AOD-9604 and MOTS-c are sold side by side as fat-loss peptides, and on paper they look alike: both about sixteen amino acids, both without an approved product, both on the anti-doping list. Their records are not alike. AOD-9604 was a drug candidate that went through six controlled trials in nearly nine hundred people before development stopped; MOTS-c is a peptide the body makes itself, and it has never been given to a person in a published study. The routes, the amounts in circulation and the syringe arithmetic differ as much as the evidence does. This page sets them side by side (sources re-read 2026-10-17) and converts the circulating figures into units. It reports; it suggests no dose.
The full record for each is on AOD-9604 dosage and MOTS-c dosage. MOTS-c's other common comparison, with a small molecule, is on 5-Amino-1MQ vs MOTS-c, and AOD-9604 against a labelled GHRH analogue on AOD-9604 vs tesamorelin.
Side by side
| AOD-9604 | MOTS-c | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Human growth hormone residues 177–191 plus an N-terminal tyrosine | 16-amino-acid peptide encoded in the mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene |
| Formula, weight (PubChem) | C78H123N23O23S2, 1,815.1 | C101H152N28O22S2, 2,174.6 |
| Molecules per mg | 0.55 µmol | 0.46 µmol |
| Proposed mechanism | Growth hormone's fat-breakdown signal without its IGF-1 effect | Folate cycle → AMP-activated protein kinase (mouse work, 2015) |
| Human dosing studies | Six sponsor trials, 893 subjects, oral and intravenous | None published; one registration recruiting |
| PubMed, title or abstract (2026-10-17) | 22 records | 264 records |
| 2026 review evidence tier | B/C | Not covered |
| WADA 2026 | S2.2.3, growth hormone fragments | S4.4.1, AMPK activators |
Two very different human records
AOD-9604. The sponsor's 2013 summary is the only published human dosing record, and it is substantial for a compound sold as a research peptide: two intravenous studies (single 20-minute infusions of 25 to 400 mcg/kg) and four oral studies (single doses up to 54 mg; 1 to 30 mg daily for 12 weeks in 300 adults; 0.25 to 1 mg daily for 24 weeks in 502). Across them IGF-1 did not change and glucose tolerance did not worsen. The paper reports safety, not the weight results of the two long trials. No trial injected AOD-9604 under the skin, which is the route on every vendor page. The 2026 review puts it at tier B/C — "limited or indirect human data" — and repeats that "no meaningful IGF−1 elevation" was seen.
MOTS-c. Nothing comparable exists. ClinicalTrials.gov returned nine records for the name on 2026-10-17; most measure MOTS-c levels in blood or do not concern it, and the one that gives it, NCT07505745, is recruiting, lists "Route Subcutaneous injection" and states no amount. PubMed's 264 records are animal, cell and measurement studies. The best-known human finding runs the other way from dosing: a 2021 Nature Communications paper reported that exercise raises the body's own MOTS-c in skeletal muscle and in circulation, and that intermittent treatment three times a week improved physical capacity in old mice. The CB4211 analogue that a company tested in people is a different molecule; its 25 mg daily figure is recorded on the MOTS-c page and does not transfer.
The figures in circulation
| AOD-9604 | MOTS-c | |
|---|---|---|
| Per injection | 250–500 mcg, most often 300 mcg | 5 mg (range 2.5–10 mg) |
| Frequency | Once daily, or split into 2–3 injections | Two or three times a week |
| Per week | 1.75–3.5 mg | 5–10 mg |
| Source | 2026 review Table 2 (forum patterns); vendor pages read 2026-09-18 | Vendor and forum pages read 2026-09-18 |
| Matches a trial route? | No — trials were oral and intravenous | No trial exists |
Per injection, a MOTS-c figure is about ten to twenty times an AOD-9604 figure by mass; per week, the gap narrows to 1.4 to 5.7 times because AOD-9604 is given daily. Because the two molecules are close in size, those mass ratios are close to the molecule ratios — about 1.2 times more molecules per milligram of AOD-9604. The FDA's statement that it "has not identified any human exposure data on drug products containing MOTs-C administered via any route" is as read on this site on 2026-10-12; fda.gov returned errors to every request on 2026-10-17 and could not be re-opened.
Both in syringe units
AOD-9604 vials are labelled 2, 5 and 10 mg; MOTS-c vials 5 and 10 mg. On a U-100 syringe, units = amount ÷ concentration × 100.
| Vial and water | Concentration | mcg per unit | 300 mcg | 500 mcg | 5 mg | 10 mg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AOD-9604 2 mg in 1 mL | 2 mg/mL | 20 | 15 units | 25 | — | — |
| AOD-9604 5 mg in 2 mL | 2.5 mg/mL | 25 | 12 units | 20 | — | — |
| AOD-9604 5 mg in 3 mL | 1.67 mg/mL | 16.7 | 18 units | 30 | — | — |
| MOTS-c 5 mg in 1 mL, or 10 mg in 2 mL | 5 mg/mL | 50 | — | — | 100 units | 200, two draws |
| MOTS-c 10 mg in 1 mL | 10 mg/mL | 100 | — | — | 50 units | 100 |
A 5 mg AOD-9604 vial holds about sixteen 300 mcg amounts; a 5 mg MOTS-c vial holds one 5 mg amount. That is the practical difference a reader sees first: one vial is drawn a few units at a time for two weeks, the other is emptied, or half-emptied, in one draw. Other combinations are worked by the AOD-9604 water and concentration arithmetic and the vial arithmetic for MOTS-c.
What is not established
Neither has an approved product. AOD-9604's human record covers oral and intravenous use and reports safety rather than efficacy; nothing establishes a subcutaneous dose. MOTS-c has no published human dosing at all. No study has given the two together, and their different mechanisms give no basis for predicting what a combination would do. Medibact's AOD-9604 guide and MOTS-c guide cover each compound. Product and dose decisions belong with a clinician.
Sources and dates
Opened 2026-10-17: PubChem CIDs 71300630 (AOD-9604) and 146675088 (MOTS-c, as read 2026-10-12); PubMed counts for AOD-9604 (22), MOTS-c (264) and both (1, PMID 41966639, abstract read); PubMed abstract PMID 33473109 (Reynolds 2021); the full text of Dominikowski et al., Frontiers in Endocrinology 2026 (PMID 42395176, PMC13322892), Tables 1 and 2; ClinicalTrials.gov v2 API searches for AOD9604 (0) and MOTS-c (9), including NCT07505745; the 2026 Prohibited List text in Tractatenblad 2026 no. 25. From this site's compound pages (opened 2026-09-18): the Stier, Vos and Kenley 2013 trial summary, CB4211 and the vendor figures; the FDA bulk-substance statement on MOTS-c as read 2026-10-12. fda.gov did not answer on 2026-10-17. Molar and unit arithmetic by this site. Corrections go to the contact page.