Metabolic & longevity

AOD-9604 is a synthetic fragment of human growth hormone, engineered to keep a fat-metabolising signal while shedding the growth. It became a famous “fat-burning peptide” — then its human obesity trials missed the mark.

Tesofensine (NS2330) is a small-molecule triple monoamine reuptake inhibitor that produced some of the largest weight-loss figures of the pre-GLP-1 era in human obesity research — then never reached the market. This is the story of why, and why honesty about its safety record matters.

A synthetic pan-agonist of the estrogen-related receptors, studied as an “exercise mimetic” that switches on the oxidative-metabolism programme a workout normally triggers. Here is what the preclinical record actually shows — and what it does not.

NMN is a direct precursor of NAD+, the metabolic coenzyme that fades with age. It is the molecule the anti-ageing field bet on to simply refill the tank — and the one with more human data than almost anything in this catalogue.

Two synthetic peptides that are almost always studied as a pair: one mimics ghrelin, the other mimics GHRH. A research primer on how each knocks on the growth-hormone axis — and what the preclinical record actually shows.

5-Amino-1MQ is a small-molecule inhibitor of the enzyme NNMT, studied in cells and obese mice for its effects on the NAD+ and methylation economy of fat tissue. Here is what the preclinical record actually shows — and where it stops.

A four-letter peptide carries a decades-old case of mistaken identity. A 2026 re-examination argues the famous dose was never Epitalon’s at all — and that the difference is a lesson in why what is in the vial matters more than the label on it.

Retatrutide (LY3437943) is a single engineered peptide built to pull three metabolic levers at once. Here is what the science actually shows — and why a research-grade compound is not the same thing as an approved medicine.