Sermorelin: what the evidence shows

What the human research shows

The pharmacology is not in question — sermorelin does what it says to the hormone axis, and had a regulatory approval on that basis. What is missing is any well-controlled adult trial showing that the hormone change translates into the outcomes people take it for.

Evidence profile0–5

Metabolic & weight—0.0
Cardiovascular—0.0
Muscle & growthA3.3
Healing & repair—0.0
Neuro & sleepD0.0
Immune & inflammation—0.0
Sexual & hormonal—0.0
Skin & appearance—0.0
Ageing & longevity—0.0

Each score is confidence × effect size, taken from the best-evidenced benefit in that domain: the grade (A–D) sets the confidence, the measured effect sets the size. Hover a domain to see the outcomes behind it. Adverse effects are excluded and listed separately below.

Outcome	Grade	Effect size	Human studies	Where the evidence comes from
Growth hormone / IGF-1 elevation	AEstablished	Moderate	Approval-grade paediatric data	The basis of the 1990 approval as a diagnostic agent: a reliable, measurable GH response. Open-label adult series report IGF-1 rises over 3–6 months.1
Body composition in adults	CWeak	Small	Small studies, mostly open-label	A few small trials and open-label series report modest changes; no adequately powered randomised trial in healthy adults.1
Sleep quality	DNo human evidence	Not measurable	Anecdotal / small	Frequently claimed; the supporting human data is minimal and uncontrolled.
Safety in adultsadverse	CWeak	Not measurable	Compounding-era use	Long clinical familiarity from the paediatric era and compounded adult use; no modern controlled long-term dataset.

AMultiple good human trials, consistentBSome human trials, mostly consistentCFew or weak human studiesDAnimal or anecdotal onlyeffect size · red = adverse

Literature searched to 2 September 2026. Human studies only; animal and cell work informs the mechanism section and nothing else.

Registered trials

ClinicalTrials.gov lists 11 interventional studies naming Sermorelin as an intervention — 8 completed, and 4 with results posted to the registry.

A registration is not a result. Anyone can register a study, and many never report — so this list shows what has been attempted, not what has been shown. The graded evidence above is the answer to whether something works.

Study	Phase	Status	Participants	Sponsor	Results
Adult Growth Hormone Deficiency and Cardiovascular RiskNCT00720902 · started Feb 2007	Phase 4	Terminated	7	Columbia University	Posted
Effectiveness of Growth Hormone Releasing Hormone in Reducing Abdominal Fat in People Who Are ObeseNCT00675506 · started Jul 2008	Phase 2	Completed	60	Massachusetts General Hospital	Posted
Three Month Treatment of Growth Hormone Releasing Hormone (GHRH) in the ElderlyNCT01410799 · started May 2011	Phase 2	Terminated	13	University of Pennsylvania	Posted
Six Month Treatment of Growth Hormone Releasing Hormone (GHRH) in the ElderlyNCT00807365 · started Dec 2007	Phase 2	Terminated	5	Johns Hopkins University	Posted
Comparative Validation of the Growth Hormone Releasing Hormone and Arginine Test for the Diagnosis of Adult Growth Hormone DeficiencyNCT01060488 · started Jan 2004	Phase 3	Completed	69	Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany	None
SMART: Somatotrophics, Memory, and Aging Research TrialNCT00257712 · started Feb 2006	Phase 2	Completed	151	University of Washington	None
Estradiol-Receptor Blockade in Older Men and WomenNCT02271282 · started Dec 2014	Phase 1	Completed	40	Mayo Clinic	None
The Effect of Growth Hormone Releasing Hormone on Cognitive Function in Individuals With Mild Cognitive ImpairmentNCT02553603 · started Jul 2017	Phase 1	Completed	22	The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston	None

3 further studies are registered. Participant counts marked * are the sponsor's estimate, not a final enrolment. Source: ClinicalTrials.gov, read directly from the registry and refreshed weekly.

What it is

Growth-hormone-releasing hormone is 44 amino acids long, and its first 29 carry essentially all the activity. Sermorelin is that fragment, made synthetically. Because it prompts the pituitary to release its own growth hormone, the resulting pattern is pulsatile — closer to physiology than injected growth hormone.

It was sold as Geref from 1990, first for diagnosing growth-hormone deficiency in children and later for paediatric short stature. Serono withdrew it in October 2008; the withdrawal was commercial, and the FDA record does not attribute it to safety or efficacy concerns. In the US it remains available through 503A compounding pharmacies, which is why it occupies a different regulatory position from BPC-157 or TB-500.

How it is thought to work

It binds GHRH receptors on the pituitary, producing a pulse of growth hormone and, downstream, IGF-1. Because it works through the pituitary rather than bypassing it, the body's own feedback loops still apply — the argument for why it is gentler than exogenous growth hormone.

What is still unknown

Whether raising GH and IGF-1 in healthy adults changes body composition, sleep or anything else people take it for.
Long-term consequences of sustained IGF-1 elevation.
How much the compounded product resembles the original pharmaceutical.

The molecule and how long it lasts

Identity

Formula: C149H246N44O42S
Molecular weight: 3357.9 g/mol
CAS number: 86168-78-7
PubChem: CID 16132413

PubChem record, read 23 September 2026.

Pharmacokinetics

Route: Subcutaneous (former Geref product); intravenous and intranasal in the PK study
Half-life: Rapidly eliminated after intravenous injection (minutes); the figure is not in the accessible abstract. Intranasal bioavailability 3–5%

From a published human pharmacokinetic study: Wilton P, et al. Pharmacokinetics of GHRH(1-29)-NH2 and stimulation of GH secretion in healthy subjects after intravenous or intranasal administration. Acta Paediatr Suppl 1993

Regulatory status

European Union

No current authorisation

Historic Geref authorisations have lapsed; no product is authorised today. Supply for human use is an offence.

United States

Discontinued brand; compounded on prescription

Geref was approved in 1997 and withdrawn from the market in 2008 for commercial reasons. Sermorelin acetate is not in Category 2 and is compounded by pharmacies on prescription; it remains unapproved as a product.

United Kingdom

Unlicensed medicine

Not licensed by the MHRA. Selling or supplying it is an offence under the Human Medicines Regulations 2012; importing a small quantity purely for personal use is not itself an offence, but consignments are seized.

Australia

Schedule 4, unapproved

Prescription-only substance not on the ARTG. Possession without a prescription is an offence; imports without a prescription are seized.

Canada

Not authorised

No Drug Identification Number; selling it is illegal. Residents cannot import prescription drugs by mail.

Sport (WADA)

Prohibited at all times

GHRH analogue: S2.2.4.

Questions people actually ask

Is sermorelin FDA-approved?

It was, from 1990, as Geref — for diagnosing growth-hormone deficiency in children. The brand was withdrawn in 2008 for commercial reasons. It is not currently an approved product, though US compounding pharmacies supply it.

Does sermorelin work for anti-ageing?

It raises growth hormone and IGF-1, which is well established. Whether that produces the outcomes marketed under "anti-ageing" has not been shown in a randomised adult trial.

Sermorelin or CJC-1295?

Sermorelin has the regulatory history and a short half-life requiring daily dosing. CJC-1295 lasts far longer but never gained approval and has thinner human evidence. Neither has adult outcome trials.

One page per claimed effect

ADoes Sermorelin help with growth hormone / IGF-1 elevation?Approval-grade paediatric data
CDoes Sermorelin help with body composition in adults?Small studies, mostly open-label
DDoes Sermorelin help with sleep quality?Anecdotal / small
CHow common is safety in adults with Sermorelin?Compounding-era use

References

1
Sermorelin evidence review: Geref approval history, withdrawal, and adult off-label data.Evidence review, 2026Secondary source used for approval and withdrawal history; adult RCT data described as limited.

Change log

2026-09-02Initial publication. Hormone-elevation outcome graded A on approval-grade data; adult body-composition claims graded C.