Informational only. Not medical advice.INFORMATIONAL PLATFORM ONLY — NOT MEDICAL ADVICE, DIAGNOSIS, OR TREATMENT
Head-to-head comparison of LGD-3303 and YK-11 — mechanism, side effects, legal status, and pricing.
LGD-3303 is a non-peptide small molecule belonging to the pyrrolo[3,2-f]quinolinone class of selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs). It has never been approved by the FDA or any regulatory agency for human use, and no human clinical trials have been conducted or registered. LGD-3303 is prohibited under WADA's S1.2 category (Other Anabolic Agents), which covers all SARMs as a class. All available data are preclinical, derived from in vitro AR binding assays and in vivo studies in castrated rats and horses.
YK-11 is a synthetic steroidal selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM) — a 19-nor DHT-derived analog with a spiro-dioxolane modification at C-17, structurally distinct from non-steroidal SARMs. It is not FDA-approved for any human use and is prohibited in competitive sport; anti-doping laboratories actively screen for YK-11 metabolites. No human safety, tolerability, or efficacy trials exist; the only published human study administered deuterated YK-11 solely to identify urinary metabolites for doping-control method development.
LGD-3303
YK-11
Category
Legal Status
Mechanism
Side Effects
COA-verified vendors · trust score ≥70 required · single-vial price — bulk/bundle deals may be lower
LGD-3303
YK-11
COA corpus from Disclosed Labs — independently tested batches only.
LGD-3303
2
COAs
99.0%
Avg purity
2
Labs
YK-11
3
COAs
99.2%
Avg purity
2
Labs
No human data exist for LGD-3303. No completed or registered clinical trials were found on ClinicalTrials.gov, and no PubMed record of a Phase 1 or later human trial exists. In castrated Sprague-Dawley rats, LGD-3303 showed potent anabolic (levator ani muscle) agonist activity but only partial agonist activity on androgenic tissues (ventral prostate, preputial gland); tissue selectivity was maintained across both oral dosing and continuous infusion despite very different plasma exposure-time profiles (Vajda et al. 2009, PMID 19017848). In horses dosed orally at 0.05 mg/kg, eight metabolites (including hydroxylated and carboxylated forms with glucuronic acid conjugates) were tentatively identified in plasma and urine for doping-control purposes, with a monohydroxylated metabolite identified as the most sensitive analytical marker (Nilsson Broberg, Knych, Bondesson et al. 2023, PMID 37224728).
Key references
No human safety, tolerability, or efficacy trials exist for YK-11. The only published human study administered six-fold deuterated YK-11 to volunteers solely to identify urinary metabolites for anti-doping method development; no intact parent compound was recovered in urine, and 14 metabolites (unconjugated, glucuronidated, sulfated) were characterized. In vitro (mouse C2C12 myoblasts), YK-11 (1–500 nM) increased myosin heavy chain and myogenic regulatory factor expression more strongly than equimolar DHT and uniquely induced follistatin, a pathway necessary for its pro-differentiation effect. In vivo (mouse model of gram-negative bacterial sepsis), YK-11 reduced circulating pro-inflammatory cytokines and organ-damage markers, decreased sepsis mortality, and was associated with protection against sepsis-induced muscle wasting.
Key references
LGD-3303 and YK-11 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