How to Reconstitute Sermorelin for Travel and Transport Without Losing Potency

Why there is no standard sermorelin travel protocol

Geref came in two FDA-approved forms: a 0.05 mg/ampule product (NDA 019863) for testing the pituitary's ability to release growth hormone, and 0.5 mg and 1 mg vials (NDA 020443) for treating idiopathic growth hormone deficiency in children [1]. The manufacturer discontinued both in 2008 and asked FDA to withdraw the applications; approval ended on June 18, 2009 [1]. In March 2013 FDA determined that Geref had not been withdrawn for reasons of safety or effectiveness [1].

Sermorelin sold in the US today is compounded. Compounded drugs are not FDA-approved: FDA does not review their safety, effectiveness or quality before they are marketed [2].

What is documented about the molecule

Sermorelin is a 29-amino-acid analogue of human growth hormone-releasing hormone and the shortest synthetic peptide with GHRH's full biological activity; it prompts the pituitary to release growth hormone and is not growth hormone itself [3]. In healthy men given GHRH(1-29)-NH2 intravenously, the peptide was eliminated quickly while growth hormone levels stayed raised for about 3 hours [8].

No sermorelin product is approved, and the doses that have been studied are not recommended doses. In a 1-year open-label trial, 110 previously untreated children with growth hormone deficiency received 30 micrograms/kg subcutaneously at bedtime; among the 86 evaluable, mean height velocity rose from 4.1 cm/yr at baseline to 8.0 cm/yr at 6 months and 7.2 cm/yr at 12 months, and 74% were good responders at 6 months [4]. In a much smaller physiology study, 10 healthy older men took 0.5 mg or 1 mg subcutaneously twice daily for 14 days; at the higher dose, 24-hour growth hormone and IGF-I rose to levels not significantly different from those of 9 young men [5].

Travel rules that are documented

WADA's 2026 Prohibited List names sermorelin in S2.2.4 (growth hormone releasing factors, GHRH and its analogues), prohibited at all times in and out of competition and classed as a non-Specified Substance; it is also named in the 2027 List [6][9].

For entry into the United States, FDA's personal importation guidance says it is illegal in most circumstances for individuals to import drugs, and a drug approved abroad but unapproved in the US is illegal to import [7]. For a serious condition, FDA staff may consider a more permissive decision in defined situations, generally for no more than a three-month supply, when the consumer affirms in writing that the product is for personal use and provides the name and address of a US-licensed doctor responsible for treatment, or evidence that treatment began abroad [7]. Compounded sermorelin is not an FDA-approved drug [2].