An independent research digest on ipamorelin — the first selective growth hormone secretagogue — and its regulatory standing.
Ipamorelin Compound

The literature

Every source behind the Ipamorelin digest.

The complete cited record — founding pharmacology, human PK, the Phase 2 trial, class-level safety and combination evidence, and the 2024–2026 reviews — with DOIs and PubMed links.

How to read these references

Every quantitative claim on this site maps to one of the numbered sources below. Several entries are deliberately about related GH secretagogues — GHRP-2, hexarelin, GHRP-6, CJC-1295, GSK894281 — rather than ipamorelin itself; where that is the case, the body copy says so, and the citation is used only for the class-level principle it establishes. The founding selectivity paper [1], the human pharmacokinetic study [2], and the single Phase 2 trial [3] are the three load-bearing human-relevant ipamorelin sources.

  1. Raun K, Hansen BS, Johansen NL, Thogersen H, Madsen K, Ankersen M, Andersen PH. Ipamorelin, the first selective growth hormone secretagogue. Eur J Endocrinol. 1998;139(5):552-561. ↗
  2. Gobburu JV, Agerso H, Jusko WJ, Ynddal L. Pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic modeling of ipamorelin, a growth hormone releasing peptide, in human volunteers. Pharm Res. 1999;16(9):1412-1416. ↗
  3. Beck DE, Sweeney WB, McCarter MD; Ipamorelin 201 Study Group. Prospective, randomized, controlled, proof-of-concept study of the ghrelin mimetic ipamorelin for the management of postoperative ileus in bowel resection patients. Int J Colorectal Dis. 2014;29(12):1527-1534. (NCT00672074) ↗
  4. Johansen PB, Nowak J, Skjaerbaek C, Flyvbjerg A, Andreassen TT, Wilken M, Orskov H. Ipamorelin, a new growth-hormone-releasing peptide, induces longitudinal bone growth in rats. Growth Horm IGF Res. 1999;9(2):106-113. ↗
  5. Lu Z, Ngan MP, Liu JYH, Yang L, Tu L, Chan SW, Giuliano C, Lovati E, Pietra C, Rudd JA. The growth hormone secretagogue receptor 1a agonists, anamorelin and ipamorelin, inhibit cisplatin-induced weight loss in ferrets: Anamorelin also exhibits anti-emetic effects via a central mechanism. Physiol Behav. 2024;284:114644. ↗
  6. Stokes AH, Falls JG, Yoon L, Cariello N, Faiola B, Colton HM, Jordan HL, Berridge BR. Integrated approach to early detection of cardiovascular toxicity induced by a ghrelin receptor agonist. Int J Toxicol. 2015;34(2):151-161. ↗
  7. Sinha DK, Balasubramanian A, Tatem AJ, Rivera-Mirabal J, Yu J, Kovac J, Pastuszak AW, Lipshultz LI. Beyond the androgen receptor: the role of growth hormone secretagogues in the modern management of male hypogonadism. Transl Androl Urol. 2020;9(Suppl 2):S149-S159. ↗
  8. Walker RF. Sermorelin: a better approach to management of adult-onset growth hormone insufficiency? Clin Interv Aging. 2006;1(4):307-308. ↗
  9. Thomas A, et al. Determination of growth hormone releasing peptides (GHRP) and their major metabolites in human urine for doping controls by means of liquid chromatography mass spectrometry. Anal Bioanal Chem. 2011;401:507-516. ↗
  10. Bowers CY, et al. Sustained elevation of pulsatile growth hormone (GH) secretion and IGF-I, IGFBP-3, and IGFBP-5 concentrations during 30-day continuous subcutaneous infusion of GH-releasing peptide-2 in older men and women. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2004;89:2290-2300. ↗
  11. Massoud AF, et al. The effect of repeated administration of hexarelin, a growth hormone releasing peptide, and growth hormone releasing hormone on growth hormone responsivity. Clin Endocrinol. 1996;44:555-562. ↗
  12. Jaffe CA, et al. Effects of a prolonged growth hormone (GH)-releasing peptide infusion on pulsatile GH secretion in normal men. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1993;77:1641-1647. ↗
  13. Adeghate E, Ponery AS. Mechanism of ipamorelin-evoked insulin release from the pancreas of normal and diabetic rats. Neuro Endocrinol Lett. 2004;25(6):403-406. ↗
  14. Lall S, Tung LY, Ohlsson C, Jansson JO, Dickson SL. Growth hormone (GH)-independent stimulation of adiposity by GH secretagogues. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2001;280(1):132-138. ↗
  15. Lawrence CB, Snape AC, Baudoin FM, Luckman SM. Acute central ghrelin and GH secretagogues induce feeding and activate brain appetite centers. Endocrinology. 2002;143(1):155-162. ↗
  16. Mendias CL, et al. Safety and Efficacy of Approved and Unapproved Peptide Therapies for Musculoskeletal Injuries and Athletic Performance. Sports Med. 2026. ↗
  17. Villegas Meza AD, et al. Injectable Peptides in Sports Medicine: A Structured Narrative Review of Evidence, Safety, and Antidoping Implications. JBJS Rev. 2026. ↗
  18. Coutinho LFD, et al. A new era of doping? Use of peptide and peptide-analog drugs in recreational and professional sport and bodybuilding: a critical review. J Sports Med Phys Fitness. 2026. ↗