Research material and lot documents
Tesamorelin vs sermorelin is a comparison of two growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) analogs of different length: tesamorelin has 44 amino acids plus a hexenoyl group, and sermorelin is the 29-amino-acid fragment GHRH(1-29)-NH2. Sources: FDA label for Egrifta WR, revised March 2025 and PubChem sermorelin record, CID 16132413.
No. They are two analogs built on the same human hormone. PubChem lists tesamorelin as GHRH(1-44) and sermorelin as GHRH(1-29)NH2, and gives each its own record, CID 16137828 and CID 16132413. The formulas differ: C221H366N72O67S for tesamorelin and C149H246N44O42S for sermorelin. Sources: PubChem tesamorelin record, CID 16137828 and PubChem sermorelin record, CID 16132413.
Sequence: the 44 amino acid sequence of human GRF, with a hexenoyl group on the N-terminal tyrosine.
Length: 44 amino acids.
Formula and mass: C221H366N72O67S; 5135.9 Da as free base equivalent.
FDA record: Egrifta, approved November 10, 2010 (BLA 022505), listed as a prescription product.
Research record: human trials in HIV-associated groups and in older adults.
Sources: FDA label for Egrifta WR, revised March 2025, Drugs@FDA record for BLA 022505 and tesamorelin peptide identity and research record.
Sequence: Tyr-Ala-Asp-Ala-Ile-Phe-Thr-Asn-Ser-Tyr-Arg-Lys-Val-Leu-Gly-Gln-Leu-Ser-Ala-Arg-Lys-Leu-Leu-Gln-Asp-Ile-Met-Ser-Arg-NH2, listed as GHRH(1-29)NH2.
Length: 29 amino acids.
Formula and mass: C149H246N44O42S; 3357.9 g/mol.
FDA record: Geref, approved December 28, 1990 (NDA 019863) and September 26, 1997 (NDA 020443), both marked Discontinued.
Research record: a 1999 review of its use in diagnosing and treating children with idiopathic growth hormone deficiency.
Sources: PubChem sermorelin record, CID 16132413, Drugs@FDA record for NDA 019863, Drugs@FDA record for NDA 020443 and 1999 sermorelin review, PMID 18031173.
Both are described as analogs of GHRH. The Egrifta label says that in vitro tesamorelin "binds and stimulates human GRF receptors with similar potency as the endogenous GRF." The 1999 sermorelin review calls it "a 29 amino acid analogue of human growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH)" and "the shortest synthetic peptide with full biological activity of GHRH." Sources: FDA label for Egrifta WR, revised March 2025 and 1999 sermorelin review, PMID 18031173.
Drugs@FDA lists Geref (sermorelin acetate) under NDA 019863, approved December 28, 1990 as a new molecular entity, and NDA 020443, approved September 26, 1997. Both are marked Discontinued. A Federal Register notice of March 4, 2013 (78 FR 14095) says that FDA determined the Geref products "were not withdrawn from sale for reasons of safety or effectiveness." Source: 2013 Federal Register notice on Geref.
Egrifta, the tesamorelin product, is a different record. Its approval history is on tesamorelin FDA approval records.
The 1999 review covers sermorelin in the diagnosis and treatment of children with idiopathic growth hormone deficiency. Its authors called sermorelin "a well tolerated analogue of GHRH" suitable as a provocative test of growth hormone deficiency, and reported limited data on growth in some prepubertal children. The tesamorelin trials are listed on the tesamorelin peptide identity and research record.
A PubMed search for tesamorelin and sermorelin returned 13 records on October 15, 2026. Four are 2026 review articles, and nine describe laboratory methods for detecting GHRH analogs and related peptides. By title and publication type, none is a trial that compared the two. A name search can miss differently named or unindexed work, so this result shows what the database returns, not that no comparison exists. Source: PubMed search for tesamorelin and sermorelin.
The page tesamorelin research material and lot records explains what a listing and a lot report show. The listing itself is in Curo's research catalog.
The comparison with a second growth hormone-releasing compound is on tesamorelin vs ipamorelin.