tesamorelin?

A: No: sermorelin is the first 29 amino acids of the 44 amino acid natural hormone, and the full length peptide is a different molecule. CJC-1295 is an engineered longer-acting version built on that same 1-29 sequence, while tesamorelin is a stabilised version of the full 44 amino acid hormone, as our tesamorelin vs sermorelin comparison explains. Sermorelin's very short half life is exactly why the market moved toward longer-acting versions like these (PMID 14499707). Much of the "sermorelin research" online is actually data on the full length hormone or on these analogs.

Q: Can you buy sermorelin in Vietnam?

A: Undetermined from the public record. Vietnam's Drug Administration register could not be queried without a login, so its formal registration status here is unknown, and this page does not claim it is either registered or banned. Long Châu's online catalogue returns no sermorelin result, while it does list recombinant growth hormone such as Saizen. Two other chains, Pharmacity and An Khang, could not be searched from here, so their position is unknown rather than confirmed, and no Vietnamese price was found on any page checked.

Q: What are the main risks?

A: The most consistent are injection site reactions and transient facial flushing (PMID 2866496). With repeated dosing, most children developed reversible anti-GHRH antibodies, a signature finding rarely mentioned in consumer material (PMID 8329830), and the response also fades with continuous or prolonged exposure (PMID 8329829). No serious adverse event was reported for sermorelin in the trials gathered here, but they are small, short and mostly in children, so that is not a clean bill of health. Broader risk lists in 2026 peptide reviews describe the whole class of peptides that make the pituitary release growth hormone, not sermorelin specifically (PMID 42395176, PMID 41880199).

Where to Get Sermorelin in Vietnam

See our community-verified supplier list with COA verification and cold-chain shipping to Vietnam.

View Supply Index Sermorelin at our supply partner, Peptara Labs

Related Peptides

CJC-1295 Tesamorelin Ipamorelin BPC-157 Peptide Library

Research & Sources

Sermorelin: a review of its use in the diagnosis and treatment of children with idiopathic growth hormone deficiency · BioDrugs (1999) (PMID: 18031173)
Dedicated drug review written while sermorelin was still on the US market; source for identity, the approved 30 micrograms/kg regimen, and the tolerability profile.
Once daily subcutaneous growth hormone-releasing hormone therapy accelerates growth in growth hormone-deficient children during the first year of therapy (Geref International Study Group) · J Clin Endocrinol Metab (1996) (PMID: 8772599)
Largest paediatric trial, n=110, 30 micrograms/kg once daily at bedtime for up to 1 year.
A comparative study of growth hormone (GH) and GH-releasing hormone(1-29)-NH2 for stimulation of growth in children with GH deficiency · Acta Paediatr Suppl (1993) (PMID: 8329830)
Randomised trial, n=60; growth hormone outperformed sermorelin and 39 of 40 children developed reversible anti-GHRH antibodies.
Long-term therapy with a single daily subcutaneous dose of growth hormone releasing hormone (1-29) in prepubertal growth hormone deficient children (Venezuelan Collaborative Study Group) · J Pediatr Endocrinol (1994) (PMID: 7735367)
Longest paediatric exposure found, 12 to 24 months, n=16.
Priming with GHRH (1-29) NH2: an aid in differential diagnosis between hypothalamic and pituitary deficiencies · J Pediatr Endocrinol (1994) (PMID: 7735368)
Diagnostic use; the standard 1 microgram/kg intravenous bolus and a six-day subcutaneous priming regimen.
Evaluation of the growth-hormone-releasing hormone test in short normal and growth-hormone-deficient children · Horm Res (1990) (PMID: 2074087)
Found the GHRH test poorly reproducible and unable to separate deficient from short but normal children.
Pharmacokinetics of growth hormone-releasing hormone(1-29)-NH2 and stimulation of growth hormone secretion in healthy subjects after intravenous or intranasal administration · Acta Paediatr Suppl (1993) (PMID: 8329825)
Adult intravenous dose response and pharmacokinetics; the dose ceiling and the roughly 3 hour growth hormone pulse.
Effects of single nightly injections of growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH 1-29) in healthy elderly men · Metabolism (1997) (PMID: 9005976)
Flat 2 mg nightly for 6 weeks, n=11; raised growth hormone output but no change in IGF-I or DEXA muscle and fat.
Growth hormone (GH)-releasing hormone-(1-29) twice daily reverses the decreased GH and insulin-like growth factor-I levels in old men · J Clin Endocrinol Metab (1992) (PMID: 1379256)
Flat 0.5 mg and 1 mg twice daily for 14 days, n=10; significant increases only at the higher dose.
Endocrine and metabolic effects of long-term administration of [Nle27]growth hormone-releasing hormone-(1-29)-NH2 in age-advanced men and women · J Clin Endocrinol Metab (1997) (PMID: 9141536)
The drug given was the [Nle27] analog of GHRH(1-29)NH2, not plain sermorelin; lean body mass rose in men only, with transient hyperlipidemia.
Growth hormone (GH) profiles in response to continuous subcutaneous infusion of GH-releasing hormone(1-29)-NH2 in children with GH deficiency · Acta Paediatr Suppl (1993) (PMID: 8329829)
Continuous subcutaneous infusion; documents loss of growth hormone response over months.
Continuous subcutaneous GHRH(1-29)NH2 promotes growth over 1 year in short, slowly growing children · Clin Endocrinol (Oxf) (1990) (PMID: 2140733)
Growth returned to pretreatment rates after treatment stopped in all children.
Growth Hormone Secretagogue Treatment in Hypogonadal Men Raises Serum Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1 Levels · Am J Mens Health (2017) (PMID: 28830317)
Retrospective chart review; sermorelin was given with GHRP-6 and GHRP-2, so the IGF-1 rise cannot be attributed to sermorelin, and no body composition endpoint was reported.
Incorporation of D-Ala2 in growth hormone-releasing hormone-(1-29)-NH2 increases the half-life and decreases metabolic clearance in normal men · J Clin Endocrinol Metab (1994) (PMID: 7962295)
Directly measured human half life of GHRH(1-29)NH2, about 4 minutes by infusion.
PEGylation of growth hormone-releasing hormone (GRF) analogues · Adv Drug Deliv Rev (2003) (PMID: 14499707)
Ties sermorelin to the N-terminal 29 residues of GHRH(1-44) and gives the plasma half life of about 10 to 20 minutes.
Growth hormone responses to growth hormone-releasing hormone (1-29)-NH2 and a D-Ala2 analog in normal men · Peptides (1985) (PMID: 2866496)
Lowest intravenous doses tested in humans; transient flushing at the highest dose.
Polyethylene glycol-conjugated growth hormone-releasing hormone is long acting and stimulates GH in healthy young and elderly subjects · Eur J Endocrinol (2005) (PMID: 16061831)
PEGylated GHRH, a longer-acting analog, not sermorelin; included for its glucose tolerance and injection-site findings.
The emerging landscape of performance-enhancing peptides modulating GH-IGF1 axis: bridging the gap between clinical evidence and patient self-administration · Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) (2026) (PMID: 42395176)
2026 narrative review; its adverse-effect list covers the whole GH secretagogue class, not sermorelin specifically.
A new era of doping? Use of peptide and peptide-analog drugs in recreational and professional sport and bodybuilding: a critical review · J Sports Med Phys Fitness (2026) (PMID: 41880199)
2026 review of peptide use in sport; its risk list describes the peptide class, not sermorelin specifically.
Advances in the detection of growth hormone releasing hormone synthetic analogs · Drug Test Anal (2021) (PMID: 34665524)
Peer-reviewed analysis; the WADA prohibited status is cited from this paper in place of the List document.
Effect of long-term GHRH and somatostatin administration on GH release and body weight in prepubertal female rats · J Physiol Biochem (1999) (PMID: 10731083)
Animal study in prepubertal female rats; the highest daily dose in the fetched corpus, 1200 micrograms per day.
Effects of a fragment of human growth hormone-releasing factor in normal and 'Little' mice · J Endocrinol (1985) (PMID: 2862212)
Animal study in a GHRH-receptor-defective mouse model; a mechanistic negative.
Determination That GEREF (Sermorelin Acetate) Injection Was Not Withdrawn From Sale for Reasons of Safety or Effectiveness · US FDA, Federal Register (2013) Link
FDA notice giving the 1990 and 1997 approval dates, the indications, and the 2013 determination that withdrawal was not for safety or effectiveness.
Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. et al.; Withdrawal of Approval of 92 New Drug Applications and 49 Abbreviated New Drug Applications · US FDA, Federal Register (2009) Link
Withdrew the two Geref new drug applications effective June 18, 2009, at the applicant request.
Drugs@FDA: FDA-Approved Drugs, NDA 020443 (GEREF, sermorelin acetate) · US FDA (2026) Link
Current record; marketing status Discontinued, and the label is not hosted.
Bulk Drug Substances Nominated for Use in Compounding Under Section 503B of the FD&C Act · US FDA (2025) Link
Lists sermorelin acetate in 503B Category 1 (under evaluation) and ipamorelin acetate in Category 2 (significant safety risks).
ATC/DDD Index: sermorelin (H01AC04 and V04CD03) · WHO Collaborating Centre for Drug Statistics Methodology (2026) Link
Two ATC codes, one for treatment and one as a pituitary function test; no defined daily dose is assigned.
Sermorelin, Compound Summary (CID 16132413) · PubChem, National Library of Medicine (2026) Link
Molecular formula C149H246N44O42S, molecular weight 3357.9.
KEGG DRUG: Sermorelin (D08509) and Sermorelin acetate (D02117) · KEGG, Kanehisa Laboratories (2026) Link
Sermorelin is the INN and sermorelin acetate is the USAN; the medicine was formulated as the acetate.
Nhà thuốc FPT Long Châu, catalogue search for sermorelin · Long Châu (2026) Link
Returns no sermorelin result while listing recombinant growth hormone such as Saizen.
Những điều cần biết về peptide Sermorelin · Drip Hydration Vietnam (2026) Link
Commercial clinic page; quotes US prices and a schedule found in no trial, and implies a current FDA approval that has been withdrawn.

Important Disclaimer

Educational content only, not medical advice. Sermorelin has no current FDA-approved label, its US approvals were withdrawn in 2009, and its Vietnamese registration status could not be verified from the public DAV register. It is not listed by Long Châu, and other Vietnamese pharmacy chains could not be checked. Consult a licensed physician before any use.