Peptide basics

Tesamorelin vs sermorelin: both approved, and only one has a trial record

Both compounds are growth-hormone-releasing hormone analogues with approved US applications, which is why they are so often described in the same words. This page separates what those two records actually contain, and makes no claim about hormonal or body-composition effects for either.

What this comparison measures

These two are the growth-hormone-releasing hormone analogues on this site that hold approved US applications. Because a one-word summary — approved — is true of both, this page reports the things that summary hides: how many studies exist, what phase they reached, whether the approved product is still marketed, and how large each literature is.¹²⁴⁵

Registered human trials

In the snapshot of 1 August 2026, a registry search for tesamorelin returned 24 loose matches, of which 18 were verified as naming it an intervention. For sermorelin the search returned 27 loose matches and verified none.¹²

Tesamorelin's phase distribution in the snapshot is 2 phase-1, 7 phase-2, 1 phase-3, 2 phase-4 and 4 without a phase label. That is a small but complete-looking arc, from early studies through a registration trial to post-approval work.¹

The registered programme sits largely in HIV-associated conditions. The pivotal work was registered under the development code TH9507 in HIV-associated lipodystrophy, and the corresponding trial report was published in 2007.⁹⁸

Furthest phase reached

Tesamorelin reaches phase 4, which is only available to a compound with an approved product, and it does so with 2 registrations. Sermorelin has no registered phase at all.¹²

This is the sharpest illustration on the site that approval and phase-4 activity are separate facts. Sermorelin has an approval and no phase-4 record; the two do not automatically travel together, because post-marketing studies have to actually be registered by someone.¹²⁵

Regulatory status

Tesamorelin is the active ingredient of EGRIFTA, recorded in Drugs@FDA under application 022505 with a prescription marketing status in the openFDA index. Its approved labelling states the condition it was approved to treat.³⁴⁷

Sermorelin acetate is the active ingredient of GEREF, recorded under NDA 019863 and NDA 020443. In the openFDA index every product under both applications carries a marketing status of discontinued.⁵⁶

• Both compounds hold approved US applications; that much of the one-word summary is accurate for each.
• Only tesamorelin's approved product is recorded as currently marketed.
• Only tesamorelin has registered studies under its own name.⁴⁵⁶⁷¹²

Publication trend, 2017 to 2026

A PubMed title/abstract search across 2017 to 2026 returns 45 records for tesamorelin and 17 for sermorelin. Neither series exceeds 13 records in any single year, and both sit at or below 6 for most of the decade.¹⁰¹¹

For two compounds with approved applications, those are strikingly small numbers. Approval concentrates research effort into the approved question and rarely produces a large ongoing literature afterwards, particularly where the indication is narrow.¹⁰¹¹

Tesamorelin has an approved, marketed product, 18 registered studies and a phase-4 record — one of the few compounds on this site with all three.

Sermorelin holds approved applications whose products are recorded as discontinued, and no registered study under its own name.

Attention against evidence

Between February and July 2026, the tesamorelin Wikipedia article averaged 8,990 views a month with a peak of 9,996; the sermorelin article averaged 8,297 with a peak of 8,819. The two are read at nearly the same rate.¹²¹²

Equal readership across an eighteen-study record and an empty one is the reason this site publishes several measures side by side. Attention does not distinguish these two compounds; the record does.¹²

Common questions