What is Sermorelin?

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

What it is

Sermorelin is described as a synthetic peptide made of the first 29 amino acids of human GHRH, the shortest fragment that keeps full activity. It was approved in the US as Geref for diagnosing and treating GH deficiency in children; the manufacturer withdrew it in 2008 for supply reasons rather than a safety finding.

It is now mostly seen in compounding pharmacies and research catalogs. The library previously mentioned it only inside the "Exogenous HGH, sermorelin & older GHRPs" page.

Mechanism (as described)

• Its native sequence is cut quickly in the blood (a half-life of minutes), which is why longer-acting analogs such as tesamorelin and CJC-1295 (no DAC) were developed.

Evidence (as described)

• Older clinical work in children with GH deficiency and idiopathic short stature used GHRH(1-29) to increase growth velocity (Kirk et al., 1994).
• Recent reviews of peptides in orthopaedics and musculoskeletal medicine describe sermorelin's adult anti-aging or performance use as poorly supported by trials (Rahman et al., 2026; Mendias et al., 2026).

Status

Formerly FDA-approved (Geref, withdrawn 2008); not currently marketed as an approved product in the US.