Sermorelin_Dosage, benefits & legal status
Also known as GRF 1-29, Geref
A gentle shot that prompts your body to make more of its own growth hormone.
Common vial size is what vendors typically sell, not a recommendation. Enter your own vial in the calculator.
What is Sermorelin?
Plain language first. The technical label stays, but it never stands alone.Overview
It encourages your body to make more of its own growth hormone. That is a gentler approach than injecting the hormone directly.
Sermorelin is a GHRH analog, a shortened copy of the natural hormone that prompts growth hormone release.
What it's used for
Encourages your body to make more of its own growth hormone for better recovery, deeper sleep, more muscle, and slower aging. A gentler route than injecting growth hormone directly.
How does Sermorelin work?
What it does in the body, and where.Sermorelin is a shortened copy of GHRH, containing the first 29 amino acids, which is the smallest piece that still works.
- 01It reaches the GHRH receptor on your pituitaryThe same receptor your own hormone uses, so the pituitary responds the way it normally would.
- 02Your body makes the growth hormone itselfWhich means your own feedback loops still apply, and the pituitary can decline to respond if levels are already high.
- 03It clears within minutesA short, natural-shaped pulse. That is gentler than injected growth hormone, and also far less powerful.
A schematic of the compound's mechanism, not a diagnostic image.
What else is it used for?
Each group carries its own evidence level.Approved means regulators have cleared it for that purpose. Investigational means it is in trials. Early research means it is being studied and is not established.
Growth in children
FDA-approved- Human trialIn 110 growth-hormone-deficient children, growth rate rose from 4.1 cm a year to 8.0 cm a year at six months, settling at 7.2 cm a year at twelve months.
- Human trialAbout 74% of those children were good responders.
- RegulatoryIt was approved in 1990 and 1997, then withdrawn from the US market in 2009 for commercial reasons, not safety or effectiveness.
Adult and anti-aging claims
Early research- Human trialIn elderly men, 1 mg twice daily raised IGF-1 toward young-adult levels.
- Human trialResults are inconsistent. One study found lean-mass gain in men only, and another in 11 men found no significant change at all.
- No dataThe adult body-composition claims rest on studies of under 20 people, over a few weeks, measuring blood markers rather than outcomes.
A specific lean-mass gain figure circulates widely online but traces to a secondary peptide website rather than the original study.
The published record
236
Records indexed for Sermorelin
106 in humans, 63 of them original studies.
27 registered trials, 11 with posted results.
FDA: Category 1, component of an FDA-approved drug.
Counted from Europe PMC indexing, not read by a person. Human means indexed under humans, which includes reviews and work on human cells. Original studies exclude reviews and lab work on human cells.Last updated 11 September 2026.
At a glance
Four things to know about Sermorelin
Evidence
Clinical use
Category
Growth hormone
Common vial
5 mg
Half-life
10 to 20 minutes
How much, and do you cycle it?
The range, and whether you take breaks.0.2 up to 0.5 mg per dose (start low, increase slowly), daily/nightly. Not cycledClinical use
In clinical use it is given nightly and continuously for as long as it is working. The on/off schedules attached to it online come from the research-peptide market, not from how it is prescribed.
How long does it stay in the body?
The half-life, and where the figure comes from.10 to 20 minutesDiscontinued label
From the label of Geref, which is no longer marketed. Compounded sermorelin has no label of its own.
Not yet traced to a primary source.
You can compare this against the whole library to see where it sits.
How do I dose and price it?
Enter your vial and your dose. Pick a mix. We show the draw and the cost.The vial holds a fixed amount of drug. Adding more water does not make more drug, it just spreads it thinner, so you draw a bigger number on the syringe for the same dose.
Choose your mix
Measuring the water1 mL = one full 100-unit syringe.
Your draw
8 / 100 unitsSermorelin starts at $17.56 across 46 vendors, typically $4.90 – $15.80 per mg.
84 listings, last read Sep 6, 2026. Shipping and card fees are not included.
How do you store it?
Before mixing, and after.Dry powder in the freezer or fridge. Once mixed, fridge, and use within about a month.
Unmixed lyophilized Sermorelin keeps for a long time cold. Once you add water the clock starts: most reconstituted vials hold up for roughly 28 to 30 days at fridge temperature. Keep it out of light, and do not freeze it after mixing.
What are the side effects and cautions?
Known cautions and warnings for this compound.Who should avoid it
- Known allergy to sermorelin
- Active cancer, since it raises growth hormone and IGF-1
- Pregnancy
Stop and get help
- Swelling of the face or throat, trouble breathing, or hives
Common effects
- Injection-site redness, irritation, or pain, which is the most common effect
- Flushing
- Headache and occasional dizziness
- Generally mild
What regulators say
- FDA: Bulk Drug Substances Nominated for Use in Compounding Under Section 503B (interim categories 1, 2, 3), updated March 21, 2025Category 1, component of an FDA-approved drug
Listed as Sermorelin Acetate
Checked 11 September 2026
Where this page says nothing is established, that means nobody has studied it, not that a compound is safe.
Is Sermorelin approved?
And where the numbers on this page come from.Not approved, but legal to obtain. Sermorelin has no FDA approval, and it can be prescribed or prepared by a compounding pharmacy in the United States.
- Approval statusClinical use
- RouteUnder the skin, at bedtime
- CheckedJuly 2026
What has happened recently
We have not yet written a full regulatory note for this compound. The status above is current as of the date shown.
You can compare this against the whole library, or read how to check a seller.
- DoseFrom product labeling and clinical guidelines.
- Vial sizeFrom what vendors typically list; not a recommendation.
- Sources
- Reviewed22 July 2026
What else is like Sermorelin?
Others in Growth hormone peptides, side by side.If you're weighing Sermorelin, it's worth reading Tesamorelin, GHRP-2, and Hexarelin in the same class.
A gentle shot that prompts your body to make more of its own growth hormone.
- Dose
- 0.2 up to 0.5 mg per dose (start low, increase slowly)
- How often
- Daily/nightly
An approved shot proven to shrink stubborn belly fat.
- Dose
- 1.28 up to 2 mg per day, depending on which product you have
- How often
- Daily
A shot that spikes your own growth hormone to build muscle and recover.
- Dose
- 0.1 up to 0.3 mg per dose (start low, increase slowly)
- How often
- 1-3x daily
A strong growth-hormone releaser that the body adapts to quickly.
- Dose
- 0.1 mg per dose
- How often
- 1-2x daily
Compared with
Distributing HGH for anti-aging is a federal felony carrying five years. Sermorelin lost to it commercially in 2008 and can still be legally compounded.
Read comparison →Two growth hormone peptides sold side by side. One was an approved drug and can still be compounded on prescription. The other was voted down in October 2024.
Read comparison →Guides for this compound
- How to Reconstitute a Peptide
Mix peptide powder with bacteriostatic water, step by step.
- How to Read an Insulin Syringe
Read the units, convert to millilitres, and draw the exact dose.
- mcg vs mg: The Peptide Dosing Mistake to Avoid
Your vial says mg and your protocol says mcg. Here is the conversion and how to check it.
Sources
- Sermorelin paediatric growth trial, PubMed, 1996
- Geref withdrawal determination, Federal Register, 2013(2013)Vendors quote this notice as proof that sermorelin is safe and effective. It says something narrower and more procedural than that. Geref existed as two separate approvals: NDA 20-443, approved September 1997, for idiopathic growth hormone deficiency in children with growth failure, and NDA 19-863, approved December 1990, for testing whether a patient's pituitary can secrete growth hormone. EMD Serono discontinued both in 2008 and asked FDA to withdraw the applications, which FDA did effective 18 June 2009. A citizen petition in October 2012 then asked FDA to rule on why. FDA reviewed its files and independently checked the literature and postmarketing adverse events, and determined the products were not withdrawn for reasons of safety or effectiveness. The function of that determination is stated in the notice itself: it clears the way for generic applications to be approved. So the document establishes that Geref left the market commercially rather than for cause, and nothing more. It is not a finding that sermorelin works, and the two things it was ever approved for were childhood growth failure and a pituitary diagnostic test, neither of which is what the compound is sold for now.
Last reviewed 22 July 2026
Beyond these, 236 records are indexed. Browse the records