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 GSK-2881078 and RAD-140 — mechanism, side effects, legal status, and pricing.
GSK-2881078 is a nonsteroidal selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM) of the indole-5-carbonitrile chemotype, developed by GlaxoSmithKline to produce tissue-selective anabolic effects in skeletal muscle with reduced activity in androgen-sensitive tissues. It has been studied in three human clinical trials (Phase I and Phase IIa) but has never been approved for any indication and is not in active further development. SARMs as a pharmacological class are prohibited in sport at all times under WADA category S1.2 (Other Anabolic Agents), though GSK-2881078 is not individually named in reviewed WADA documents.
RAD-140 (testolone) is a non-steroidal small-molecule selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM) — not a peptide — developed by Radius Health. It is NOT FDA-approved for any indication. Grey-market use for bodybuilding is associated with documented drug-induced liver injury (hepatotoxicity), testosterone suppression, and adverse cardiovascular effects. It is a WADA-prohibited substance. It is tracked in peptide-research spaces because of overlapping grey-market performance use.
GSK-2881078
RAD-140
Category
Legal Status
Mechanism
Half-life
Side Effects
COA-verified vendors · trust score ≥70 required · single-vial price — bulk/bundle deals may be lower
GSK-2881078
RAD-140
No pricing data yet.
Check RAD-140 prices →COA corpus from Disclosed Labs — independently tested batches only.
GSK-2881078
2
COAs
99.6%
Avg purity
2
Labs
RAD-140
No COA data yet.
Submit testing data →Human data are the most extensive of any compound in the SARM class: a Phase I first-in-human study in healthy men and postmenopausal women (Clark 2017) established dose-proportional systemic exposure and a long half-life (>100 hours) supporting once-daily dosing; a Phase I dose-escalation study in adults ≥50 years (Neil 2018) showed dose-dependent lean body mass gains (~3.39 kg in women, ~1.76 kg in men versus placebo at 8 weeks) accompanied by transient ALT elevations and 30–45% HDL-cholesterol reductions at the highest doses, both reversible on stopping treatment; and a Phase IIa randomized controlled trial in 97 COPD patients with muscle weakness (Mohan 2023) demonstrated increased lean body mass and leg-press strength (more consistently in men) over 13 weeks, with reversible HDL-C reduction and transient ALT increases as the main treatment-related safety signals. No peer-reviewed animal or in-vitro pharmacology/toxicology data for GSK-2881078 were located via PubMed or PubChem.
Key references
Miller et al. (2010, ACS Med Chem Lett) first described the design, synthesis, and preclinical characterization of RAD140 as a high-affinity tissue-selective AR agonist. Jayaraman et al. (2014, Endocrinology) demonstrated neuroprotection in cultured neurons and kainate-lesioned rats. LoRusso et al. (2022, Clinical Breast Cancer) reported the first-in-human Phase 1 dose-escalation in ER+/HER2- metastatic breast cancer (MTD 100 mg/day); efficacy was modest and hepatic AEs were frequent (AST 59%, ALT 46%, bilirubin 27%), and development did not progress to approval. Leung et al. (2022, Ochsner Journal) and subsequent case series document severe cholestatic drug-induced liver injury from grey-market RAD-140 use. Van Wagoner et al. (2017, JAMA) showed that only ~52% of internet-marketed SARM products contained the labeled compound, compounding grey-market risk. FDA has issued public warnings that SARMs are not safe for human consumption, and RAD-140 is banned by WADA. No FDA approval pathway is currently established.
GSK-2881078 and RAD-140 are both in the Performance 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.
Contraindications
Lab Testing
Key references
Disclosed Labs