AOD-9604 benefits and uses

The evidence at a glance

Weight and fat loss

In animals

In obese Zucker rats, AOD-9604 by mouth for 19 days cut weight gain by more than half, and fat tissue from treated rats showed more lipolytic (fat-breakdown) activity.² Their insulin sensitivity was not reduced.² In obese mice treated for 14 days, AOD-9604 and hGH both reduced weight gain and raised fat oxidation and plasma glycerol, a marker of fat breakdown.³⁵ In mice lacking the beta-3 adrenergic receptor, long-term AOD-9604 did not reduce weight or raise fat-breakdown markers, although a short-term experiment still showed raised energy use and fat oxidation.⁴ Each of these experiments lasted three weeks or less.²³⁴⁵

In people

The developer tested weight loss in two phase 2b trials of oral AOD-9604.⁶ In the 12-week trial of 300 adults, all five dose groups lost more weight on average than placebo, but the best dose, 1 mg, fell short of statistical significance overall (p=0.1) and reached it only in the female subgroup.⁶¹ A 2005 conference abstract put the average loss at 0.22 kg a week on 1 mg against 0.07 kg on placebo.⁵

The 24-week OPTIONS trial was meant to confirm that result in 502 randomized adults on a supervised diet and exercise program.⁶¹ No dose group lost even 1 kg more than placebo, at 12 weeks or at 24 weeks.¹ On February 21, 2007, the company announced that the results did not support the drug's commercial viability for obesity.¹ It also reported that a predefined subgroup of women who lost little weight during the diet run-in showed effects similar to the earlier trial, while the whole population did not respond consistently.¹

In its 2024 review, FDA found the evidence of effectiveness for obesity lacking, whatever the route.⁵ FDA could not find the 24-week trial in the medical literature, and a 2026 review points out that the conclusion of no benefit rests mainly on results the sponsor reported.⁵⁸

Blood sugar, waist and cholesterol

Unlike growth hormone, AOD-9604 did not worsen glucose tolerance in the developer's trials.⁶ In the 12-week trial, people with impaired glucose tolerance who took AOD-9604 were less likely to develop diabetes than those on placebo; the authors call this a hypothesis that needs its own trial.⁶ The same trial's 2005 abstract reported a significant weekly drop in waist circumference at all doses, small falls in total and LDL cholesterol, and fewer new diabetes cases.⁵ FDA notes that the abstract gives minimal data and that the differences were small, with unclear therapeutic meaning.⁵ In the larger 24-week trial, the secondary endpoints, which included waistline, body fat, glucose control and blood lipids, produced no relevant findings, in the company's words.¹

Joints, cartilage and bone

Joint and bone evidence comes only from animals.⁷¹ In 32 rabbits with chemically induced knee osteoarthritis, weekly injections of 0.25 mg AOD-9604 into the joint improved cartilage regeneration.⁷ Combining it with hyaluronic acid worked better than either alone and gave the shortest period of lameness.⁷ In its 2007 announcement, the developer said animal studies had shown benefits in preventing and treating osteoporosis.¹ FDA did not evaluate osteoarthritis or osteoporosis uses because the nominations lacked enough information, and its review found signals suggesting harm to bone health in rats given AOD-9604 by mouth for 13 weeks.⁵

Muscle, skin and other marketed uses

No muscle study was found. AOD-9604 did not raise IGF-1 in the developer's trials and did not bind the growth hormone receptor in cell tests,⁶³ and its listing among muscle growth peptides on this site is for browsing, not a finding.

FDA's 2024 review lists uses that AOD-9604 has been marketed for: osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, worn cartilage, bone damage, high cholesterol, diabetes, depression, anti-aging, skin care, boosting metabolism and supporting weight loss.⁵ FDA describes obesity as the use it has been studied for; the rest are marketed uses.⁵ No skin or hair study was found.

How to read these findings

• Evidence level matters. The positive weight and fat results come from rodents; the controlled human trials did not confirm them.²³¹
• One sponsor. The developer funded every human trial, and FDA found no peer-reviewed publication of the largest efficacy trial.⁶⁵
• Subgroups are not proof. Results that reached significance only in the female subgroup, or only in another subgroup, were not confirmed in the full trial population.¹
• Injection under the skin was not tested in the trials. They used tablets, capsules and IV doses, and FDA identified no human data for subcutaneous use.⁶⁵

Related pages

Back to the AOD-9604 profile. Study doses are in AOD-9604 dosage, recorded adverse events in AOD-9604 side effects, and lab preparation in How to reconstitute AOD-9604. Other compounds studied for weight are covered in Peptides and weight loss.