What is Mecasermin (rhIGF-1)?

FDA-approved recombinant human IGF-1 for severe primary IGF-1 deficiency in children; distinct from IGF-1 LR3 and IGF-1 DES.

Mecasermin (rhIGF-1) in the library · Growth Hormone Secretagogues · Human Trials · What are peptides?

19 registered trials · 21 indexed papers · 120 human / 78 animal studies

From the PeptideWhiz library entry. "As described" sections summarize claims made in the sources; they are not PeptideWhiz endorsements.

What it is

Mecasermin (Increlex) is described as lab-made IGF-1 identical to the human hormone. IGF-1 LR3 and IGF-1 DES, which have their own pages, are modified analogs.

Mechanism (as described)

It replaces IGF-1 in children whose bodies cannot make enough despite normal GH.

Evidence (as described)

Approved based on pediatric growth studies (Keating, 2008). Other research includes anorexia nervosa bone density (Haines et al., 2021). Hypoglycemia is the main risk.

Status

FDA-approved (Increlex).

Registered human trials (19)

Trial	Phase	Status	Year	Enrolled
A Clinical Efficacy and Safety Study of OHB-607 in Preventing Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia in Extremely Premature Infants	Phase 2	active not recruiting	2019	295
Long-term Safety and Efficacy Outcome Study Comparing Children Previously Enrolled in Study ROPP-2008-01 for the Prevention of Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP)	Phase 2	completed	2015	76
A Pilot Treatment Study of Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1 (IGF-1) in Autism Spectrum Disorder	Phase 2	terminated	2014	3
Treatment of Rett Syndrome With Recombinant Human IGF-1	Phase 2	completed	2013	30
Clinical Trial in 22q13 Deletion Syndrome(Phelan-McDermid Syndrome)	Phase 2	completed	2012	19
Effects of Anorexia Nervosa on Peak Bone Mass	Phase 3	completed	2011	75
Evaluation of the Safety and Efficacy of Using Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 in Patients With a Heart Attack	Phase 1/Phase 2	completed	2011	47
Effects of IGF-I in HIV Metabolic Disease	Phase 1	terminated	2011	16
IGF-I Stimulation of Collagen Synthesis in Ehlers-Danlos Patients		completed	2011	15
IGF-1/IGFBP3 Prevention of Retinopathy of Prematurity	Phase 2	completed	2010	121
Safety and Efficacy Study of IGF-1 in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy	Phase 1/Phase 2	completed	2010	44
Treatment of Rett Syndrome With rhIGF-1 (Mecasermin [rDNA]Injection)	Phase 1	completed	2010	12
IGF-1 Therapy in Patients With Cystic Fibrosis	Phase 1	terminated	2008	15
rhGH and rhIGF-1 Combination Therapy in Children With Short Stature Associated With IGF-1 Deficiency	Phase 2	terminated	2007	106
IGFD Registry: A Patient Registry for Monitoring Long-term Safety and Efficacy of Increlex		terminated	2006	1378
Treatment of Children and Adolescents With Growth Failure Associated With Primary IGF-1 Deficiency	Phase 3	terminated	2005	114
Recombinant Human Insulin-Like Growth Factor (rhIGF-1) Treatment of Short Stature Associated With IGF-1 Deficiency	Phase 2/Phase 3	completed	2005	45
Prepubertal Children With Growth Failure Associated With Primary Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1 (IGF-1) Deficiency	Phase 3	completed	2004	137
Long-Term Treatment With rhIGF-1 in GHIS	Phase 2/Phase 3	completed	1991	92

Peer-reviewed studies (21)

Paper	Authors	Journal	Year	Type
Sequential Therapy With Recombinant Human IGF-1 Followed by Risedronate Increases Spine Bone Mineral Density in Women With Anorexia Nervosa: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial	Haines MS et al.	Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research	2021	Randomized Controlled Trial
Effect of Transdermal Estradiol and Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 on Bone Endpoints of Young Women With Anorexia Nervosa	Singhal V et al.	The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism	2021	Randomized Controlled Trial
The effects of recombinant human insulin-like growth factor-1/insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 administration on lipid and carbohydrate metabolism in recreational athletes	Guha N et al.	Clinical endocrinology	2021	Randomized Controlled Trial
Recombinant human insulin-like growth factor-1 therapy for 6 months improves growth but not motor function in boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy	Rutter MM et al.	Muscle & nerve	2020	Randomized Controlled Trial
rhIGF-1/rhIGFBP-3 in Preterm Infants: A Phase 2 Randomized Controlled Trial	Ley D et al.	The Journal of pediatrics	2019	Randomized Controlled Trial
Pharmacokinetics of IGF-1 in PAPP-A2-Deficient Patients, Growth Response, and Effects on Glucose and Bone Density	Cabrera-Salcedo C et al.	The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism	2017	Clinical Trial
Continuous longitudinal infusion of rhIGF-1/rhIGFBP-3 in extremely preterm infants: Evaluation of feasibility in a phase II study	Hansen-Pupp I et al.	Growth hormone & IGF research : official journal of the Growth Hormone Research Society and the International IGF Research Society	2017	Randomized Controlled Trial
Defining Hand Stereotypies in Rett Syndrome: A Movement Disorders Perspective	Dy ME et al.	Pediatric neurology	2017	Randomized Controlled Trial
Development and verification of a pharmacokinetic model to optimize physiologic replacement of rhIGF-1/rhIGFBP-3 in preterm infants	Chung JK et al.	Pediatric research	2017	Randomized Controlled Trial
Recombinant human growth hormone plus recombinant human insulin-like growth factor-1 coadministration therapy in short children with low insulin-like growth factor-1 and growth hormone sufficiency: results from a randomized, multicenter, open-label, parallel-group, active treatment-controlled trial	Backeljauw PF et al.	Hormone research in paediatrics	2015	Randomized Controlled Trial
Open-label trial of recombinant human insulin-like growth factor 1/recombinant human insulin-like growth factor binding protein 3 in myotonic dystrophy type 1	Heatwole CR et al.	Archives of neurology	2011	Clinical Trial
A randomized, placebo-controlled trial of IGF-1 for delayed graft function: a human model to study postischemic ARF	Hladunewich MA et al.	Kidney international	2003	Randomized Controlled Trial
A pilot study of recombinant insulin-like growth factor-1 in seven multiple sderosis patients	Frank JA et al.	Multiple sclerosis (Houndmills, Basingstoke, England)	2002	Clinical Trial
Recombinant human insulin-like growth factor-1 induces an anabolic response in malnourished CAPD patients	Fouque D et al.	Kidney international	2000	Clinical Trial
Effect of recombinant human growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor-1 administration on IGF-1 and IGF-binding protein-3 levels in brain injury	Rockich KT et al.	Pharmacotherapy	1999	Randomized Controlled Trial
Acute leptin regulation in end-stage renal failure: the role of growth hormone and IGF-1	Fouque D et al.	Kidney international	1998	Randomized Controlled Trial
Pilot study of the immunologic effects of recombinant human growth hormone and recombinant insulin-like growth factor in HIV-infected patients	Nguyen BY et al.	AIDS (London, England)	1998	Randomized Controlled Trial
Effects of recombinant growth factors on energy expenditure in maintenance hemodialysis patients	Tabakian A et al.	Mineral and electrolyte metabolism	1998	Randomized Controlled Trial
Recombinant human growth hormone, insulin-like growth factor 1, and combination therapy in AIDS-associated wasting. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial	Waters D et al.	Annals of internal medicine	1996	Randomized Controlled Trial
Impaired metabolic response to recombinant insulin-like growth factor-1 in dialysis patients	Fouque D et al.	Kidney international	1995	Randomized Controlled Trial
Pharmacokinetics of recombinant human insulin-like growth factor-1 in dialysis patients	Fouque D et al.	Kidney international	1995	Randomized Controlled Trial

More cited research

Clinical spectrum of extreme insulin resistance syndromes treated with rhIGF-1: A single-center experience (2026, human case report)
Randomised Phase 2b trial of rhIGF-1/rhIGFBP-3 (OHB-607) for bronchopulmonary dysplasia prevention in preterm neonates: study protocol (2026, human RCT)
Alterations in Stem Cell Populations in IGF-1 Deficient Pediatric Patients Subjected to Mecasermin (Increlex) Treatment (2023, human observational)
Assessment of compatibility of rhIGF-1/rhIGFBP-3 with neonatal intravenous medications (2023, human observational)
Recombinant human IGF-1 alleviates dyslipidemia induced by lactational maternal dietary restriction (2026, animal)
The role of rhIGF-1/BP3 in the prevention of pulmonary hypertension in bronchopulmonary dysplasia and its underlying mechanism (2023, animal)
Region-Specific KCC2 Rescue by rhIGF-1 and Oxytocin in a Mouse Model of Rett Syndrome (2022, animal)
rhIGF-1/BP3 Preserves Lung Growth and Prevents Pulmonary Hypertension in Experimental Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia (2020, animal)

Conditions researched

Related compounds

FAQ

What is Mecasermin (rhIGF-1)?

FDA-approved recombinant human IGF-1 for severe primary IGF-1 deficiency in children; distinct from IGF-1 LR3 and IGF-1 DES.

How many registered human trials study Mecasermin (rhIGF-1)?

The PeptideWhiz trial index lists 19 registered trials for Mecasermin (rhIGF-1), the most recent from 2019.

How much published research exists on Mecasermin (rhIGF-1)?

The PeptideWhiz paper index links 21 PubMed papers to Mecasermin (rhIGF-1); by study type, 120 human and 78 animal studies.

Which conditions is Mecasermin (rhIGF-1) researched for?

Autism support, Concussion, traumatic brain injury & stroke recovery, Fat loss, obesity & body recomposition, Heart repair: after heart attack, heart failure & enlarged heart, High-demand jobs: military, fire, police, EMT (and combat-sport athletes), Immune system (general), Lung health, asthma & COPD, Muscle disease (myopathy), Osteoporosis and bone density.

Research and education only. Not medical advice. No dosing guidance. Data: ClinicalTrials.gov registry and PubMed via the PeptideWhiz index (204,289 studies).