Growth HormoneMetabolism6 min read
Tesamorelin in Lipodystrophy Research: 15 Years After FDA Approval
Tesamorelin has been FDA-approved since 2010. What has research learned since then? New findings on lipodystrophy, myosteatosis and MASLD.
Growth HormoneMetabolism
Tesamorelin: The FDA-Approved GHRH Analogue in Metabolism Research
6 min read
Tesamorelin: GHRH Analogue with FDA Approval
Tesamorelin (TH9507) is a synthetic analogue of growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) that combines the complete human GHRH peptide (44 amino acids) with an N-terminal trans-3-hexenoic acid linker. This modification gives tesamorelin improved stability against the degradation enzyme DPP-IV and extends the biological half-life to approximately 26–38 minutes.
In 2010, the FDA approved tesamorelin (trade names: Egrifta, Egrifta SV) for reducing excess visceral adipose tissue in HIV-infected adults with lipodystrophy — making tesamorelin the only approved GHRH analogue.
Clinical Trial Data: Visceral Fat and Metabolism
Falutz et al. published landmark Phase 3 data in the NEJM in 2007: in HIV patients with lipodystrophy, tesamorelin (2 mg daily subcutaneous) reduced visceral fat volume by 15.2 % versus placebo after 26 weeks, accompanied by improvements in triglyceride concentration and non-HDL cholesterol.
A further significant study (Stanley et al., JCEM 2019) showed a reduction in intramuscular fat (myosteatosis) — a parameter relevant to insulin sensitivity and muscle function.
Significance for Peptide Research
As the only clinically proven GHRH analogue, tesamorelin is an ideal tool for studying the physiology of the growth hormone axis in human metabolism. Unlike direct GH, tesamorelin stimulates pulsatile, physiological GH secretion via the pituitary and maintains normal feedback mechanisms. Studien Peptide provides tesamorelin as a high-purity lyophilised peptide.
