MK677
MK-677
A non-peptide spiroindane and an agonist at the growth hormone secretagogue receptor type 1a. Structurally it has nothing in common with the peptide secretagogues in the same category here — it is a small molecule, and it is absorbed from the gut rather than requiring injection.
MK-677 has 6 registered human studies on ClinicalTrials.gov, reaching phase 2, covering 720 planned or enrolled participants across the 6 studies that published a figure. No FDA-approved product contains MK-677. 22 papers naming it were published in the last ten years.
Collected 2026-08-02 from ClinicalTrials.gov and Drugs@FDA. Counts include only trials whose registered intervention names MK-677; the registry search is fuzzy, so every match is re-checked. None of this says whether MK-677 works or is safe.
FDA status
Research only
Human studies
6
Furthest phase
Phase 2
Papers, 10 yr
22
Readership
8,291
monthly average, Feb–Jul 2026
Tracking since 2026-07-29 · About this data
What has actually been tested in humans
Phase 1 or 2 only
6
Registered human studies
Phase 2
Furthest phase reached
720
Planned or enrolled participants, across 6 studies that published a figure
None
No FDA-approved product contains it
8 loose registry matches were checked and 6 confirmed — 2 named something else and were discarded. We count a study only when MK-677 is named as an intervention in it.
Registered means registered — not that the study finished, and not that it found anything. The grade is mechanical: it is computed from the registry and the FDA record alone, and it grades how much is known, never whether a compound is good or safe. Collected 2026-08-02 from ClinicalTrials.gov and Drugs@FDA. Check the query.
What MK-677 is, and what it has been studied for
MK-677 is classified by ChEMBL as a small molecule, and appears in trial registrations under L-163,191. Its FDA substance identifier is GJ0EGN38UL.
Across 6 registered trials, it has been studied in Chronic Kidney Disease, Fibromyalgia, End Stage Renal Disease and Kidney Disease. A condition here is what a sponsor registered the trial under — it records what was investigated, not what was shown.
The trials were run by University of Virginia and Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC among others. A named commercial sponsor means a compound is in formal development; its absence does not mean the opposite, only that no company has registered a trial under its own name.
How far it got
MK-677 reached Phase 2 across 6 registered trials.
No FDA-approved product contains MK-677. A compound can stop at any rung for commercial reasons as easily as scientific ones, and the registry does not record which.
Is anyone studying MK-677?
Papers published each year that name MK-677 in the title or abstract, with the clinical trials that started in the same year marked beneath. Ten calendar years.
| Year | Publications | Trials started | Complete year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 2 | 0 | Yes |
| 2018 | 2 | 0 | Yes |
| 2019 | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| 2020 | 3 | 0 | Yes |
| 2021 | 4 | 0 | Yes |
| 2022 | 5 | 1 | Yes |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 | Yes |
| 2024 | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| 2025 | 5 | 0 | Yes |
| 2026 | 4 | 0 | No |
22 papers and 1 registered trials between 2017 and 2026. A paper counts when “ibutamoren” appears in its title or abstract — phrase-matched, so a paper mentioning the words separately is not counted. The total is a single query over the whole window, which is why it does not equal the bars added together: PubMed files a paper under both its electronic and its print publication date, so one paper can appear in two years. Publication volume measures scientific attention, not whether a compound works: a well-studied compound can be well-studied and ineffective. Sources: PubMed and ClinicalTrials.gov · collected 2026-08-02.
Published research on MK-677
22 indexed papers name MK-677 in their title or abstract. These are the 8 PubMed ranks most relevant. Listing a paper is not a judgement about it, and none of these is summarised here — follow the link and read what it says.
- The Safety and Efficacy of Growth Hormone Secretagogues
- Beyond the androgen receptor: the role of growth hormone secretagogues in the modern management of body composition in hypogonadal males
- LGD-4033 and MK-677 use impacts body composition, circulating biomarkers, and skeletal muscle androgenic hormone and receptor content: A case report
- Characterization of growth hormone secretagogue small molecule ibutamoren (MK-0677) and its possible metabolites in thoroughbred horses for doping control
- Characterization of equine liver microsome-generated metabolites of growth hormone secretagogue small molecule ibutamoren
- Structural basis of human ghrelin receptor signaling by ghrelin and the synthetic agonist ibutamoren
- Gateways to clinical trials
- Antiviral activity of sertindole, raloxifene and ibutamoren against transcription and replication-competent Ebola virus-like particles
Collected 2026-08-02from PubMed, phrase-matched on “ibutamoren” in title and abstract. Run the same search.
About MK-677
A non-peptide spiroindane and an agonist at the growth hormone secretagogue receptor type 1a. Structurally it has nothing in common with the peptide secretagogues in the same category here — it is a small molecule, and it is absorbed from the gut rather than requiring injection.
- Also known as
- Ibutamoren · MK-0677 · L-163,191
Structure and mechanism only. Nothing above describes what this compound is for, and no dose appears anywhere on this page.
Reading on this compound
All articles →PepRack articles that reference this compound. This is not a news feed — we syndicate nothing and publish no datelines.
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