Tesamorelin vs sermorelin
Every row cites its source. Where a cell reflects our own reading of the evidence rather than an external source, the row says so.
| Dimension | Tesamorelin | Sermorelin (GHRH 1-29) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Molecule | Full 44-amino-acid human GHRH sequence plus a trans-3-hexenoyl group on the N-terminal tyrosine (5135.9 Da) | GHRH(1-29), the shortest fragment with full GHRH activity, unmodified | source |
| Metabolic stability | Resistant to DPP-4 deactivation; degradation slowed in rat, dog, and human plasma | Subject to rapid cleavage; IV elimination half-life about 4.3 minutes | source |
| FDA status today | Approved and marketed: Egrifta SV and Egrifta WR under BLA 022505 | No approved product; Geref discontinued, current sermorelin is compounded | source |
| Approved indication | Reduction of excess abdominal fat in HIV-infected adults with lipodystrophy | None today (Geref's historical uses were pediatric GH deficiency and diagnostics) | source |
| Evidence depth | Two 26-week phase 3 RCTs, 806 randomized patients pooled, hard CT imaging endpoint, published extensions | Small adult trials measuring hormone levels; no phase 3 program | source |
| IGF-1 behavior in trials | Sustained elevation on treatment (+108 ng/mL at 26 weeks; 47% above 2 SDS), falling back after discontinuation | Inconsistent by schedule; in the longest analog trial the early rise returned toward baseline by week 16 despite continued dosing | source |
| Label infrastructure (contraindications, monitoring) | Written contraindications (pituitary disruption, active malignancy, pregnancy, hypersensitivity) and mandated IGF-1 plus glucose monitoring | No current label exists; compounded use borrows class cautions without a document | source |
Same pituitary receptor, opposite regulatory fates. Tesamorelin is the stabilized full-length GHRH analog that carried phase 3 trials to a current FDA approval; sermorelin is the unstabilized 29-amino-acid fragment whose approved product was discontinued, leaving only compounded versions. The rows below are cited, including the ones where the comparison is simply a difference in what was ever measured.
No head-to-head trial of tesamorelin versus sermorelin exists; every row compares each drug against its own record. Sermorelin's discontinuation was commercial, not a safety withdrawal, a nuance our sister site documents in full at sermorelinco.com.
Researching Sermorelin (GHRH 1-29) itself? Its dedicated guide site is at sermorelinco.com.