Tesamorelin is the GHRH analogue with a current FDA label. It is shortened to tesa in the market and appears on US labels as EGRIFTA SV and EGRIFTA WR, and it is the reference case for how a dosage figure should be read: the label gives a validated dose for a specific indication, the trial gives the dose that produced the label, and the compounding and research-vial pages give the conventions that grew up beside it. This page reports those layers with sources and dates. Its shorter relative sermorelin, which lost its label in 2009, now has its own sermorelin dosage page. It does not recommend anything. How brands appear on this site is set out on our disclosure page.
Tesamorelin: the label
EGRIFTA is FDA-approved to reduce excess abdominal fat in HIV-infected adults with lipodystrophy, and its label states that it is not indicated for weight loss. Two formulations are current. EGRIFTA WR (label revised March 2025): "Reconstitute 1 vial of EGRIFTA WR lyophilized powder with 1.3 mL of diluent (8 mg per mL). Move the vial in a circle (swirl) to mix all the powder and liquid. Do not shake." "One reconstituted EGRIFTA WR vial provides daily doses for 7 consecutive days. One dose of EGRIFTA WR is 1.28 mg in 0.16 mL of the reconstituted solution." "Store reconstituted EGRIFTA WR at room temperature at 20 °C to 25 °C (68 °F to 77 °F). Discard unused solution of EGRIFTA WR 7 days after mixing. Do not freeze." The kit includes a 30 mL multiple-dose vial of Bacteriostatic Water for Injection, USP (FDA label). EGRIFTA SV (2019 label): 2 mg vial reconstituted with 0.5 mL of Sterile Water for Injection, rolled gently for 30 seconds, 1.4 mg drawn as 0.35 mL and injected immediately, remainder discarded (FDA label). What that 2 mg dose produced, study by study and after withdrawal, is tabulated on our page of tesamorelin trial outcomes.
The trial behind the label: 404 HIV-infected patients with excess abdominal fat, randomized 2:1 to tesamorelin "2 mg subcutaneous (SC) every day" or placebo for 6 months, then re-randomized for a further 6; visceral fat fell 10.9% versus 0.6% (Falutz et al., JAIDS 2010). The 1.28 mg and 1.4 mg label doses of the newer formulations are stated by the label to give exposure similar to the original 2 mg dose. What those trials counted as adverse reactions — injection-site reactions in a quarter of patients, a rise in HbA1c, antibodies in half — is set out on our tesamorelin side-effects record.
Tesamorelin dosage chart and half-life
| Product or source | Daily amount | Volume drawn | Concentration | Half-life (label) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EGRIFTA WR (label) | 1.28 mg | 0.16 mL | 8 mg/mL (2 mg in 1.3 mL) | 11 minutes |
| EGRIFTA SV (label) | 1.4 mg | 0.35 mL | 4 mg/mL (2 mg in 0.5 mL) | 8 minutes |
| Original EGRIFTA and the pivotal trial | 2 mg | per formulation | per formulation | — |
| Research-vial convention (protocol page) | 2 mg | 0.4 mL, 40 units | 5 mg/mL (10 mg in 2 mL) | — |
The half-lives are from the current labels, both effective 2026-07-29: a mean elimination half-life of 8 minutes (SV) and 11 minutes (WR) in healthy subjects after a single subcutaneous dose. That is shorter than many comparison pages imply; the daily schedule follows the hormone response, not the peptide's time in the blood. Every graded half-life this site has sourced is on our peptide half-life chart.
Both compounds on this page act by releasing growth hormone, which then raises IGF-1. Supplying the growth factor directly is a separate proposition with a separate evidence base, and our page on the LR3 analogue and the approved IGF-1 label beside it sets out how far apart those two files are.
Tesamorelin: the compounded and research-vial convention
| Source | What it states | Kind of source | Date opened and link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peptide Dosing Protocols | Research vials: "2 mg per day, given as one subcutaneous injection in the abdomen. No ramp-up is used"; a 10 mg vial with "2.0 mL bacteriostatic water (5,000 mcg/mL concentration, 0.40 mL / 40 units per dose)"; also lists the EGRIFTA SV (1.4 mg, 0.35 mL) and WR (1.28 mg, 0.16 mL) label figures | Protocol site | Updated August 2026 |
| Clinic and vendor pages returned by a 2026-09-05 search (Perfect B, PS Peptides, FormBlends, Nulevel) | 2 mg daily, some on a 5-days-on/2-off schedule, drawn as 25 units of a 10 mg vial in 2.5 mL, at bedtime | Clinic and vendor guides, as summarized; not individually opened | Range only |
The convention tracks the trial dose, which is the one case on these pages where the clinic number and the trial number are the same number. The indication is not: the trial and label are for HIV-associated lipodystrophy, and the pages describe other uses.
Sermorelin, briefly
Sermorelin (Geref) is the 29-residue GHRH fragment that carried FDA approval from 1990 until 2009; FDA determined in 2013 that it was not withdrawn for reasons of safety or effectiveness, which is what allows pharmacies to compound it. Its only labelled treatment dose was pediatric. The adult trials, the compounded convention of 200 to 300 mcg nightly, and how far apart those two are, are on our sermorelin dosage page; what its record holds on adverse events is on our sermorelin side effects page.
Reconstitution arithmetic, as the sources state it
Tesamorelin, per the label: 2 mg in 1.3 mL is 8 mg/mL; 0.16 mL is 1.28 mg. Per the protocol page, a 10 mg research vial in 2 mL is 5 mg/mL, so 2 mg is 0.4 mL, 40 units on a U-100 syringe. Our reconstitution page has the procedure as the EGRIFTA label describes it and the arithmetic for any vial; our storage page covers what the labels and manufacturers say about solutions — including the seven-day label window for EGRIFTA WR in bacteriostatic water.
Status in sport
Both compounds are named under S2.2.4 of the 2026 WADA Prohibited List as GHRH analogues, "e.g. CJC-1293, CJC-1295, sermorelin and tesamorelin", prohibited at all times. MuscleLedger's drug-testing page covers detection.
What is not known
Whether tesamorelin does for people without HIV-associated lipodystrophy what the trial found in people with it, and its long-term effects in healthy adults. Nothing on this page is a recommendation. Set against ipamorelin, the unapproved ghrelin-receptor agonist it is often offered beside, tesamorelin's label and trial record are compared row by row on our tesamorelin vs ipamorelin page.
Sources and dates
Opened 2026-09-05, with the EGRIFTA SV and WR labels re-read for half-life on 2026-09-23: FDA labels for EGRIFTA WR (03/2025) and EGRIFTA SV (2019); Falutz et al. 2010 (PMID 20101189); Prakash and Goa 1999 (PMID 18031173); the Federal Register determination of 2013-03-04; Peptide Dosing Protocols' tesamorelin and sermorelin pages (August 2026); the 2026 WADA Prohibited List. Corrections go to the contact page.