Pinc PeptideThe girly peptide research blog

Sermorelin · Dose evidence · updated 8 October 2026

Sermorelin dosage: what studies actually used

The short answer

No sermorelin dose is approved today: FDA approved it as Geref, but its maker stopped selling it in 2008 and FDA withdrew the approvals in 2009910. In children with growth hormone deficiency, the use FDA approved, doses were set by body weight, and the largest study gave 30 µg/kg under the skin once a day at bedtime1112. Small studies in older adults used 0.5 or 1 mg twice a day, 2 mg nightly, or 14 µg/kg (about 1 mg) each evening131415. This page reports those doses and is not dosing advice. Vials sold online are another matter: of 48 completed Finnrick tests of sermorelin from April 2025 to September 2026, 27 failed16.

Not dosing advice. This page reports doses that studies and approved labels used, with their sources. It does not recommend a dose, and we do not give mixing, injection or unit-conversion instructions. Gray-market vials often do not contain what their label says. How we report doses.

Every dose studied in people

StudyWhoPeopleDose and routeWhat happened
Thorner 1996 (Geref International Study Group), open-label study with no control group Children with growth hormone (GH) deficiency, before puberty, not treated before 110 30 µg/kg once a day at bedtime
Injection under the skin · Up to 12 months		 In the 86 children analyzed, growth rose from 4.1 cm a year to 8.0 cm at 6 months and 7.2 cm at 12 months, and 74% were judged good responders at 6 months11. Fasting glucose did not change, and IGF-1 (a growth factor that GH drives) did not rise too high11.
Vitiello 2006, placebo-controlled trial Healthy older adults, average age 68 89 14 µg/kg (about 1 mg) each evening, or placebo
Injection under the skin · 6 months		 Compared with placebo, the treated group scored better on several thinking tests, including WAIS-R performance IQ (p<0.01), whatever their sex or estrogen use17. The abstract gives no dose; the team’s 2001 report says its trials used one evening injection of sermorelin acetate (Geref), 14 µg/kg or about 1 mg15.
Chen 1993, randomized trial against GH Children with GH deficiency that starts in the hypothalamus (the brain area that controls the pituitary) 60 30 or 60 µg/kg a day, or GH 0.1 IU/kg a day
Continuous infusion · 6 months		 Growth averaged 9.2 and 9.3 cm a year on the two sermorelin doses and 14.6 cm a year on GH (p < 0.01)18. All 20 children on the higher dose and 19 of 20 on the lower dose made antibodies to sermorelin18.
Neyzi 1993, randomized trial against GH Children with GH deficiency that starts in the hypothalamus, before puberty, aged 4.3 to 18.9 43 30 or 60 µg/kg a day split into three doses, or GH 0.1 IU/kg once a day
Injection under the skin · 6 months		 Growth was slowest on the lower dose, and similar on the higher dose and on GH19. Only GH improved height relative to bone age19.
Wilton 1993, pharmacology study Healthy men aged 19 to 43 30 Single doses by vein, the lowest 0.25 µg/kg, or doses in the nose
Injection into a vein, or in the nose · Single doses; some had three nasal doses in a day		 The lowest dose by vein released GH, and 1 to 2 µg/kg gave the largest release20. Only 3 to 5% of a nasal dose was absorbed, and about 50 µg/kg in the nose was about as strong as 1 µg/kg by vein20.
Schwartz 2000, study with no control group Short, slowly growing children with normal GH stimulation tests, before puberty 24 30 µg/kg once nightly
Injection under the skin · 6 months, then 6 months of follow-up		 Both groups in the study grew faster on treatment1. Six months after stopping, growth rates overall were no different from before treatment, though 6 of 21 children kept growing faster1.
Kirk 1994, study with no control group Short children with normal GH stimulation tests, before puberty, aged 4.3 to 11.0 18 20 µg/kg twice a day
Injection under the skin · 12 months, then 12 months of follow-up		 Growth rose from 4.8 to 7.2 cm a year (P = 0.001), and fasting glucose, insulin and IGF-1 rose during treatment2. Growth slowed in the first 3 months after stopping, then was no different from before treatment2.
Lanes 1994 (Venezuelan Collaborative Study Group), multicenter study with no control group Children with GH deficiency, before puberty, average age 9.0 16 30 µg/kg once a day
Injection under the skin · 12 to 24 months		 At 6 months, 11 children (68.7%) were good responders and stayed on sermorelin, and 5 were switched to GH3. In responders, growth rose from 3.4 cm a year before treatment to 6.5 cm a year at 24 months, and 6 of 11 had antibodies to sermorelin at 12 months3.
Sigalos 2017, review of medical records Men on testosterone, average age 33.2 14 100 µg each of sermorelin, GHRP-2 and GHRP-6, three times a day
Injection under the skin · Average 134 days		 IGF-1 rose from 159.5 to 239.0 ng/mL on average (p < .0001)21. Only 14 of 105 men whose records were reviewed met the inclusion criteria, there was no control group, and three drugs were given together21.
Vittone 1997, before-and-after study Healthy older men aged 64 to 76 with low IGF-1 11 2 mg nightly
Injection under the skin, self-given at home · 6 weeks		 Night-time GH rose but IGF-1 did not, and 2 of 6 strength measures and one endurance test improved14. Weight and body-scan muscle and fat did not change14. The authors wrote that their data suggest single nightly doses are less effective than several doses a day14.
Corpas 1992, two doses in random order Healthy older men, average age 68 10 0.5 mg or 1 mg twice a day
Injection under the skin · 14 days on each dose, with 14 days off between		 Only 1 mg twice a day significantly raised 24-hour GH and IGF-1, to levels seen in young men13. Fasting glucose, blood pressure and routine blood tests did not change13.
Ogilvy-Stuart 1997, multicenter study with no control group Children with GH deficiency caused by radiation to the head, before puberty 9 15 µg/kg twice a day
Injection under the skin · 1 year, then GH for 1 year		 Growth rose from 3.3 to 6.0 cm a year (P = 0.004), less than the 7.5 cm a year seen in the following year on GH4. No side effects were judged to be caused by sermorelin4.
Hümmelink 1993, pilot study Short children with GH deficiency, before puberty 8 50 µg/kg three times a day
Sprayed into the nose · 6 months		 Height growth over 6 months did not increase, 3 children had antibodies to sermorelin by 6 weeks, and most had sneezing, a runny nose or mild burning5. Two stopped early, and the authors judged this nasal form not suitable for children5.

Studies, animals and users: kept apart

Doses below are what studies used or what a label says. They are not advice, and gray-market products may not contain what their label says.

In human studies

Label-era use: one IV dose of 1 µg/kg for the diagnostic test, and 30 µg/kg under the skin once daily at bedtime for children with GH deficiency1112. Pediatric trials also gave 30 or 60 µg/kg a day, split into three injections or as a continuous infusion1819. Adult studies used 0.5 or 1 mg under the skin twice daily for 14 days, 2 mg nightly for 6 weeks, and about 1 mg (14 µg/kg) each evening for 5 to 6 months131415. In healthy men, about 50 µg/kg in the nose released as much GH as 1 µg/kg IV20. A 6-month pilot in 8 children with GH deficiency gave 50 µg/kg in the nose three times a day; height growth did not increase, and the authors judged the nasal form unsuitable for children5. We found no trial that tested the fixed microgram doses, on-off cycles or blends with GHRP-2, GHRP-6 or ipamorelin that are common today. The only blend data we found come from an uncontrolled chart review of 100 µg each of sermorelin, GHRP-2 and GHRP-6 three times daily21.

In animal studies

Not applicable or not reported.

What users report Anecdotal · not validated · not a recommendation

A peptide-information website (updated 10 August 2026) lists 100 to 300 µg once a day22. A 2026 medical review quotes a bodybuilding forum at 200 to 300 µg once a day23.

Half-life and how it is taken

Half-life
About 4 minutes (4.3 ± 1.4 min, mean ± SE)24Disappearance half-time in blood, measured in 10 healthy men given a 90-minute IV infusion of 25 ng/kg per minute. This is the half-life of sermorelin itself; the GH it releases stays raised for hours. No half-life after under-the-skin injection was found in the sources we opened.
Routes
  • Subcutaneous injection (the approved treatment route; most human data)
  • Intravenous injection (the approved diagnostic test; pharmacology studies)
  • Continuous infusion (pediatric trials)
  • Intranasal (studied in healthy men, only 3 to 5% absorbed, and in a small pilot in children)
  • Oral tablets (sold by compounders; no human data found)

The withdrawn Geref label

FDA approved two forms of Geref (sermorelin acetate): a 0.05 mg ampule on 28 December 1990, for testing whether the pituitary can release GH, and 0.5 mg and 1 mg vials on 26 September 1997, to treat idiopathic GH deficiency (deficiency with no known cause) in children with growth failure9.

Its maker, EMD Serono, told FDA in letters dated 11 July 2008 and 2 December 2008 that it was discontinuing them, and FDA withdrew both approvals effective 18 June 2009910. In 2013 FDA found that Geref was not withdrawn for reasons of safety or effectiveness9.

As of 7 October 2026 we could not open the Geref label: Drugs@FDA lists both applications as discontinued and says the label is not available on its site, and DailyMed, the US label library, has no sermorelin label678. So the label-era doses on this page come from the studies and a 1999 drug review, not from the label itself12.

Doses from children and doses from older adults

The children’s doses come from the use FDA once approved: children whose growth was failing because their bodies made too little GH9. Those studies set the dose by body weight and measured growth in height over 6 to 24 months3111819. Two studies in the table treated short children whose GH stimulation tests were normal, a group outside the approved use129.

The older-adult studies were small: 10, 11 and 89 people, treated for 14 days to 6 months131417. They measured hormone levels, body makeup, strength and thinking tests rather than long-term health13141725. Early results from the largest trial’s team showed a very small worsening in self-rated sleep, which the authors said might be nonspecific15. The team’s 2003 review said treatment did not improve sleep25.

In 2003, three of that trial’s investigators wrote that all published studies of GHRH (growth hormone-releasing hormone, which sermorelin copies in part) and similar drugs in aging were small and measured intermediate markers rather than clinically important outcomes25. They concluded the results ‘do not yet support the routine use’ of GHRH in normal aging25.

Why compounded and gray-market doses are uncertain

FDA’s recall database lists 92 recalled sermorelin products from recalls started between 2012 and 202526. Of these, 81 cite sterility problems, and one 2022 recall was for a sub-potent batch, meaning it held less drug than its label said26.

For ‘research’ vials, Finnrick lists 49 sermorelin tests from 14 vendors between 20 April 2025 and 14 September 2026: 21 passed, 27 failed and 1 was incomplete16. Its default pass mark is purity of at least 99.5% with the measured amount within 35% of the label16. Samples are chosen by the people who send them, so this is not a random survey, and the public page does not say why each sample failed16.

Questions people ask

How much sermorelin should I take?

No dose is established for anti-aging or any other use in healthy adults, and no sermorelin product is approved today925. Studies in children with growth hormone deficiency used doses such as 30 µg/kg once a day at bedtime, and small studies of older men used 0.5 or 1 mg twice a day or 2 mg nightly, for 2 to 6 weeks111314. Ask a prescriber whether any dose fits you.

Is sermorelin dosed by weight?

In children it was: studies gave µg per kg of body weight, such as 30 µg/kg a day1119. Two small studies in older men used fixed doses: 0.5 or 1 mg twice a day, or 2 mg nightly1314. The largest older-adult trial used 14 µg/kg, about 1 mg, each evening15.

Is sermorelin taken at night?

The children’s dose described in a 1999 review was given at bedtime, and two older-adult studies gave it in the evening or nightly; another gave it twice a day12131415. In older adults, one evening injection caused a single large burst of growth hormone but did not restore normal night-time pulses15.

How long does sermorelin take to work?

In children, faster growth was measured at 6 months11. In older men, 1 mg twice a day raised growth hormone and IGF-1 within 14 days13. In older men and women, changes in thinking tests were measured after 6 months17.

What happens when you stop sermorelin?

In short children with normal growth hormone tests, growth slowed in the first 3 months after stopping in one study, and was back to its earlier rate 6 months after stopping in another12. In one children’s trial, antibodies to sermorelin had almost disappeared 9 months after stopping18.

Go deeper

Sources

  1. 1Growth during and after a trial of growth hormone releasing hormone 1-29 in children with idiopathic short stature or growth hormone neurosecretory dysfunction Journal of Pediatric Endocrinology and Metabolism, Jun 2000. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  2. 2Treatment with GHRH(1-29)NH2 in children with idiopathic short stature induces a sustained increase in growth velocity Clinical Endocrinology, Oct 1994. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  3. 3Long-term therapy with a single daily subcutaneous dose of growth hormone releasing hormone (1-29) in prepubertal growth hormone deficient children Journal of Pediatric Endocrinology, Oct 1994. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  4. 4Treatment of radiation-induced growth hormone deficiency with growth hormone-releasing hormone Clinical Endocrinology, May 1997. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  5. 5Intranasal administration of growth hormone-releasing hormone(1-29)-NH2 in children with growth hormone deficiency: effects on growth hormone secretion and growth Acta Paediatrica Supplement, Mar 1993. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  6. 6Drugs@FDA: GEREF (sermorelin acetate), NDA 019863, marketing status and label availability U.S. Food and Drug Administration, accessed 7 Oct 2026. accessdata.fda.gov
  7. 7Drugs@FDA: GEREF (sermorelin acetate), NDA 020443, marketing status and label availability U.S. Food and Drug Administration, accessed 7 Oct 2026. accessdata.fda.gov
  8. 8DailyMed label search: sermorelin (0 results) DailyMed (U.S. National Library of Medicine), accessed 7 Oct 2026. dailymed.nlm.nih.gov
  9. 9Determination That GEREF (Sermorelin Acetate) Injection, 0.5 Milligrams Base/Vial and 1.0 Milligrams Base/Vial, and GEREF (Sermorelin Acetate) Injection, 0.05 Milligrams Base/Amp, Were Not Withdrawn From Sale for Reasons of Safety or Effectiveness (78 FR 14095) Federal Register (U.S. Food and Drug Administration), 4 Mar 2013. federalregister.gov
  10. 10Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. et al.; Withdrawal of Approval of 92 New Drug Applications and 49 Abbreviated New Drug Applications (74 FR 23407) Federal Register (U.S. Food and Drug Administration), 19 May 2009. federalregister.gov
  11. 11Once daily subcutaneous growth hormone-releasing hormone therapy accelerates growth in growth hormone-deficient children during the first year of therapy (Geref International Study Group) The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, Mar 1996. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  12. 12Sermorelin: a review of its use in the diagnosis and treatment of children with idiopathic growth hormone deficiency BioDrugs, Aug 1999. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  13. 13Growth hormone (GH)-releasing hormone-(1-29) twice daily reverses the decreased GH and insulin-like growth factor-I levels in old men The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, Aug 1992. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  14. 14Effects of single nightly injections of growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH 1-29) in healthy elderly men Metabolism, Jan 1997. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  15. 15Treating age-related changes in somatotrophic hormones, sleep, and cognition Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, Sep 2001. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  16. 16Sermorelin: safety testing results and vendor ratings Finnrick, 14 Sep 2026. finnrick.com
  17. 17Growth hormone releasing hormone improves the cognition of healthy older adults Neurobiology of Aging, Feb 2006. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  18. 18A comparative study of growth hormone (GH) and GH-releasing hormone(1-29)-NH2 for stimulation of growth in children with GH deficiency Acta Paediatrica Supplement, Mar 1993. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  19. 19Growth response to growth hormone-releasing hormone(1-29)-NH2 compared with growth hormone Acta Paediatrica Supplement, Mar 1993. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  20. 20Pharmacokinetics of growth hormone-releasing hormone(1-29)-NH2 and stimulation of growth hormone secretion in healthy subjects after intravenous or intranasal administration Acta Paediatrica Supplement, Mar 1993. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  21. 21Growth Hormone Secretagogue Treatment in Hypogonadal Men Raises Serum Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1 Levels American Journal of Men’s Health, Nov 2017. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  22. 22Sermorelin Dosage, Safety & Stacks Peptide Initiative, 10 Aug 2026. peptideinitiative.com
  23. 23The emerging landscape of performance-enhancing peptides modulating GH-IGF1 axis: bridging the gap between clinical evidence and patient self-administration Frontiers in Endocrinology, 18 Jun 2026. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  24. 24Incorporation of D-Ala2 in growth hormone-releasing hormone-(1-29)-NH2 increases the half-life and decreases metabolic clearance in normal men The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, Oct 1994. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  25. 25Growth hormone-releasing hormone and growth hormone secretagogues in normal aging Endocrine, Oct 2003. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  26. 26FDA drug recall (enforcement report) records naming sermorelin, via the openFDA drug/enforcement API U.S. Food and Drug Administration (openFDA), 23 Sep 2026. api.fda.gov · data query

Not medical advice. Talk to a licensed clinician before using any drug. Report an error.