IGF-1 DES

Key Benefits#

• Estimated 10x greater potency at the receptor vs IGF-1 LR3 locally
• Minimal IGFBP binding — nearly all active upon injection
• Highly localized muscle growth effect when injected intramuscularly
• Activates satellite cells for muscle fiber hyperplasia potential
• Synergistic with GH peptides in post-workout anabolic protocols
• Shorter half-life reduces systemic exposure vs IGF-1 LR3
• Useful for site-specific muscle development

Mechanism of Action#

By lacking the N-terminal tripeptide Gly-Pro-Glu, IGF-1 DES has approximately 1000-fold lower affinity for IGF binding proteins compared to native IGF-1. Since IGFBPs sequester IGF-1 and reduce its biological activity, the greatly reduced IGFBP binding of IGF-1 DES means nearly all injected peptide is immediately available to bind IGF-1 receptors. It activates the same IRS-1/PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway as native IGF-1, driving protein synthesis, satellite cell activation, and muscle hypertrophy. Its effects are highly localized to the injection site.

Dosing Protocols#

Side Effects#

• Hypoglycemia (most significant risk — especially post-workout)
• Localized muscle swelling at injection site
• Potential for jaw/organ growth (acromegalic effects) with prolonged high-dose use
• Carpal tunnel syndrome with high doses
• Theoretical cancer growth promotion

Contraindications#

Not FDA approved. Absolute contraindication in active malignancy. Diabetics require careful blood glucose monitoring. Pregnancy contraindicated.

Storage#

Lyophilized: store at -20°C. Reconstituted with acetic acid: refrigerate at 2–8°C, stable 2–3 weeks.

1. 1.
   Increased supply of lysine, methionine, and histidine during heat stress in primiparous and multiparous dairy cows: Effects on clinical signs of heat stress, performance, and metabolism

   Ruiz-González A, Leung YH, Celemin A, Kenez A, Chouinard PY, Gervais R et al. · Journal of dairy science · 2026PubMed Verified

2. 2.
   Normative data for insulin-like growth factor-1 and insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 and their determinants in healthy adult males from india: the INDIIGo study

   Shah R, Bansal D, Rastogi P, Sachdev S, Devi N, Sharma RR et al. · Scientific reports · 2025PubMed Verified

3. 3.
   Novel insights into the effects of JMV2894, a growth hormone secretagogue, in Duchenne muscular dystrophy: A preclinical study in the D2-mdx mouse model

   Mantuano P, Boccanegra B, Marinelli M, Cristiano E, Lenti R, Tulimiero L et al. · Biomedicine & pharmacotherapy = Biomedecine & pharmacotherapie · 2025PubMed Verified

4. 4.
   Loss of heterozygosity and absence of MAX immunostaining in a prolactinoma associated with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 5 (MEN5)

   Delemer B, Florea SM, Decoudier B, Boulagnon-Rombi C, Karna B, Pellegata NS et al. · Pituitary · 2025Case ReportPubMed Verified

5. 5.
   Exploring the Therapeutic Potential of Bovine Colostrum for Cancer Therapies

   Yalçıntaş YM, Bechelany M, Karav S · International journal of molecular sciences · 2025ReviewPubMed Verified

6. 6.
   Cost-utility analysis of second line acromegaly treatment in France

   Raverot G, Chanson P, Delemer B, Drui D, Briet C, Ferriere A et al. · Annales d'endocrinologie · 2025Meta-AnalysisPubMed Verified

7. 7.
   NAD(+) repletion restores cardioprotective autophagy and mitophagy in obesity-associated heart failure by suppressing excessive trophic signaling

   Abdellatif M, Vasques-Nóvoa F, Ferreira JP, Sadoshima J, Diwan A, Linke WA et al. · Autophagy · 2025PubMed Verified

8. 8.
   Cardiomyopathy in Patients With Acromegaly - Not Truly a Concern Anymore?

   Wolf P, Maione L, Kamenický P, Chanson P · The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism · 2025ReviewPubMed Verified

9. 9.
   Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 Reflects Liver Disease Stage and Improves Prediction of Liver-related Mortality

   Schneider CV, Gross S, Balasubramani S, Tomanová P, Schrader C, Fromme M et al. · Clinical gastroenterology and hepatology : the official clinical practice journal of the American Gastroenterological Association · 2025PubMed Verified

10. 10.
    Consensus and controversies about diagnosing GH deficiency: a Delphi survey by the GH research society

    Arlien-Søborg MC, Radovick S, Boguszewski MCS, Bidlingmaier M, Johannsson G, Grimberg A et al. · Pituitary · 2025ReviewPubMed Verified

11. 11.
    Preclinical Investigations of a Novel PEGylated Long-Acting Human Growth Hormone

    Wang J, Wang H, Wang R, Zhuang Y, Jiang C, Zhao B et al. · Drug design, development and therapy · 2025PubMed Verified

12. 12.
    Early oxytocin treatment in infants with Prader-Willi syndrome is safe and is associated with better endocrine, metabolic and behavioral outcomes

    Valette M, Diene G, Glattard M, Cortadellas J, Molinas C, Faye S et al. · Orphanet journal of rare diseases · 2025Clinical TrialPubMed Verified

13. 13.
    Network Pharmacology Combined With Metabolomics Reveals the Mechanism of Yangxuerongjin Pill Against Type 2 Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy in Rats

    Jin R, Pei H, Yue F, Zhang X, Zhang Z, Xu Y et al. · Drug design, development and therapy · 2025PubMed Verified

14. 14.
    Scabiosa artropurperea var.maritima aqueous extracts improve in vivo fertility parameters and in vitro granulosa cell steroidogenesis in Ewe

    Niama W, Ben Said S, Rame C, Bouzid K, Bartakiz A, Froment P et al. · Theriogenology · 2025PubMed Verified

15. 15.
    Safety and Effectiveness of a Biosimilar Recombinant Growth Hormone in Adults with Growth Hormone Deficiency: Analysis of Final Data from PATRO Adults, an International Post-Marketing Surveillance Study

    Beck-Peccoz P, Höybye C, Simsek S, Stalla G, Murray RD, Esmael A et al. · Drug design, development and therapy · 2024PubMed Verified

16. 16.
    Effects of time-of-day resistance training on muscle strength, hormonal adaptations, and sleep quality during Ramadan fasting

    Triki R, Ben Abderrahman A, Salhi I, Rhibi F, Saeidi A, Almaqhawi A et al. · Frontiers in nutrition · 2024PubMed Verified

17. 17.
    Profile of Trofinetide in the Treatment of Rett Syndrome: Design, Development and Potential Place in Therapy

    Camillo L, Pozzi M, Bernardo P, Pisano S, Nobile M · Drug design, development and therapy · 2024ReviewPubMed Verified

18. 18.
    Remission of Acromegaly: The Sooner the Better

    Cuny T, Maione L, Störmann S · Clinical endocrinology · 2024PubMed Verified

19. 19.
    Bayesian Individual Limits for IGF-1 Monitoring in Equine Plasma: Implementation in the Equine Biological Passport

    Barnabé A, Loup B, Cawley A, Delcourt V, Garcia P, Popot MA et al. · Drug testing and analysis · 2025PubMed Verified

20. 20.
    Long-acting growth hormone in the management of GHD in France

    Linglart A, Coutant R, Polak M, Nicolino M · Archives de pediatrie : organe officiel de la Societe francaise de pediatrie · 2024ReviewPubMed Verified

21. 21.
    Impact of Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors (TKIs) on Growth in Children and Adolescents with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia: A Systematic Review

    Katsarou D, Kotanidou EP, Tsinopoulou VR, Tragiannidis A, Hatzipantelis E, Galli-Tsinopoulou A · Current pharmaceutical design · 2024Meta-AnalysisPubMed Verified

22. 22.
    Peripheral Biomarkers of Anorexia Nervosa: A Meta-Analysis

    Wu YK, Watson HJ, Del Re AC, Finch JE, Hardin SL, Dumain AS et al. · Nutrients · 2024Meta-AnalysisPubMed Verified

23. 23.
    Effect of ultrasound-mediated blood-spinal cord barrier opening on survival and motor function in females in an amyotrophic lateral sclerosis mouse model

    Montero AS, Aliouat I, Ribon M, Canney M, Goldwirt L, Mourah S et al. · EBioMedicine · 2024PubMed Verified

24. 24.
    Characterization of Primary IGF-1 Deficiency in a Cohort of Canadian Children with Short Stature Using a Novel Algorithm Tailored to Electronic Medical Records

    Haridas R, Baxter C, Dover S, Goldbloom EB, Terekhov I, Robinson ME · Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024PubMed Verified

25. 25.
    Developments in the Management of Growth Hormone Deficiency: Clinical Utility of Somapacitan

    Miller BS, Blair J, Horikawa R, Linglart A, Yuen KCJ · Drug design, development and therapy · 2024ReviewPubMed Verified

26. 26.
    Chromatographic-mass spectrometric analysis of peptidic analytes (2-10 kDa) in doping control urine samples

    Thomas A, Walpurgis K, Thevis M · Journal of mass spectrometry : JMS · 2024PubMed Verified

27. 27.
    Acromegalic Cardiomyopathy: An Entity on its own? The Effects of GH and IGF-I Excess and Treatment on Cardiovascular Risk Factors

    Wolf P, Maione L, Kamenický P, Chanson P · Archives of medical research · 2023ReviewPubMed Verified

28. 28.
    Serum IGF1 Is a Prognostic Marker for Resistance to Targeted Therapies and a Predictive Marker for Anti-IGF1 Receptor Therapy in Melanoma

    Castillo-Ferrer C, Marguet T, Vanwonterghem L, Erbek S, Chuffart F, Mouret S et al. · The Journal of investigative dermatology · 2024PubMed Verified

29. 29.
    Effects of Acute Caffeine Intake on Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1 Responses to Total Sleep Deprivation: Interactions with COMT Polymorphism - A Randomized, Crossover Study

    Drogou C, Sauvet F, Erblang M, Leger D, Thomas C, Chennaoui M et al. · Lifestyle genomics · 2023RCTPubMed Verified

30. 30.
    Growth hormone secretagogues modulate inflammation and fibrosis in mdx mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy

    Boccanegra B, Cappellari O, Mantuano P, Trisciuzzi D, Mele A, Tulimiero L et al. · Frontiers in immunology · 2023PubMed Verified

31. 31.
    Perinatal exposure to the fungicide ketoconazole alters hypothalamic control of puberty in female rats

    Franssen D, Johansson HKL, Lopez-Rodriguez D, Lavergne A, Terwagne Q, Boberg J et al. · Frontiers in endocrinology · 2023PubMed Verified

32. 32.
    Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) selectively modulates the metabolic and lipid profile of bovine embryos according to their kinetics of development

    Annes K, de Lima CB, Ispada J, Dos Santos ÉC, Fontes PK, Nichi M et al. · Theriogenology · 2023PubMed Verified

33. 33.
    Chemotherapy-Induced Molecular Changes in Skeletal Muscle

    Pedrosa MB, Barbosa S, Vitorino R, Ferreira R, Moreira-Gonçalves D, Santos LL · Biomedicines · 2023ReviewPubMed Verified

34. 34.
    Antagonistic pleiotropy: the example of cardiac insulin-like growth factor signaling, which is essential in youth but detrimental in age

    Abdellatif M, Madeo F, Sedej S, Kroemer G · Expert opinion on therapeutic targets · 2023PubMed Verified

35. 35.
    Response by Sedej and Abdellatif to Letter Regarding Article, "Fine-Tuning Cardiac Insulin-Like Growth Factor 1 Receptor Signaling to Promote Health and Longevity"

    Sedej S, Abdellatif M · Circulation · 2022PubMed Verified

36. 36.
    PIK3CA gain-of-function mutation in adipose tissue induces metabolic reprogramming with Warburg-like effect and severe endocrine disruption

    Ladraa S, Zerbib L, Bayard C, Fraissenon A, Venot Q, Morin G et al. · Science advances · 2022PubMed Verified

37. 37.
    Haplotype structure of MSTN, IGF1, and BMP2 genes in Tunisian goats (Capra hircus) and their association with morphometric traits

    Chalbi S, Dettori ML, Djemali M, Vacca GM, Petretto E, Pazzola M et al. · Tropical animal health and production · 2022PubMed Verified

38. 38.
    Growth regulation in brook charr Salvelinus fontinalis

    Martinez-Silva MA, Dupont-Prinet A, Houle C, Vagner M, Garant D, Bernatchez L et al. · General and comparative endocrinology · 2023PubMed Verified

39. 39.
    Impairment in insulin secretion without changes in insulin resistance explains hyperglycemia in patients with acromegaly treated with pasireotide LAR

    Wolf P, Dormoy A, Maione L, Salenave S, Young J, Kamenický P et al. · Endocrine connections · 2022PubMed Verified

40. 40.
    Acromegaly: pathogenesis, diagnosis, and management

    Fleseriu M, Langlois F, Lim DST, Varlamov EV, Melmed S · The lancet. Diabetes & endocrinology · 2022ReviewPubMed Verified

41. 41.
    Pharmacologic Enhancement of Rotator Cuff Repair: A Narrative Review

    Vaysman M, Alben M, Todd M, Ruotolo C · Orthopedic reviews · 2022PubMed Verified

42. 42.
    Different Roles of the Insulin-like Growth Factor (IGF) Axis in Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

    Xu X, Qiu Y, Chen S, Wang S, Yang R, Liu B et al. · Current pharmaceutical design · 2022ReviewPubMed Verified

43. 43.
    Ghrelin, growth hormone and insulin-like growth Factor-I levels in people with protein C deficiency

    Dons-Jensen A, Horup SS, Hvas AM, Vestergaard ET, Johansen RF · Scandinavian journal of clinical and laboratory investigation · 2022Clinical TrialPubMed Verified

44. 44.
    Nutritional and Anthropometric Indices in Children Receiving Haemodiafiltration vs Conventional Haemodialysis - The HDF, Heart and Height (3H) Study

    Paglialonga F, Monzani A, Prodam F, Smith C, De Zan F, Canpolat N et al. · Journal of renal nutrition : the official journal of the Council on Renal Nutrition of the National Kidney Foundation · 2023PubMed Verified

45. 45.
    Spotlight on Lonapegsomatropin Once-Weekly Injection and Its Potential in the Treatment of Growth Hormone Deficiency in Pediatric Patients

    Miller BS, Yuen KCJ · Drug design, development and therapy · 2022ReviewPubMed Verified

46. 46.
    Spermidine overrides INSR (insulin receptor)-IGF1R (insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor)-mediated inhibition of autophagy in the aging heart

    Abdellatif M, Madeo F, Kroemer G, Sedej S · Autophagy · 2022PubMed Verified

47. 47.
    IGF-I Variability Over Repeated Measures in Patients With Acromegaly Under Long-Acting Somatostatin Receptor Ligands

    Maione L, Albrici C, Grunenwald S, Mouly C, Cimino V, Lecoq AL et al. · The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism · 2022PubMed Verified

48. 48.
    Efficient transdermal delivery of functional protein cargoes by a hydrophobic peptide MTD 1067

    Shin HJ, Bak SU, La HN, Kang JS, Lee HH, Eom HJ et al. · Scientific reports · 2022PubMed Verified

49. 49.
    Fine-Tuning Cardiac Insulin-Like Growth Factor 1 Receptor Signaling to Promote Health and Longevity

    Abdellatif M, Trummer-Herbst V, Heberle AM, Humnig A, Pendl T, Durand S et al. · Circulation · 2022PubMed Verified

50. 50.
    Pituitary MRI Features in Acromegaly Resulting From Ectopic GHRH Secretion From a Neuroendocrine Tumor: Analysis of 30 Cases

    Potorac I, Bonneville JF, Daly AF, de Herder W, Fainstein-Day P, Chanson P et al. · The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism · 2022PubMed Verified