Summary
Tesamorelin is a synthetic, stabilised analogue of growth hormone-releasing hormone, the hypothalamic hormone that prompts the pituitary to release growth hormone. Unlike most substances covered on this site it is an approved medicine in the United States, sold as Egrifta, for one specific indication.
What it targets
Tesamorelin acts on the growth hormone axis and raises IGF-1. Its clinical programme was in people with HIV on antiretroviral therapy who had accumulated visceral fat. In a 404-person randomised double-blind trial, visceral adipose tissue fell by about 11 percent over six months against under 1 percent on placebo, reaching about 18 percent in those who continued for a year, with the reduction rapidly lost when treatment was switched to placebo and no change in limb or subcutaneous abdominal fat. A later 50-person trial found liver fat fell as well. A 12-week trial in 53 people with type 2 diabetes, run because growth hormone can worsen insulin sensitivity, found no significant change in insulin response or glycaemic control. A 2025 phase 2 trial found no clear improvement in neurocognitive performance despite a greater reduction in waist circumference.
Clinical Research
Suppliers stocking Tesamorelin
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