Tesamorelin and sermorelin are the two GHRH analogues with a paper trail: one has a current FDA label, the other had one until 2009. That makes them the reference case for how a dosage figure should be read: the label gives a validated dose for a specific indication, the trials give the doses that produced the label, and the compounding pages give the adult conventions that grew up after the label went away. This page reports all three layers with sources and dates. 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).
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.
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: the label that was withdrawn
Sermorelin acetate (Geref) was approved for pediatric growth hormone deficiency (0.5 mg and 1.0 mg vials) and as a diagnostic (0.05 mg ampule). The clinical review of its use reports the treatment dose: "once daily subcutaneous sermorelin 30 microg/kg bodyweight given at bedtime is effective in treating some prepubertal children with idiopathic growth hormone deficiency", and the diagnostic dose as 1 mcg/kg intravenously (Prakash and Goa, BioDrugs 2009). EMD Serono discontinued the product in 2008; FDA withdrew the approvals effective 2009-06-18; and on 2013-03-04 FDA published its determination that Geref "were not withdrawn from sale for reasons of safety or effectiveness" (Federal Register), which is the finding that lets pharmacies compound it.
Sermorelin: what compounders and clinics state for adults
| Source | What it states | Kind of source | Date opened and link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empower Pharmacy | "0.2 to 0.3 mg of sermorelin acetate injected subcutaneously once daily at bedtime" for adults; pediatric "0.03 mg per kilogram of body weight (30 µg/kg) once daily at bedtime"; vials of 6, 9 and 15 mg; reconstituted with the provided diluent, "usually bacteriostatic water", mixed gently "avoiding shaking", kept at 2–8 °C, "1–2 weeks" typical stability; prescription required | Compounding pharmacy | Product page, 2026-09-05 |
| Olympia Pharmaceuticals | "Inject 300 mcg (33 units) Once nightly", "Sixty to ninety minutes after your last meal", 0.9 mg/mL vial, "One vial is intended to cover 28 days"; dosing "individualized" by the prescriber | Compounding pharmacy chart | Dosage chart, 2026-09-05 |
| Peptide Dosing Protocols | "200–300 mcg subQ nightly. Titration usually starts at 100 mcg"; weeks 1–2 100 mcg, weeks 3–4 200 mcg, weeks 5–8 300 mcg, week 9+ 400–500 mcg if response insufficient; "30–60 minutes before sleep, on an empty stomach"; 3 mL bacteriostatic water in a 10 mg vial "gives 3 units per 100 mcg" | Protocol site | Reviewed August 2026 |
| Clinic and vendor pages returned by a 2026-09-05 search (sermorelin.com, IvyRx, Eden, FormBlends, Advanced TRT) | 200–300 mcg nightly as the common tier, 300–500 mcg for larger patients or documented GH decline, titrated in 100 mcg steps on IGF-1 at 6–8 weeks | Clinic and vendor guides, as summarized; not individually opened | Range only |
The adult figures are consistent across pharmacies and clinics, 200 to 300 mcg nightly, and none of them descends from a trial: the only trial-derived sermorelin dose is the pediatric 30 mcg/kg, which for a 20 kg child is 600 mcg, and the adult convention was set by practice after the product left the market. The pharmacies' own wording, "individualized" and "per prescriber direction", acknowledges it.
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. Sermorelin, per Olympia: a 0.9 mg/mL solution, in which 300 mcg is 0.33 mL, 33 units. Per the protocol page: 10 mg in 3 mL is 3.33 mg/mL, so 100 mcg is 0.03 mL, 3 units, and 300 mcg is 9 units. 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 contrast between the seven-day label window for tesamorelin in bacteriostatic water and the one-to-two-week compounding convention Empower states.
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; whether adult sermorelin at 200 to 300 mcg does anything measurable beyond raising IGF-1, since no adult outcome trial exists for the uses clinics describe; and the long-term effects of either in healthy adults. Nothing on this page is a recommendation.
Sources and dates
Opened 2026-09-05: FDA labels for EGRIFTA WR (03/2025) and EGRIFTA SV (2019); Falutz et al. 2010 (PMID 20101189); Prakash and Goa 2009 (PMID 18031173); the Federal Register determination of 2013-03-04; Empower Pharmacy's sermorelin page; Olympia Pharmaceuticals' sermorelin chart; Peptide Dosing Protocols' tesamorelin and sermorelin pages (August 2026); the 2026 WADA Prohibited List. Corrections go to the contact page.