Looking into AOD-9604- does anyone have any first hand experience with it?

[FatPanda]

I just found out about AOD-9604, and I am eager to try it, perhaps while resting from KLOW and MOTS-C. However, I wanted to get some more opinions on it. Is it worth a try?

 

[AndyPanda]

I just found out about AOD-9604, and I am eager to try it, perhaps while resting from KLOW and MOTS-C. However, I wanted to get some more opinions on it. Is it worth a try?

I don’t think it does anything, and don’t know of anyone that’s actually benefited from it other than the people who sell the stuff.

 

[littledragon25]

Everything I've heard is that it's bunk and not to bother.

 

[Jack brown]

It's the study here: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3584306/
It has dosages of 0.25-1mg per day, and basically did nothing.

 

[Mr. Blonde]

Let me guess...guy pitching this shit offered a discount code?!

 

[Calm Logic]

Bumping with more info against the use of AOD, recommending alternatives instead like GLPs and GH peptides (sermorelin and tesamorelin):

Safety and Efficacy of Approved and Unapproved Peptide Therapies for
Musculoskeletal Injuries and Athletic Performance (2025)

AOD-9604 (Anti-Obesity Drug 9604) is a peptide fragment of residues 177-191 of human growth hormone (hGH), with a tyrosine residue added to enhance stability. AOD-9604 was originally developed to isolate the lipolytic properties of hGH while avoiding anabolic and insulin desensitizing effects. AOD-9604 is proposed to stimulate lipolysis through interaction with beta adrenergic receptors. AOD-9604 does not bind the hGH receptor with high affinity and does not stimulate insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) production, and aims to reduce adiposity without the other effects of chronic hGH administration.

AOD-9604 significantly reduced fat mass in rodent models of obesity, which then led to six randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials involving over 900 patients to evaluate the treatment of obesity. The safety profile was favorable, with no changes in IGF-1 or insulin sensitivity. However, AOD-9604 failed to show dose dependent, statistically significant weight loss compared to placebo, leading to the termination of clinical development for obesity.

AOD-9604 is often promoted off-label for fat reduction, although it is ineffective for this purpose. Recently, there has been interest in AOD-9604 for cartilage repair based on promising results in a rabbit model of osteoarthritis, but there is no human data available. While clinical trials demonstrated AOD-9604 was safe in the short term, prolonged activation of beta adrenergic signaling could lead to dysautonomias.

Alternatives to AOD-9604 for weight loss include the GLP-1RAs, or the norepinephrine and dopamine releasing agent phentermine. The hGH secretagogues sermorelin and tesamorelin, discussed in subsequent sections, may also be appropriate alternatives. Physiotherapy, hyaluronic acid, platelet rich plasma (PRP), bone marrow aspirate concentrate (BMAC), or adipose stromovascular fraction (SVF) therapies are likely better at treating osteoarthritis symptoms.

 

[Calm Logic]

From a lead researcher on the AOD study in humans:

What is the drug AOD-9604? › Ask an Expert (ABC Science)

www.abc.net.au

Wittert says he has led five out of the six studies on AOD-9604 carried out in humans, including a six-month study, funded by Metabolic Pharmaceuticals, the company that developed the drug.

"This showed quite clearly there was no effect on weight," he says.

"It was never going to be an anti-obesity drug."

Wittert says there's an explanation for why the drug doesn't work in humans despite showing some impact in mice.

"In mouse studies, AOD-9604 was shown to break down fat and prevent weight gain, but it was also shown that this effect over the longer term was dependent on a specific receptor," he says.

"When you give AOD-9604 to mice that are deficient in this receptor the weight-losing effect is lost."

"It's not surprising that AOD-9604 doesn't work in humans because the receptor on which it appears to be dependent is not the same in mice and humans."

Despite some anecdotal reports that it can build muscle, Wittert says he has been unable to find any data to support this.

Indeed, he says, the drug was specifically designed not to have anabolic effects.

Unlike human growth hormone, AOD-9604 does not stimulate the production of IGF1 (Insulin-like Growth Factor 1), which is involved in growth and development, says Wittert.

"It's designed not to have an effect on muscle," he says.

In a statement released earlier this year, Metabolic's parent company Calzada says the obesity program was abandoned in 2007 as trials did not show "a clinically meaningful weight loss outcome across the trial population."

Regarding anabolic effects, the company says previous pre-clinical trials "provide clear scientific and medical evidence that AOD9604 does not increase Insulin-like Growth Factor 1."

"Furthermore, there is no evidence that AOD-9604 dosing increases the number of muscle or cartilage cells."

The company says it is now investigating the drug's potential to repair cartilage, muscle and joint disorders such as osteoarthritis, but only pre-clinical trials have been conducted.