Tesamorelin Canada: Buy 5mg, 10mg & 20mg Research Vials and Pen

Tesamorelin (development code TH9507; brand name Egrifta) is a synthetic 44-amino-acid peptide built on the sequence of human growth hormone-releasing hormone, GHRH(1–44)-NH₂. One change separates it from the native hormone: a trans-3-hexenoyl group attached to the N-terminal tyrosine, which in the original pharmacology work made the peptide resistant to inactivation by the enzyme dipeptidyl peptidase-IV^[1]. Unlike most peptides sold for research, tesamorelin is also an approved prescription drug: the US FDA approved it in November 2010 for one narrow indication, the reduction of excess abdominal fat in HIV-infected patients with lipodystrophy^{[8, 9]}. The vials listed on this page are research-grade material for in-vitro and preclinical laboratory work only. They are not the approved drug, and nothing reported below about the drug in patients transfers to them.

Key facts

• Class: GHRH analogue (growth hormone-releasing factor analogue); 44 residues^{[2, 1]}
• Sequence: YADAIFTNSYRKVLGQLSARKLLQDIMSRQQGESNQERGARARL-NH₂, with (3E)-hex-3-enoyl on Tyr1 — the native GHRH(1–44) sequence is residues 32–75 of human somatoliberin, UniProt P01286
• Molecular formula: C₂₂₁H₃₆₆N₇₂O₆₇S — PubChem CID 16137828
• Molecular weight: 5136 g/mol (PubChem); exact mass 5134.72. ChEMBL lists the compound as a protein-class molecule (CHEMBL1237026) and gives no separate weight
• CAS number: 218949-48-5 (tesamorelin acetate: 804475-66-9) · UNII: MQG94M5EEO · ATC code: H01AC06
• Developer: Theratechnologies (Montréal), under licence from Valeant^[3]
• Regulatory status: FDA-approved (2010) for excess abdominal fat in HIV-associated lipodystrophy^[8]; in Canada, Health Canada’s Drug Product Database lists Egrifta DIN 02438712 as marketed from June 2015 and now “cancelled post-market” (2022). Research-grade tesamorelin has no approval for any use.
• Evidence base: rat, dog and pig pharmacology^{[1, 2]} plus randomised, placebo-controlled human trials of the drug in people with HIV^{[5, 7, 12, 14]} and one trial in older adults^[11]
• Formats on this site: 5mg, 10mg and 20mg single-compound vials and a pen — lyophilized powder, for laboratory research only

Where does tesamorelin come from?

Native GHRH is released by the hypothalamus and acts on the pituitary to trigger growth hormone (GH) secretion. It is cleared quickly in plasma, partly because dipeptidyl peptidase-IV clips its first two residues. TH9507 was designed to slow that step. In the non-clinical evaluation published in 2007, the hexenoyl-modified peptide degraded more slowly than natural hGRF(1–44)NH₂ in rat, dog and human plasma in vitro, and its elimination from plasma after injection was prolonged in vivo^[1]. The compound was developed by the Montréal company Theratechnologies; a 2006 drug-evaluation review recorded Phase III trials under way in HIV-associated lipodystrophy and Phase II programmes in sleep maintenance insomnia, hip-fracture recovery, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and immune dysfunction^[3]. Of those, only the HIV indication reached approval^{[8, 4]}.

A 2004 dog study, the earliest tesamorelin paper indexed in PubMed, tested whether the peptide could be delivered by inhalation: intratracheal dry powder gave 41% of the bioavailability of a subcutaneous dose, with a terminal half-life of 39 minutes versus 26 minutes subcutaneously^[2]. The inhaled route was not pursued into the approved product.

Chemical identity

PubChem and ChEMBL agree on the identity and formula; ChEMBL classes the molecule as a protein and does not publish a separate molecular weight, so the single figure above is PubChem’s.

What has been studied in the laboratory and in trials?

Pharmacology in animals (rat, dog, pig)

The 2007 non-clinical package is the main preclinical source. After daily intravenous or subcutaneous injections at doses up to 600 µg/kg, plasma GH and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) rose markedly in pigs, rats and dogs. Sub-chronic toxicity studies of up to four months in rats and dogs showed a significant but not dose-related increase in body-weight gain. Dogs showed a more pronounced anabolic response than rats and more evident, reversible adverse findings (liver and kidney changes, anaemia, clinical-chemistry and organ-weight changes), which the authors attributed to sustained supraphysiological GH and IGF-1 rather than to the peptide itself. The apparent elimination half-life in dogs was 21–45 minutes^[1]. The dog inhalation study measured a subcutaneous half-life of about 26 minutes^[2].

Growth hormone and IGF-1 in humans

Tesamorelin acts as a secretagogue: it increases basal and pulsatile GH secretion and, downstream, IGF-1^[13]. In the first Phase III trial, IGF-1 rose 81% over 26 weeks in the tesamorelin group versus a 5% fall with placebo^[5]; in the pooled Phase III analysis the mean increase was 108 ng/ml against −7 ng/ml^[7]. A population pharmacokinetic model built from 38 HIV-infected and healthy adults given daily injections for 14 days estimated plasma clearance at about 1,060 L/h and a volume of distribution of about 200 L, with no covariate (age, body size, race, health status) predicting exposure^[13].

Visceral adipose tissue in people with HIV (randomised controlled trials)

The approval rests on two 26-week, placebo-controlled Phase III trials in antiretroviral-treated adults with abdominal fat accumulation. In the first (412 participants), CT-measured visceral adipose tissue fell 15.2% on tesamorelin and rose 5.0% on placebo, triglycerides fell 50 mg/dL versus a 9 mg/dL rise, and glucose measures did not differ; more participants on tesamorelin withdrew because of adverse events^[5]. The pooled analysis of both trials (806 randomised) reported a −15.4% treatment effect on visceral fat at week 26, no significant change in abdominal subcutaneous fat, and maintenance of the reduction at week 52 in those who stayed on treatment^[7]. The 26-week extension of the first trial showed that visceral fat re-accumulated after the drug was stopped^[6]. A 2011 review of the programme recorded treatment-emergent serious adverse events in under 4% of patients over 26 weeks, with injection-site reactions, arthralgia, headache and peripheral oedema among the most common events^[9]. A 2026 systematic review pooling four RCTs (909 patients) confirmed the visceral-fat, waist and lean-mass findings but noted GH-related adverse effects, a higher discontinuation rate, and limited long-term safety data^[18].

Liver fat and hepatic gene expression (human)

A 50-person randomised trial at Massachusetts General Hospital found that six months of the drug reduced visceral fat and produced a modest reduction in liver fat; fasting glucose rose at two weeks but not at six months^[12]. A 12-month, 61-person trial in HIV-associated non-alcoholic fatty liver disease reported a 37% relative reduction in hepatic fat fraction versus placebo, more injection-site complaints, and no difference in fasting glucose or HbA1c^[14]. Paired liver biopsies from that trial showed increased expression of oxidative-phosphorylation gene sets and decreased expression of inflammation, tissue-repair and cell-division gene sets in the treated arm^[15]. A 2024 sub-analysis restricted to participants on integrase-inhibitor regimens reported similar body-composition changes^[16]. In the earlier Phase III population, tesamorelin lowered tissue plasminogen activator antigen but did not significantly change PAI-1 antigen or C-reactive protein^[10].

Cognition (human, mixed results)

A 20-week randomised trial in 152 adults aged 55–87 (66 with mild cognitive impairment) with nightly injections reported a favourable overall effect on a cognitive composite (P = 0.03)^[11]. A 2025 open-label Phase 2 trial in 73 people with HIV and abdominal obesity found a trend within the tesamorelin group but no significant between-group difference in neurocognitive performance, and the authors state the study was under-powered and had no placebo arm^[17]. The two findings do not point the same way, and neither concerns research-grade material.

Study summary

What the evidence does not show

• Nothing about research-grade vials. Every human result above comes from the approved pharmaceutical product, given under medical supervision to defined patient groups in registered trials. None of it describes, tests or supports the material sold here, which is supplied for laboratory use only.
• No general population data. The Phase III programme enrolled antiretroviral-treated adults with HIV and abdominal fat accumulation^{[5, 7]}; the cognition trial enrolled adults aged 55–87^[11]. Effects in other groups have not been established, and the 2009 review judged the non-HIV indications “less promising”^[4].
• Effects are not durable off treatment. Visceral fat re-accumulated when the drug was discontinued^{[6, 9]}.
• Conflicting cognition results. One positive trial in older adults^[11] and one under-powered trial with no clear benefit in HIV^[17].
• Safety signals exist. Dogs given daily injections for months showed reversible liver, kidney and haematology changes attributed to sustained GH/IGF-1 exposure^[1]; human trials recorded more withdrawals for adverse events, injection-site reactions, arthralgia, headache, oedema, and a transient rise in fasting glucose^{[5, 9, 12]}; the 2026 meta-analysis called long-term safety data limited^[18].
• No anti-ageing, athletic or general “GH-boosting” use is supported. The published GH and IGF-1 rises were measured in trial participants receiving the drug^{[5, 13]}; no study establishes any benefit of that kind, and GHRH analogues including tesamorelin are prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency^[19].

Batch documentation

Independent Janoshik reports are posted for the 20mg vial (report #232266, analysed 21 September 2026: 17.94 mg measured, 98.010% purity) and the 10mg vial (report #172070, analysed 18 June 2026: 10.69 mg measured, 98.628% purity). Each product page shows its own report and states whether the posted document matches that exact strength; the 5mg vial has no posted report at the time of this review. Read the report yourself: the measured content and the purity are separate lines, and the lot on your label must match before the document applies.

Tesamorelin sits alongside every other compound on the page where you can buy peptides online in Canada, each with the same research-use-only terms and its own documentation.

Handling and storage in the laboratory

• Form: lyophilized powder in a sealed vial. The approved drug is likewise supplied as a lyophilized powder that is reconstituted before use^[9].
• Storage: the site’s guidance is −20 °C for long-term storage of the sealed vial (stated stability up to 24 months) and cool, dry, dark conditions for short periods. Avoid repeated freeze–thaw cycling.
• Stability in solution: the peptide was engineered to resist DPP-IV, and its degradation in rat, dog and human plasma was slower than native GHRH^[1]; that is a plasma finding, not a shelf-life claim for reconstituted solutions, which are generally less stable than the dry powder. Prepare only what an experiment needs.
• Protocols: the researcher’s responsibility. Shop Peptides Online publishes no dosing, reconstitution volumes or administration guidance.

References

All references were retrieved from PubMed (NCBI) on 30 September 2026 and cross-checked against Europe PMC; identity data from PubChem, ChEMBL (EMBL-EBI) and UniProt on the same date; Canadian regulatory status from Health Canada’s Drug Product Database on the same date.

1. Ferdinandi ES, Brazeau P, High K et al. (2007). Non-clinical pharmacology and safety evaluation of TH9507, a human growth hormone-releasing factor analogue. Basic & clinical pharmacology & toxicology 100(1):49-58. doi:10.1111/j.1742-7843.2007.00008.x. PMID 17214611
2. Jansen M, Darby I, Abribat T et al. (2004). Pulmonary delivery of TH9507, a growth hormone releasing factor analogue, in the dog. International journal of pharmaceutics 276(1-2):75-81. doi:10.1016/j.ijpharm.2004.02.012. PMID 15113616
3. Tomlinson B (2006). Drug evaluation: tesamorelin, a synthetic human growth hormone releasing factor. Current opinion in investigational drugs (London, England : 2000) 7(10):936-45. PMID 17086939
4. Wang Y, Tomlinson B (2009). Tesamorelin, a human growth hormone releasing factor analogue. Expert opinion on investigational drugs 18(3):303-10. doi:10.1517/13543780802707658. PMID 19243281
5. Falutz J, Allas S, Blot K et al. (2007). Metabolic effects of a growth hormone-releasing factor in patients with HIV. The New England journal of medicine 357(23):2359-70. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa072375. PMID 18057338
6. Falutz J, Allas S, Mamputu JC et al. (2008). Long-term safety and effects of tesamorelin, a growth hormone-releasing factor analogue, in HIV patients with abdominal fat accumulation. AIDS (London, England) 22(14):1719-28. doi:10.1097/QAD.0b013e32830a5058. PMID 18690162
7. Falutz J, Mamputu JC, Potvin D et al. (2010). Effects of tesamorelin (TH9507), a growth hormone-releasing factor analog, in human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients with excess abdominal fat: a pooled analysis of two multicenter, double-blind placebo-controlled phase 3 trials with safety extension data. The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism 95(9):4291-304. doi:10.1210/jc.2010-0490. PMID 20554713
8. Spooner LM, Olin JL (2012). Tesamorelin: a growth hormone-releasing factor analogue for HIV-associated lipodystrophy. The Annals of pharmacotherapy 46(2):240-7. doi:10.1345/aph.1Q629. PMID 22298602
9. Dhillon S (2011). Tesamorelin: a review of its use in the management of HIV-associated lipodystrophy. Drugs 71(8):1071-91. doi:10.2165/11202240-000000000-00000. PMID 21668043
10. Stanley TL, Falutz J, Mamputu JC et al. (2011). Effects of tesamorelin on inflammatory markers in HIV patients with excess abdominal fat: relationship with visceral adipose reduction. AIDS (London, England) 25(10):1281-8. doi:10.1097/QAD.0b013e328347f3f1. PMID 21516030
11. Baker LD, Barsness SM, Borson S et al. (2012). Effects of growth hormone–releasing hormone on cognitive function in adults with mild cognitive impairment and healthy older adults: results of a controlled trial. Archives of neurology 69(11):1420-9. doi:10.1001/archneurol.2012.1970. PMID 22869065
12. Stanley TL, Feldpausch MN, Oh J et al. (2014). Effect of tesamorelin on visceral fat and liver fat in HIV-infected patients with abdominal fat accumulation: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA 312(4):380-9. doi:10.1001/jama.2014.8334. PMID 25038357
13. González-Sales M, Barrière O, Tremblay PO et al. (2015). Population pharmacokinetic analysis of tesamorelin in HIV-infected patients and healthy subjects. Clinical pharmacokinetics 54(3):285-94. doi:10.1007/s40262-014-0202-x. PMID 25358450
14. Stanley TL, Fourman LT, Feldpausch MN et al. (2019). Effects of tesamorelin on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in HIV: a randomised, double-blind, multicentre trial. The lancet. HIV 6(12):e821-e830. doi:10.1016/S2352-3018(19)30338-8. PMID 31611038
15. Fourman LT, Billingsley JM, Agyapong G et al. (2020). Effects of tesamorelin on hepatic transcriptomic signatures in HIV-associated NAFLD. JCI insight 5(16). doi:10.1172/jci.insight.140134. PMID 32701508
16. Russo SC, Ockene MW, Arpante AK et al. (2024). Efficacy and safety of tesamorelin in people with HIV on integrase inhibitors. AIDS (London, England) 38(12):1758-1764. doi:10.1097/QAD.0000000000003965. PMID 38905488
17. Ellis RJ, Vaida F, Hu K et al. (2025). Effects of Tesamorelin on Neurocognitive Impairment in Persons With HIV and Abdominal Obesity. The Journal of infectious diseases 231(5):1230-1238. doi:10.1093/infdis/jiaf012. PMID 39813152
18. Ditta AM, Naeem RM, Sami MM et al. (2026). Efficacy and Safety of Tesamorelin in People Living With HIV (PLWH) With Lipodystrophy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Journal of the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care 25:23259582261475549. doi:10.1177/23259582261475549. PMID 42538058
19. Memdouh S, Gavrilović I, Ng K et al. (2021). Advances in the detection of growth hormone releasing hormone synthetic analogs. Drug testing and analysis 13(11-12):1871-1887. doi:10.1002/dta.3183. PMID 34665524