Ipamorelin Dosage: Routes, Ranges & the Human-Data Context
A third-person research reference on how ipamorelin was dosed in the published literature: the subcutaneous microgram-per-day regimen in the rat longitudinal bone-growth study, the growth-hormone-release potency reference points from the original characterization, and the two human intravenous studies — a healthy-volunteer pharmacokinetic study and a negative Phase-2 post-operative ileus trial. Ipamorelin has no established human therapeutic dose and is not an approved medicine.
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Ipamorelin has no established human therapeutic dose and is not an approved medicine in any jurisdiction. The figures that circulate as "ipamorelin dosing" come from two very different contexts. In animals, the peptide was given subcutaneously at microgram-per-day magnitudes — for example 18 to 450 micrograms per day in a rat bone-growth study.[3] In humans, only two intravenous studies exist: a healthy-volunteer pharmacokinetic study that infused single ascending doses across a nanomole-per-kilogram range,[1] and a Phase-2 post-operative ileus trial that gave 0.03 mg/kg twice daily and did not beat placebo.[2] That failed trial is the only human efficacy test ipamorelin has faced. This page summarizes what the literature reported, in the third person and for research context only; it is not a dosing protocol, and no figure here is a human-use instruction. For ipamorelin's identity, chemistry and proposed mechanism, see the companion ipamorelin research review.
How Ipamorelin Was Dosed in Animal Studies
Almost the entire ipamorelin dosing record outside its two human trials is preclinical. Ipamorelin was introduced in 1998 as "the first selective growth hormone secretagogue" — a synthetic pentapeptide (Aib-His-D-2-Nal-D-Phe-Lys-NH2) that releases growth hormone through the ghrelin receptor while, in the original characterization, sparing the ACTH, cortisol and prolactin responses seen with earlier secretagogues.[4] Its identity and proposed mechanism are covered in the companion ipamorelin research review; this page stays on the narrower question of how it was actually administered.
Two features of the preclinical record matter for a dosing reference. First, the reported potency reference points: in the characterization study, ipamorelin released growth hormone with a half-maximal effect (ED50) on the order of 80 nanomoles per kilogram in the rat and roughly 2.3 nanomoles per kilogram in the conscious pig.[4] These are potency descriptors — the dose producing a half-maximal response — not recommended doses, and they are reported here in the units in which they were published, without conversion. Second, the multi-day dosing regimen: in adult female rats, a longitudinal bone-growth study administered ipamorelin subcutaneously at 0, 18, 90 and 450 micrograms per day, given three times daily for 15 days, and reported dose-dependent longitudinal bone growth — while noting no change in serum IGF-I.[3]
Across the preclinical corpus the administration route is predominantly parenteral (subcutaneous or intravenous), the magnitudes are not standardized across studies, and the units are not directly comparable between a per-kilogram intravenous potency figure and a fixed microgram-per-day subcutaneous regimen. Critically, these are rodent and porcine figures; this page makes no attempt to scale them to a human dose.
| Study model | Route & reported dose | Duration | Reported outcome | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rat longitudinal bone growth (adult female) | Subcutaneous, 3×/day (0 / 18 / 90 / 450 µg per day) | 15 days | Dose-dependent longitudinal bone growth; no change in serum IGF-I | PMID 10373343 |
| GH-release characterization (rat & conscious pig) | Single-dose potency test (ED50 ≈ 80 nmol/kg rat; ≈ 2.3 nmol/kg pig) | Single-dose | Selective GH release without ACTH, cortisol or prolactin rise | PMID 9849822 |
Ipamorelin in Human Trials: The Doses Studied
Ipamorelin's human record is limited to two intravenous studies, and together they define every human "dose" that appears in the peer-reviewed literature.
The first is a healthy-volunteer pharmacokinetic study. It administered single 15-minute intravenous infusions at five ascending dose levels — 4.21, 14.02, 42.13, 84.27 and 140.45 nanomoles per kilogram, with eight subjects at each level — and modelled the growth-hormone response, reporting a terminal half-life of about two hours.[1] This was a single-dose pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic characterization, not an efficacy study, and the doses are reported here as published, in nanomoles per kilogram, without conversion.
The second is the only human efficacy trial ipamorelin has undergone: a Phase-2, randomized, placebo-controlled proof-of-concept study in post-operative ileus. It gave ipamorelin at 0.03 milligrams per kilogram (about 30 micrograms per kilogram) by intravenous infusion twice daily for up to seven days in patients recovering from bowel resection. The trial was negative — there was no statistically significant benefit over placebo on its endpoints — though the regimen was generally well tolerated, with nausea and vomiting among the reported adverse events.[2]
That is the entirety of the human dosing record: one single-dose intravenous pharmacokinetic ladder and one twice-daily intravenous regimen in a trial that did not succeed. Neither established a validated human dose, and any source presenting a specific milligram-per-day human ipamorelin schedule is extrapolating well beyond these two reports.
Reconstitution and Handling (Research Use)
Because there is no established human dose to describe, the only handling context this page provides is in-vitro laboratory handling of the research vial — not an administration protocol. Ipamorelin ships as a lyophilized powder in a sealed vial, and the standard laboratory pattern is straightforward:
- Storage of the lyophilized vial. Held at 2–8 degrees Celsius and protected from light; frozen for longer-term storage, avoiding repeated fridge-to-bench temperature cycling.
- Reconstitution. Reconstituted with bacteriostatic water at the volume dictated by the research protocol, adding the diluent down the inner wall of the vial and letting it dissolve passively rather than shaking. The reconstitution calculator documents the concentration math (mass in the vial divided by diluent volume gives the label concentration).
- Post-reconstitution storage. Held at 2–8 degrees Celsius and used within the research-protocol window.
This describes the format and stability of the research vial and the arithmetic of label concentration; it is not a dosing instruction. The concentration a lab reconstitutes to is a handling choice, and the controlling reference for what is done with the reconstituted material is the investigator's own approved research protocol. Ipamorelin is supplied strictly for in-vitro laboratory research and is not framed for human or veterinary use.
Why There Is No Established Human Therapeutic Dose
Four features of the evidence base explain why no validated human ipamorelin dose exists.
- The only human efficacy trial was negative. The single Phase-2 efficacy study — in post-operative ileus, at 0.03 mg/kg intravenously twice daily — did not produce a statistically significant benefit over placebo.[2] A negative efficacy trial is the opposite of a successful dose-ranging program: it did not anchor an effective human dose.
- Human pharmacokinetics exist only as single intravenous doses. The healthy-volunteer study characterized single 15-minute intravenous infusions and an approximately two-hour terminal half-life,[1] but a single-dose intravenous ladder is not a therapeutic dose-finding study, and there is no established chronic or subcutaneous human regimen.
- It is not an approved drug. Ipamorelin is not approved as a medicine by any regulator; its clinical development for post-operative ileus ended without an approved product.
- It is a prohibited substance in sport. Ipamorelin is banned at all times under the WADA 2026 Prohibited List, Section S2 (peptide hormones, growth factors, related substances and mimetics), as a growth hormone secretagogue — a regulatory status, not a dose.
The through-line is consistent with the rest of this page: a reproducible preclinical dosing record, a thin single-dose human pharmacokinetic profile, and a single failed human efficacy trial — and, from all of that, no basis for a validated human therapeutic dose. Sources publishing specific human "ipamorelin protocols" are going beyond what the literature supports.
Ipamorelin Research-Use Supply and Format
In the Remy Peptides catalog, ipamorelin is supplied as part of the CJC-1295 + Ipamorelin research blend — a single lyophilized vial pairing 5 mg CJC-1295 with 5 mg ipamorelin, cold-chain handled and reconstituted with bacteriostatic water for in-vitro work, with no human-use framing attached. There is no standalone single-compound ipamorelin vial in the catalog.
Each research vial is supplied at >99% HPLC purity for in-vitro research. For how ipamorelin — a ghrelin-mimetic growth hormone secretagogue — sits alongside the GHRH-analog peptides on the growth-hormone axis, see the GHRH peptides comparison; for its identity and proposed mechanism, the companion ipamorelin research review; and for the concentration math used when reconstituting the vial, the reconstitution calculator.
Our Research Standards
This article prioritizes primary preclinical and clinical literature and the associated regulatory record, with every dose, route and duration reported in the third person as it appeared in the cited study. Where the human dosing record is thin or negative, we say so directly. No therapeutic, human-use, or veterinary-use claim is made here. Read our editorial policy →
Ipamorelin Dosage FAQ
What doses were used in ipamorelin studies?
Reported doses span animal and human studies and are reported here in the third person. In adult female rats, the longitudinal bone-growth study administered ipamorelin subcutaneously at 0, 18, 90 and 450 micrograms per day, given three times daily for 15 days (PMID 10373343). The original characterization reported growth-hormone-release potency reference points — a half-maximal effect around 80 nanomoles per kilogram in the rat and around 2.3 nanomoles per kilogram in the conscious pig (PMID 9849822). In humans, a pharmacokinetic study infused single 15-minute intravenous doses of 4.21 to 140.45 nanomoles per kilogram (PMID 10496658), and a Phase-2 post-operative ileus trial gave 0.03 milligrams per kilogram intravenously twice daily (PMID 25331030). These are study figures, not a human-use dose.
Is there a standard human ipamorelin dose?
No. There is no established human therapeutic dose for ipamorelin, and it is not an approved medicine in any jurisdiction. The only human efficacy trial — a Phase-2 study in post-operative ileus that gave 0.03 milligrams per kilogram intravenously twice daily — did not show a significant benefit over placebo (PMID 25331030). The single human pharmacokinetic study characterized single intravenous doses only (PMID 10496658). Any source presenting a specific personal-use ipamorelin dose is extrapolating beyond the published data.
How was ipamorelin dosed in the human trial?
In the Phase-2 proof-of-concept post-operative ileus trial, ipamorelin was administered at 0.03 milligrams per kilogram (about 30 micrograms per kilogram) by intravenous infusion twice daily for up to seven days in patients recovering from bowel resection; it was generally well tolerated, with nausea and vomiting among the reported adverse events, but produced no significant benefit over placebo (PMID 25331030). A separate healthy-volunteer pharmacokinetic study used single 15-minute intravenous infusions ascending across 4.21, 14.02, 42.13, 84.27 and 140.45 nanomoles per kilogram, with a terminal half-life of about two hours (PMID 10496658).
How is ipamorelin reconstituted for research?
For in-vitro research, lyophilized ipamorelin is reconstituted with bacteriostatic water at the volume dictated by the research protocol, stored at 2-8 degrees Celsius and protected from light. This is laboratory handling, not a dosing protocol: the reconstitution calculator documents the standard concentration math, and the bacteriostatic water guide covers the diluent.
Why is there no established ipamorelin dose?
Because the human evidence never established one. Ipamorelin's only human efficacy trial was negative (PMID 25331030), its only human pharmacokinetic study characterized single intravenous doses rather than a therapeutic regimen (PMID 10496658), it is not approved as a medicine by any regulator, and it is prohibited in sport at all times under the WADA Prohibited List Section S2. The preclinical rodent regimens (PMID 10373343) do not translate onto a validated human dose.
Is ipamorelin approved?
No. Ipamorelin is not approved as a medicine by any regulator and is supplied strictly for in-vitro laboratory research. Its clinical development for post-operative ileus ended without an approved product after the Phase-2 trial did not beat placebo (PMID 25331030), and it appears on the WADA Prohibited List as a growth hormone secretagogue (Section S2).
Sources
- Gobburu JV, Agersø H, Jusko WJ, Ynddal L. Pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic modeling of ipamorelin in human volunteers. Pharm Res. 1999;16(9). PMID: 10496658 ↩
- Beck DE, Sweeney WB, McCarter MD; Ipamorelin 201 Study Group. Proof-of-concept study of ipamorelin for postoperative ileus. Int J Colorectal Dis. 2014;29(12). PMID: 25331030 ↩
- Johansen PB, Nowak J, Skjaerbaek C, et al. Ipamorelin induces longitudinal bone growth in rats. Growth Horm IGF Res. 1999;9(2):106-113. PMID: 10373343 ↩
- Raun K, Hansen BS, Johansen NL, et al. Ipamorelin, the first selective growth hormone secretagogue. Eur J Endocrinol. 1998;139(5):552-561. PMID: 9849822 ↩
For product-format details, see the CJC-1295 + Ipamorelin research blend vial. For ipamorelin's identity, chemistry and proposed mechanism, read the companion ipamorelin research review, and for how it sits among the growth-hormone-axis peptides see the GHRH peptides comparison. For handling context, continue to the reconstitution guide and the COA library.