What tesamorelin is
Tesamorelin is a synthetic analog of human growth hormone-releasing factor, GRF for short. The Egrifta labels say it's made up of the 44 amino acid sequence of human GRF with a hexenoyl group attached at one end, that it's prepared as an acetate salt, and that its molecular weight is 5135.9 Da as free base equivalent.
It's sold by prescription as Egrifta, from Theratechnologies Inc. Both versions with a label on DailyMed in October 2026 are a white to off-white lyophilized powder in a vial, mixed with a liquid and injected under the skin. Egrifta WR is an 11.6 mg vial and Egrifta SV is a 2 mg vial. The labels also refer to a 1 mg vial, called Egrifta with no letters after it. The Egrifta WR label says its safety was established from clinical trials run with that 1 mg vial.
The labels count milligrams as tesamorelin, not as the acetate salt. The Egrifta WR label says its 11.6 mg of tesamorelin is equivalent to approximately 11.9 mg of tesamorelin acetate, and the Egrifta SV label says its 2 mg is equivalent to approximately 2.2 mg. This calculator can't tell which way the milligrams on a vial were counted. It works from the number you type in.
Where it stands with the FDA
Tesamorelin is FDA-approved, as Egrifta. Both labels give the initial U.S. approval as 2010, and an FDA list gives the initial approval date of the Egrifta application as November 10, 2010.
It's approved for one use. Both labels say Egrifta is "indicated for the reduction of excess abdominal fat in HIV-infected adult patients with lipodystrophy". Both also say it's "not indicated for weight loss management as it has a weight neutral effect", and that its long-term cardiovascular safety has not been established.
A search of DailyMed, the National Library of Medicine's collection of drug labels, for tesamorelin in October 2026 returned two labels, Egrifta WR and Egrifta SV, both from Theratechnologies Inc. The Egrifta WR label says the two "are not substitutable". It says they differ in the dosage, the number of vials required to prepare a dose, the reconstitution instructions and the storage requirements.
Tesamorelin isn't on the FDA's list of substances nominated for compounding under section 503A, updated May 14, 2026, under that name or as Egrifta. Separately, an FDA list of approved applications for biological products that were deemed to be licenses on March 23, 2020 includes tesamorelin acetate, as Egrifta and Egrifta SV. An FDA guidance dated January 2018 says biological products subject to licensure "are not eligible for the exemptions for compounded drugs under sections 503A and 503B" of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. That guidance is about biological products in general. It doesn't name tesamorelin.
This calculator isn't built around an Egrifta kit. The kits come with their own syringes, and the labels' instructions give the amount to draw in mL. This page converts into the units of a U-100 insulin syringe and shows mL beside them, so the mL figure is the one to hold against a label.
How the labels mix a vial
The Egrifta WR label says to reconstitute one 11.6 mg vial with 1.3 mL of the Bacteriostatic Water for Injection that comes in the kit, and it gives the result as 8 mg per mL. That isn't the vial divided by the water. 11.6 mg divided by 1.3 mL would be about 8.92 mg per mL. The label doesn't say why the two differ, and this page doesn't guess.
It matters here because of how the calculator works. In its powder setting it treats the water you add as the whole volume, so 11.6 mg and 1.3 mL come out as about 8.92 mg/mL, which isn't the strength on the label. Anyone following the Egrifta WR label needs the other setting, "A liquid, strength on the label", with 8 typed in as the strength.
The label's own figures agree with 8 mg per mL. It says "One dose of EGRIFTA WR is 1.28 mg in 0.16 mL of the reconstituted solution", and 1.28 divided by 0.16 is 8.
The Egrifta SV label says to reconstitute one 2 mg vial with 0.5 mL of the Sterile Water for Injection that comes in the kit, and gives the result as 2 mg per 0.5 mL. That's 4 mg per mL, the same as the vial divided by the water, so both settings of the calculator give the same answer for it. Less than 0.5 mL comes back out, though. The label's instructions say that once all of the liquid in the vial is drawn into the syringe, the medicine "should be at around the 0.4 mL mark".
The two labels use different liquids, and each says to use only the diluent provided. The water box on this calculator says bacteriostatic water. The arithmetic is the same whichever liquid a label calls for.
A vial of tesamorelin that isn't an Egrifta product has no label like these behind it. Neither label says what strength any other vial comes to once it's mixed, so for one of those the calculator can only divide the amount you type by the water you type.
What the labels say about dose and safety
The Egrifta WR label says "The recommended dosage of EGRIFTA WR is 1.28 mg subcutaneously once daily", injected into the abdomen. The Egrifta SV label says "The dose of EGRIFTA SV is 1.4 mg (0.35 mL of the reconstituted solution) injected subcutaneously once daily". Those are the labels' doses for their own products and the approved use. They aren't a suggestion from this page, and the Egrifta WR label says the two products aren't substitutable.
Both labels say Egrifta is contraindicated in patients with disruption of the hypothalamic-pituitary axis, patients with active malignancy, patients with known hypersensitivity to tesamorelin or the excipients, and pregnant women.
Both labels say Egrifta stimulates growth hormone production and increases serum IGF-1, and that "The effects of prolonged elevations in IGF-1 levels are unknown". They say treatment can result in glucose intolerance, that fluid retention may occur, and that "Hypersensitivity reactions occurred in 4% of patients treated with EGRIFTA in clinical trials". In these labels, Egrifta with no letters after it is the 1 mg vial.
The highlights of both labels give the "Most commonly reported adverse reactions (>5%)" as "Arthralgia, injection site erythema, injection site pruritus, pain in extremity, peripheral edema, and myalgia".
The labels also say what isn't known. Safety and effectiveness in pediatric patients "have not been established", there is "no information" on use in patients greater than 65 years of age, and life-time carcinogenicity studies in rodents "have not been conducted with tesamorelin acetate".
Storing tesamorelin
The Egrifta WR label says to store the unmixed 11.6 mg vial at room temperature, 20°C to 25°C (68°F to 77°F), in the original box to protect it from light. Once it's mixed, the label says to keep the vial at that same room temperature, not to freeze it, and to discard unused solution 7 days after mixing. Its instructions add not to refrigerate the mixed vial either, and its patient leaflet says to throw away the bottle of bacteriostatic water 28 days after first use.
The Egrifta SV label is different. It says to store the unmixed 2 mg vial at 20°C to 25°C (68°F to 77°F) and to protect it from light by keeping it in the original box. Once it's mixed, the label says to administer it immediately and throw away any unused solution, and not to freeze or refrigerate the reconstituted solution.
Those instructions are for the Egrifta products and the liquids in their kits. Neither label says how long any other vial of tesamorelin keeps once it's mixed.
Tesamorelin dosage calculator questions
How do I turn a tesamorelin dose into syringe units?
Divide the dose by the strength of the liquid to get millilitres, then multiply by 100. The Egrifta WR label says its 11.6 mg vial, mixed with 1.3 mL, comes to 8 mg/mL. At that strength one unit on a U-100 insulin syringe holds 80 mcg and ten units hold 800 mcg. The Egrifta SV label says its 2 mg vial, mixed with 0.5 mL, comes to 2 mg per 0.5 mL. That's 4 mg/mL, so one unit holds 40 mcg and ten units hold 400 mcg.
How much water goes in a tesamorelin vial?
For an Egrifta vial, the amount its label says. The Egrifta WR label says 1.3 mL of the Bacteriostatic Water for Injection in the kit, in an 11.6 mg vial. The Egrifta SV label says 0.5 mL of the Sterile Water for Injection in the kit, in a 2 mg vial. Each label says to use only the liquid provided. With Egrifta WR the label's strength is 8 mg/mL, which isn't 11.6 divided by 1.3, so choose the liquid option on this page and enter 8 as the strength. For a vial with no label like these, the water only sets the concentration, and the amount of tesamorelin in the vial stays the same.
What if my tesamorelin is already a liquid?
Choose the liquid option and enter the strength printed on the vial, in mg per mL. There's no mixing step, so the volume is the dose divided by that strength, and the units are that volume times 100. At 1 mg/mL, one unit holds 10 mcg and ten units hold 100 mcg. Double the strength and every mark holds double.
Is tesamorelin approved by the FDA?
It's FDA-approved as Egrifta. The Egrifta labels give its initial U.S. approval as 2010. They say it's indicated for the reduction of excess abdominal fat in HIV-infected adult patients with lipodystrophy, and that it isn't indicated for weight loss management. A vial of tesamorelin sold under any other name isn't that product.
Does this page tell me how much tesamorelin to take?
No. The Egrifta labels give a dose for their own products and their approved use, and this page reports it as a quote under what the labels say, not as advice. The dose box starts empty, and the chart only converts.
Why does the calculator show about 8.92 mg/mL for an Egrifta WR vial?
Because its powder setting divides the vial by the water, and 11.6 mg divided by 1.3 mL is about 8.92 mg/mL. The Egrifta WR label gives the strength after mixing as 8 mg/mL instead. To work from the label's figure, choose the liquid option and enter 8 as the strength.
Are Egrifta WR and Egrifta SV the same strength?
No. The labels give 8 mg/mL for Egrifta WR and 2 mg per 0.5 mL for Egrifta SV, and the Egrifta WR label says the two aren't substitutable.
More peptide calculators by name
The same instrument, set up one peptide at a time. For any other vial, use the peptide reconstitution calculator.