Tesamorelin (Egrifta)

Tesamorelin is an FDA-approved daily injection that prompts the body to release growth hormone. Its approval is narrow: reducing excess abdominal fat in people with HIV who have lipodystrophy.

What it is

Tesamorelin is a synthetic version of growth-hormone-releasing factor. Like sermorelin, it signals the pituitary gland to release the body's own growth hormone. Unlike sermorelin, it has a current FDA-approved product.

What the evidence shows

The FDA approved tesamorelin in November 2010 on the strength of two placebo-controlled trials in 816 adults with HIV and excess abdominal fat. Over 26 weeks, deep abdominal fat measured by CT scan fell by roughly 15% to 17% more than with placebo.

Two limits matter. The fat returned within months when people stopped. And the trials did not test whether treatment lowers cardiovascular risk.

Dosing on the label

Tesamorelin is injected under the skin once a day. The milligram dose depends on which formulation is dispensed; one version is labeled at 1.4 mg a day, and a newer formulation approved in March 2025 uses a different amount. Follow the label for the specific product.

Side effects

• Joint pain, muscle pain, swelling and injection-site redness or itching were the most common.
• Blood sugar control worsened more often on tesamorelin than on placebo, including some cases that met the criteria for diabetes.

Use outside the approval

Clinics prescribe tesamorelin off-label for general fat loss and "growth hormone optimization". The approval trials were in people with HIV-related lipodystrophy, so results in other groups should not be assumed.

Sources

• FDA approval announcement for Egrifta, November 2010
• HIV i-Base: tesamorelin approval and trial results
• CenterWatch: Egrifta dosing and trial detail
• Drugs.com: Egrifta approval history

This compound appears in widely promoted weight-loss stacks alongside the others. No trial has tested those combinations; see blends and stacks.