Getting oriented
The name can sound like a treatment plan. Start with what the substance is, then ask whether it matches the problem you want help with.
Hormones are substances that carry messages within the body. Sermorelin is made in a lab by copying part of a hormone the brain makes. It prompts the pituitary gland to release growth hormone; this small gland sits beneath the brain.
A peptide is a chain made from the small building blocks of proteins. Knowing a substance is a peptide describes its makeup. That label cannot establish a medicine's effectiveness or legal permission, as of September 2026.
Sermorelin asks the gland to release the body's own growth hormone.
Growth hormone medicine supplies the hormone itself.
Sermorelin belongs to a group of drugs that prompt the body to release growth hormone. These drugs cannot work if the gland produces no growth hormone, says FDA. The agency responsible for US drugs has the full name Food and Drug Administration.
As of September 2026, approved growth hormone medicines exist for adults with a diagnosed growth hormone shortage.
Drug history
FDA once approved Geref (sermorelin) for a test of hormone release and for treating children whose growth was affected by a growth hormone shortage.
After the maker stopped marketing the products, the two approvals for Geref ended on June 18, 2009.
As of September 28, 2026, no FDA-approved sermorelin product is on the US market.
Write down what brought you here: sleep, energy, a change in your body, or a question raised during a visit. Describe what happens and how it affects your day.
Ask what else might explain that problem. Ask how the prescriber would compare the proposed care with other choices, including waiting while the problem is assessed.