Is GHRP-2 FDA-approved, and what does the research show?

What is GHRP-2?

GHRP-2 is a synthetic peptide of six amino acids, made in a laboratory rather than taken from the body ². Its generic name is pralmorelin ⁸, ¹¹. It belongs to the growth hormone-releasing peptides, a family of compounds that make the pituitary gland release growth hormone ². GHRP-2 is a ghrelin agonist: it switches on the growth hormone secretagogue receptor, also called the ghrelin receptor, which ghrelin binds ¹. A secretagogue is a substance that makes a gland secrete a hormone.

Is GHRP-2 FDA-approved?

GHRP-2 is not FDA-approved: Drugs@FDA lists no approved GHRP-2 or pralmorelin product as of November 9, 2026 ³. It is a research compound studied in small trials and, in Japan, an approved diagnostic test ¹, ⁸.

FDA has placed GHRP-2 on both of its lists of substances nominated for compounding. The 503A list covers pharmacies that compound for individual prescriptions. There, GHRP-2 sits in Category 3, under FDA's heading "Bulk Drug Substances Nominated Without Adequate Support," on the list updated May 14, 2026 ⁴. The 503B list covers the larger outsourcing facilities, and on it the picture splits by route ⁵. GHRP-2 "except for injectable and nasal routes of administration" sits in Category 1, "Bulk Drug Substances Under Evaluation" ⁵.

GHRP-2 "for injectable and nasal routes of administration" sits in Category 2, "Bulk Drug Substances that Raise Significant Safety Risks," on the 503B list updated March 21, 2025 ⁵. FDA added that entry to Category 2 on September 29, 2023 ¹². FDA's page on the category says substances "that may present significant safety risks have been placed in category 2" after its review of nominations ¹². No source opened for this page names a lawful route for compounding GHRP-2 in the United States.

Outside the United States, Japan's Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency, PMDA, lists GHRP Kaken 100, pralmorelin hydrochloride, by Kaken Pharmaceutical, approved on October 22, 2004 ⁸. PMDA's note calls it "a diagnostic agent used for examination of secretory functions of growth hormones" ⁸. That is an approval to test how the body secretes growth hormone, in PMDA's category "in vivo diagnostic," not to treat anything ⁸.

See the FDA status of every peptide, updated weekly.

How does GHRP-2 work?

Studied in people, GHRP-2 acts at the ghrelin receptor; ghrelin "has two major effects, stimulating both GH secretion and appetite" ¹. In 7 lean, healthy men, an infusion of GHRP-2 under the skin raised serum growth hormone against saline ¹. In 14 patients with protracted critical illness, a long intensive-care illness, five days of GHRP-2 with thyrotropin-releasing hormone, a second pituitary signal, reactivated the pulsed release of growth hormone ⁶. It also raised insulin-like growth factor I, or IGF-I, to near-normal levels from the second day ⁶. In 6 children with growth hormone deficiency, overnight growth hormone secretion rose with the dose, but each injection's effect was brief and IGF-I did not rise ⁷.

What does the research show?

Studied in people: in a 2005 study, 7 lean, healthy men infused with GHRP-2 or saline ate 35.9% more at a buffet meal after GHRP-2 ¹. Every one of the seven ate more ¹. A 2006 randomized, double-blind study enrolled 19 healthy adults, 10 lean and 9 obese ¹⁰. Food intake rose 33.5% at the higher infusion and 10.2% at the lower against placebo, and obesity did not change the response ¹⁰.

Studied in people: a 1999 randomized crossover trial of 14 patients critically ill for an average of 40 days ⁶. Five days of GHRP-2 plus thyrotropin-releasing hormone raised osteocalcin, a marker of bone formation, 19% against a 6% fall on placebo, and reduced protein breakdown ⁶. The authors called this "the first evidence" of a metabolic effect in that condition ⁶. It was a five-day study of hormone markers, not of recovery or survival ⁶.

Studied in people: in a 1998 study, 6 prepubertal children with growth hormone deficiency received injections under the skin for eight months ⁷. In the last two months they also received growth hormone-releasing hormone, GHRH ⁷. They grew faster during treatment than before or after it, while IGF-I did not increase ⁷.

In a 1997 study of 15 children with short stature, GHRP-2 as a nasal spray raised height velocity from 3.7 to 6.1 centimeters a year at six months ². The authors called it "a modest but significant increase" ². Neither study reports a placebo group ⁷, ².

Studied in people, as a diagnostic test: in a 2007 Japanese study, 77 healthy adults and 58 patients with severe growth hormone deficiency were given GHRP-2 into a vein ⁹. Peak growth hormone after the dose separated the two groups, and a cutoff was set for diagnosis ⁹. A study published online in June 2023 tested 65 patients aged 65 and over with a pituitary tumor that makes no hormone ¹³. Their growth hormone response to the GHRP-2 test correlated with adrenal function ¹³. No trial of GHRP-2 for muscle, body composition, fat loss, sleep, injury or aging in healthy adults was found among the sources opened, as of November 9, 2026.

What are the side effects?

In the appetite studies, the effects recorded beyond growth hormone release were hunger, more eating and a transient rise in serum cortisol ¹, ¹⁰. All 7 healthy men ate more during the infusion, and appetite ratings rose before the meal at the higher dose in the 19 lean and obese adults ¹, ¹⁰. In 6 children treated for eight months, the authors observed "no side effects or toxicities" ⁷. In 15 children given the nasal spray, treatment "was well tolerated" ². The 2023 study calls the GHRP-2 test "relatively safe among endocrine stimulation tests for the elderly" ¹³.

FDA's own words go further than these small studies. Its safety-risks page says compounded GHRP-2 for injection or nasal use "may pose risk for immunogenicity," an immune reaction against the drug, because of aggregation and peptide-related impurities ¹². It adds that GHRP-2 "contains an unnatural amino acid, which adds to the complexity of peptide characterization," the testing of what is in the vial ¹². FDA says it is aware of reports of serious adverse events in patients who received GHRP-2, "though causality has not been established" ¹². The reports it names are an increased insulin requirement to hold blood glucose, death of critically ill study subjects, infection and pancreatitis ¹².

In sport

WADA, the World Anti-Doping Agency, names "GHRP-2 (pralmorelin)" on its 2026 Prohibited List under S2.2.4, "Growth hormone releasing factors," in the line for "GH-releasing peptides (GHRPs)" ¹¹. Class S2, peptide hormones, growth factors, related substances and mimetics, is prohibited at all times, in and out of competition ¹¹.

What JumpstartMD offers

JumpstartMD does not prescribe GHRP-2. Our peptide library covers it so you have the facts on its FDA status and the evidence, current as of November 9, 2026.

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Compounded medications are not FDA-approved, and FDA does not review their safety, effectiveness, or quality before they are marketed. A licensed clinician decides after an evaluation whether a peptide is appropriate for you, and not every patient will qualify.