Informational only. Not medical advice.INFORMATIONAL PLATFORM ONLY — NOT MEDICAL ADVICE, DIAGNOSIS, OR TREATMENT
Informational only. Not medical advice.INFORMATIONAL PLATFORM ONLY — NOT MEDICAL ADVICE, DIAGNOSIS, OR TREATMENT
Head-to-head comparison of AOD-9604 and Cagrilintide — mechanism, dosing, side effects, legal status, and pricing.
AOD-9604 is a 16-amino-acid synthetic peptide corresponding to the C-terminal fragment of human growth hormone (residues 177-191) with an additional N-terminal tyrosine. Developed by Metabolic Pharmaceuticals (Australia) to isolate a purported 'lipolytic' activity of GH without GH-receptor-mediated growth or diabetogenic effects. AOD-9604 is NOT FDA-approved for any indication; controlled human trials for obesity did not demonstrate clinically meaningful weight loss, and obesity development was terminated in 2007.
Cagrilintide is a long-acting acylated amylin analog developed by Novo Nordisk. It is investigational and not FDA-approved; Novo Nordisk's lead development path is the CagriSema co-formulation with semaglutide for weight management. Monotherapy cagrilintide was evaluated in Phase 2 but was deprioritized in favor of the combination.
AOD-9604
Cagrilintide
Category
Legal Status
Mechanism
Dose Range
Route
COA-verified vendors · trust score ≥70 required · single-vial price — bulk/bundle deals may be lower
AOD-9604
Cagrilintide
COA corpus from Disclosed Labs — independently tested batches only.
AOD-9604
97
COAs
99.5%
Avg purity
16
Labs
Cagrilintide
79
COAs
99.7%
Avg purity
13
Labs
Clinical: AOD-9604 went through six randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 1/2 trials across approximately 900 subjects (Stier et al., J Endocrinol Metab 2013). These established a safety profile indistinguishable from placebo — no effect on IGF-1, no impairment of glucose tolerance, no anti-AOD-9604 antibodies — but did NOT demonstrate clinically meaningful weight loss. A 24-week Phase 2b trial (~536 obese subjects) failed its primary efficacy endpoint and Metabolic Pharmaceuticals / Calzada terminated obesity development in 2007. Preclinical: Heffernan et al. (Int J Obes 2001, PMID 11673763; Endocrinology 2001, PMID 11713213) reported reduced body-weight gain and increased fat oxidation in obese mice and showed the lipolytic action did not require direct β3-AR agonism (β3-knock-out animals still responded). Ng et al. (Horm Res 2000, PMID 11146367) reported metabolic effects in obese Zucker rats without insulin-sensitivity impairment. Osteoarthritis exploration is limited to preclinical animal work — Kwon & Park (Ann Clin Lab Sci 2015, PMID 26275694) reported intra-articular AOD-9604 plus hyaluronic acid was superior to either alone in a collagenase-induced rabbit OA model; no adequately powered human OA trial has been published. Regulatory: NOT FDA-approved; widely-cited 'FDA GRAS' status has not been confirmed in the FDA GRAS Notice Inventory. PCAC voted AGAINST including AOD-9604 on the 503A Bulks List on December 4, 2024.
Key references
A Phase 2 dose-finding trial of cagrilintide monotherapy demonstrated dose-dependent weight loss of up to 10.8% over 26 weeks versus 3.0% for placebo (Lau et al., The Lancet, 2021). Novo Nordisk pivoted development to the CagriSema co-formulation with semaglutide 2.4 mg. The Phase 3 REDEFINE 1 trial (n=3,417, 68 weeks) in obesity reported ~22.7% mean body weight reduction on the treatment-policy estimand, with 91.9% achieving ≥5% weight loss versus 31.5% for placebo. Novo Nordisk submitted a CagriSema NDA to the FDA in December 2025; the application is under review in 2026. Cagrilintide is not FDA-approved as a standalone therapy, and CagriSema is not yet approved as of April 2026.
AOD-9604 and Cagrilintide are both in the Metabolic category and may have overlapping mechanisms. Researchers should review both profiles carefully, understand the mechanisms of action, and monitor the relevant biomarkers when combining compounds in the same class. As always, consult a licensed healthcare provider before making any decisions about combining research compounds.
This platform provides informational tools only, not medical advice. This comparison is for educational purposes only. Consult a licensed provider.
Frequency
Dosing Notes
Half-life
Side Effects
Contraindications
Lab Testing
Key references
Disclosed Labs