What sermorelin is
Sermorelin is a synthetic peptide. A 1999 review in the journal BioDrugs describes it as a 29 amino acid analogue of human growth hormone-releasing hormone, GHRH for short, and as "the shortest synthetic peptide with full biological activity of GHRH". The same review says intravenous and subcutaneous sermorelin specifically stimulate growth hormone secretion from the anterior pituitary. Papers also write its name as GHRH-(1-29) or GRF 1-29.
It was sold in the United States as Geref, an injection of sermorelin acetate. A Federal Register notice names EMD Serono as the holder of both Geref applications. FDA's records list three Geref products: vials of 0.5 mg and 1.0 mg, and an ampule of 0.05 mg. Each amount is given as base, with sermorelin acetate as the active ingredient.
This calculator can't tell whether the milligrams on a vial were counted as base or as the acetate. It works from the number you type in.
Where it stands with the FDA
Sermorelin was FDA-approved, as Geref, and that approval has since been withdrawn. A Federal Register notice of March 4, 2013 says the 0.05 mg ampule was initially approved on December 28, 1990, and the 0.5 mg and 1.0 mg vials on September 26, 1997.
The notice gives each a different use. It says the vials were "indicated for the treatment of idiopathic growth hormone deficiency (GHD) in children with growth failure", and the ampule was "indicated for evaluating the ability of the somatotroph of the pituitary gland to secrete growth hormone".
The same notice says EMD Serono told FDA in a letter dated July 11, 2008 that the ampule was being discontinued, and in a letter dated December 2, 2008 that the vials were being discontinued. It says EMD Serono requested withdrawal of both applications, and that FDA withdrew its approval of them, effective June 18, 2009.
In the 2013 notice FDA says it reviewed the available evidence and determined that both Geref products "were not withdrawn from sale for reasons of safety or effectiveness". It says that determination allows FDA to approve abbreviated new drug applications for Geref, the route for duplicate versions of a drug, if all other legal and regulatory requirements are met. A search of DailyMed, the National Library of Medicine's collection of drug labels, for sermorelin in October 2026 returned no labels.
FDA's Drugs@FDA pages list all three Geref products as discontinued, and for each application they say "Label is not available on this site". So this page can't quote the Geref label. It doesn't report how that label said to mix a vial, what dose it gave, or how it said to store one.
Sermorelin isn't on FDA's list of substances nominated for compounding under section 503A, updated May 14, 2026, under that name or as Geref. It is on FDA's separate list of substances nominated for compounding under section 503B, updated March 21, 2025. There, sermorelin acetate is under category 1, which the list heads "Bulk Drug Substances Under Evaluation", with a mark the list says "Designates bulk drug substances that are components of FDA approved drugs". That one line is all the list says about it.
FDA also wrote about Geref in a briefing document on a different peptide, ipamorelin, for an advisory committee meeting on October 29, 2024. It groups sermorelin with the growth hormone secretagogues, GHSs for short, and says "only sermorelin (Geref, NDA 020443) was approved for the treatment of short stature associated with GHD in pediatric patients". It adds that "There are no GHSs that have been approved for the treatment of either adult- or childhood-onset GHD in adults". A footnote says Geref was approved for a preselected group of children with GHD who respond to a Geref stimulation test, and that treatment with it "was indicated only for pediatric subjects with idiopathic GHD".
That briefing document also describes a search of FDA's adverse event reports for ipamorelin. It found two reports, which it calls non-serious. One was about a man who injected a compounded product combining ipamorelin and sermorelin and "experienced arthralgia with left elbow joint pain". The document says the pain "did not resolve after stopping the injections; however, it became less severe". FDA wrote that because the product held two peptides, "it is not possible to assess a potential relationship between ipamorelin specifically and the reported adverse event".
What the published studies say
A trial published in 1996, written by a group calling itself the Geref International Study Group, tested GHRH-(1-29) in children with growth hormone deficiency. Its abstract says "One hundred and ten previously untreated prepubertal GH-deficient children were treated for up to 1 yr in a multicenter, open label study with 30 micrograms/kg GHRH-(1-29)/day, sc, given at bedtime". That's what the trial tested in those children. It isn't a suggestion from this page.
The abstract says "Eighty-six of the 110 patients were eligible for efficacy analysis". It reports that the group's mean height velocity rose from 4.1 cm/yr at baseline to 8.0 and 7.2 cm/yr after 6 and 12 months of therapy, and that at 6 months, 74% of the children were considered to have a good response. It says no adverse changes in general biochemical or hormonal analyses were noted, and that "overall GHRH was well tolerated". The abstract is about children with growth hormone deficiency. It reports nothing about adults.
The 1999 review in BioDrugs is about children with idiopathic growth hormone deficiency. It says limited data suggest once daily subcutaneous sermorelin "is effective in promoting growth in some prepubertal children with idiopathic growth hormone deficiency". It says the effect of long term treatment on final adult height "is yet to be determined", that sermorelin's effects "have not been directly compared with those of somatropin", and that "Transient facial flushing and pain at injection site were the most commonly reported adverse events".
A review published in Frontiers in Endocrinology in June 2026 is about what it calls performance-enhancing drugs marketed as "research compounds". It names sermorelin among the agents "most commonly encountered in clinical practice and online self-administration protocols". Of sermorelin it says "clinically meaningful benefits in healthy individuals remain uncertain because the human evidence base is limited and largely indirect".
The vials in the record
FDA's records list Geref vials of 0.5 mg and 1.0 mg, given as base. The Geref label isn't posted on FDA's Drugs@FDA site, so the amounts of water in this table are examples to show the arithmetic. They aren't the label's instructions.
| Vial | Water | Concentration | 10 units hold |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.5 mg | 1 mL | 0.5 mg/mL | 50 mcg |
| 0.5 mg | 2 mL | 0.25 mg/mL | 25 mcg |
| 1 mg | 1 mL | 1 mg/mL | 100 mcg |
| 1 mg | 2 mL | 0.5 mg/mL | 50 mcg |
More water spreads the same sermorelin over more units. Less water packs it into fewer.
Storing sermorelin
This page has no storage instructions to report. The Geref label is where they would be written, and FDA's Drugs@FDA pages say that label isn't available on the site. A DailyMed search for sermorelin in October 2026 returned no labels.
Neither the Federal Register notice nor the Drugs@FDA pages say how long a mixed vial of sermorelin keeps.
Sermorelin dosage calculator questions
How do I turn a sermorelin dose into syringe units?
Divide the dose by the concentration to get millilitres, then multiply by 100. A 1 mg vial mixed with 1 mL is 1 mg/mL, so one unit on an insulin syringe holds 10 mcg and ten units hold 100 mcg.
How much bacteriostatic water goes in a 1 mg vial of sermorelin?
There's no single right amount. The water only sets the concentration, and the amount of sermorelin in the vial stays the same. With 1 mg, 1 mL makes 1 mg/mL, 2 mL makes 0.5 mg/mL and 3 mL makes 0.3333 mg/mL. Choose the amount that puts your dose somewhere between about 10 and 40 units, where it's easiest to read.
Is sermorelin approved by the FDA?
It was, and the approval has been withdrawn. FDA approved sermorelin acetate as Geref, the ampule in 1990 and the vials in 1997. The maker told FDA in 2008 that both were being discontinued, asked for the approvals to be withdrawn, and FDA withdrew them effective June 18, 2009. In 2013 FDA determined that Geref wasn't withdrawn from sale for reasons of safety or effectiveness. Those approvals were for the Geref products.
Does this page tell me how much sermorelin to take?
No. The Geref label isn't posted on FDA's site, so this page can't quote a dose from it. It reports what a published trial tested in children with growth hormone deficiency, as a quote and not as advice. The dose box starts empty, and the chart only converts.
Why doesn't this page say how Geref was mixed?
Because the Geref label isn't posted on FDA's Drugs@FDA site. FDA's Drugs@FDA pages for both Geref applications say "Label is not available on this site", and a DailyMed search for sermorelin returned no labels. The Federal Register notice and the Drugs@FDA pages give the vial sizes, 0.5 mg and 1.0 mg, and say nothing about how much water to add.
Was Geref taken off the market for safety reasons?
FDA says it wasn't. In a Federal Register notice of March 4, 2013, FDA determined that both Geref products were not withdrawn from sale for reasons of safety or effectiveness. The notice says the maker had told FDA the products were being discontinued.
More peptide calculators by name
The same instrument, set up one peptide at a time. For any other vial, use the peptide reconstitution calculator.