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 Ligandrol (LGD-4033) and RAD-140 — mechanism, side effects, legal status, and pricing.
Ligandrol (LGD-4033) is a nonsteroidal selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM) of the substituted pyrrolidinyl-benzonitrile chemotype. It has been tested in Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials for muscle wasting and hip-fracture recovery but has no FDA-approved medical use anywhere. LGD-4033 is prohibited at all times (in- and out-of-competition) under WADA Prohibited List section S1.2, “Other Anabolic Agents” (SARMs class). It is sold online as an unregulated “research chemical” of unverified purity and dose.
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.
Ligandrol (LGD-4033)
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
Ligandrol (LGD-4033)
No pricing data yet.
Check Ligandrol (LGD-4033) prices →RAD-140
No pricing data yet.
Check RAD-140 prices →COA corpus from Disclosed Labs — independently tested batches only.
Ligandrol (LGD-4033)
2
COAs
99.4%
Avg purity
1
Labs
RAD-140
No COA data yet.
Submit testing data →Human data are limited to investigational trials and case reports; no approved medical use exists. A Phase 1 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial (Basaria et al. 2013, N=76 healthy men aged 21–50) tested 0.1, 0.3, and 1.0 mg/day for 21 days and found dose-dependent increases in lean body mass, with dose-dependent suppression of testosterone, SHBG, HDL cholesterol, and triglycerides that normalized after stopping. A Phase 2 trial (VK5211, N=108 hip-fracture-recovery patients, 0.5–2.0 mg/day for 12 weeks) reported via press release placebo-adjusted lean-mass increases of 4.8–9.1% with no drug-related serious adverse events; this result has not been peer-reviewed. Published case reports document severe cholestatic hepatitis (total bilirubin 35.0 mg/dL) in a 32-year-old male after ∼10 mg/day for ∼2 weeks—a dose 10–100× higher than trial doses—and marked testosterone suppression (−62.3%), elevated liver enzymes (ALT +205%, AST +96%), and adverse lipid changes in a 25-year-old male using 10 mg/day for 5 weeks; both cases involved unsupervised gray-market product. In ovariectomized rats (osteoporosis model), oral LGD-4033 at 0.04–4 mg/kg/day for 5 weeks increased muscle capillary density at all doses, elevated oxidative enzymes at intermediate doses, and increased muscle fiber cross-sectional area at the highest dose, but also increased intramuscular fat and uterine weight at 4 mg/kg, indicating loss of tissue selectivity at high exposure.
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.
Ligandrol (LGD-4033) 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