Is ipamorelin a growth hormone?

Ipamorelin is not a growth hormone. Growth hormone, sold as HGH or somatropin, is a 191-amino-acid protein. Ipamorelin is a synthetic chain of five amino acids that acts at the ghrelin receptor (GHS-R1a), a receptor that signals the pituitary to release growth hormone. That makes it a growth hormone secretagogue, a compound acting upstream of the hormone rather than the hormone itself. The two are about 31 times apart in mass, so a mass-spec report tells them apart at a glance.

Ipamorelin vs growth hormone, by the numbers

The confusion comes from the name of the category. "Growth hormone peptide" gets used loosely for anything on the growth-hormone axis, but the molecules have little in common.

Three of ipamorelin's five residues are non-natural: Aib, D-2Nal and D-Phe. Growth hormone uses only the standard amino acids and is made recombinantly. Ipamorelin vs sermorelin vs tesamorelin covers the HGH comparison in more depth, along with the GHRH analogs it gets paired with.

Where ipamorelin comes from, and when it was discovered

Ipamorelin was developed at Novo Nordisk and published in 1998 as the first selective growth hormone secretagogue. It was a late arrival to a family that began in the 1980s with GHRP-6, a hexapeptide, followed by GHRP-2 and hexarelin.

What set ipamorelin apart was selectivity. In the study that first characterised it, it did not raise ACTH or cortisol the way GHRP-2 and GHRP-6 did. GHRP-2 vs GHRP-6 vs ipamorelin compares the family side by side.

The timeline runs in an unusual order:

• 1980s: the first synthetic GHRPs are made, before anyone knew which receptor they act at.
• 1996: that receptor, GHS-R1a, is cloned.
• 1998: ipamorelin is published.
• 1999: ghrelin, the body's own ligand for GHS-R1a, is identified.

So ipamorelin was designed against a receptor whose natural signal had not yet been found. It is entirely synthetic. Nothing is extracted from an animal or plant, and research vials are made by peptide synthesis, then freeze-dried.

Is ipamorelin legal in Canada?

Ipamorelin is bought and sold in Canada as a research chemical for laboratory use. It is not a Health Canada-approved drug, and marketing, selling or using it for human consumption is not permitted. As with every research peptide, the deciding factor is intended use, not the molecule. Are research peptides legal in Canada? explains that line in full.

Two practical points follow:

• A research supplier can describe ipamorelin's identity, sequence and lab results. It cannot offer usage guidance, because that would market it as a drug.
• For the regulatory status of any drug in Canada, Health Canada's Drug Product Database is the authority, not a supplier's website.

This section is general information, not legal advice.

Why is ipamorelin so cheap?

Peptide synthesis builds a chain one residue at a time, and each coupling step adds time, reagents and a chance of a truncated chain. Ipamorelin needs five couplings. Sermorelin needs 29 and tesamorelin 44. A short chain is simpler to make and simpler to purify to a high HPLC figure.

Its low mass matters too. At 711.85 g/mol, a 5 mg vial holds about 7 micromoles, against roughly 1 micromole in the same mass of tesamorelin, so a milligram of ipamorelin is many more molecules.

A low price can also be a warning. Prices far below the market can point to an underfilled vial, low purity or no testing at all. How to choose a peptide supplier in Canada lists the warning signs. For reference, pepuro's prices are:

• Ipamorelin: $59.99 for 5 mg, $84.99 for 10 mg
• CJC-1295 no-DAC + ipamorelin: $72.99 for 10 mg (5 + 5), $109.99 for 20 mg (10 + 10)
• Tesamorelin + ipamorelin: $79.99 for 5 mg + 5 mg, $119.99 for 10 mg + 10 mg

Whatever the price, the report decides whether the vial is worth it. An ipamorelin report should show an observed mass near 711.85, HPLC purity at 99% or higher, a batch number matching the vial and a named lab. A blend should list both peptides with their own mass and purity lines. How to read a peptide lab report walks through each field, and the ipamorelin handling guide covers reconstitution and storage.

Every ipamorelin vial and blend from pepuro ships free from our Calgary, Toronto and Vancouver distribution centers, the same business day your e-Transfer clears, with a QR code on the vial that opens its independent, third-party lab report.

For research use only. Not for human or animal consumption.