# Ipamorelin

A five-amino-acid peptide that triggers a short pulse of growth hormone. Its one drug program failed, and it is now sold mostly in a stack with CJC-1295.

Also called: NNC 26-0161
Source page: https://peplogue.com/peptides/ipamorelin/
Updated: 2026-10-22. Not medical advice.

## How it works

- Where it acts: Ghrelin receptors (growth-hormone secretagogue receptors) on the pituitary gland.
- What it changes: A short pulse of growth hormone. In animals it barely raised cortisol or prolactin.
- What people notice: Little human data. Hunger can increase.

## What the evidence shows

- **Muscle gain, fat loss, anti-aging**: Lab only. Never tested in a controlled trial.
- **Raises growth hormone briefly**: Early. Shown in small infusion studies in healthy men.
- **Better sleep**: Lab only. A common marketing claim. No controlled trial.
- **Bowel recovery after surgery**: Failed. In a 114-patient trial, time to the first tolerated meal was 25 hours against 33 on placebo, a difference that could be chance. Development stopped.

## Side effects and risks

- serious: FDA cites serious adverse events, including death, when it was given into a vein.
- unknown: Risk of immune reactions to the peptide and its impurities.

Who should avoid it: Athletes, and anyone with active cancer.

## How it has been given in studies

Into a vein in hospital, twice a day for up to a week. FDA says it has found no safety information for injected routes other than into a vein.

## Legal status

- United States: undefined. Not on the list pharmacies may compound from. On the FDA safety-risk list for outsourcing facilities.
- European Union: undefined
- Spain: undefined. Research peptide. No authorised medicine in Spain (no CIMA entry found). Not lawful to sell to the public as a medicine, food or cosmetic.
- Germany: undefined. Not approved in Germany. Named in the AntiDopG doping annex (GH secretagogues); unapproved sale is a crime under the AMG.
- France: undefined. No French authorisation found. Not named by ANSM, but its Jul 2026 alert says peptides bought outside the official circuit are illegal.
- Italy: undefined. No Italian authorisation found. On the WADA banned list (GH secretagogues). Sold online as research vials; not a lawful medicine.
- Netherlands: undefined. No Dutch marketing authorisation. Sold online as 'research' product, which IGJ says is illegal for medicines. Banned in sport (WADA S2).
- United Kingdom: undefined
- Canada: undefined. Named in a 2025 Health Canada advisory on unauthorized injectable peptides.
- Australia: undefined. Schedule 4 and Appendix D of the Poisons Standard: possession without authority is illegal.

## Questions people ask

**Does ipamorelin help with sleep?**

Better sleep is a common marketing claim and a common user report, but no controlled trial has tested it. What has been shown, in small infusion studies in healthy men, is a brief rise in growth hormone.

**Was ipamorelin ever developed as a drug?**

Yes, for bowel recovery after surgery. In a 114-patient trial, time to the first tolerated meal was 25 hours against 33 on placebo, a difference that could be chance, and development stopped.

**What are the side effects of ipamorelin?**

Users report head rush or headache after injecting and water retention, and hunger can increase. FDA cites serious adverse events, including death, when it was given into a vein, and a risk of immune reactions to the peptide and its impurities.

**Is ipamorelin legal?**

In the US it is not on the list pharmacies may compound from and is on the FDA safety-risk list for outsourcing facilities. In Australia possession without authority is illegal, and Health Canada named it in a 2025 advisory.

## Sources

- Beck et al.: ipamorelin for postoperative ileus: https://scholar.usuhs.edu/en/publications/prospective-randomized-controlled-proof-of-concept-study-of-the-g/
- FDA: bulk substances that may present significant safety risks: https://www.fda.gov/drugs/human-drug-compounding/certain-bulk-drug-substances-use-compounding-may-present-significant-safety-risks
- WADA Prohibited List: https://www.wada-ama.org/en/prohibited-list