How much water do I add to a 5 mg Ipamorelin vial?

There is no single correct amount: water changes how many units a dose is, not how many doses the vial holds. With 1.5 mL the vial is 3.33 mg/mL and 200 mcg is 6 units (0.06 mL) on a U-100 insulin syringe. The units table gives 1.5, 3, 5 mL.

How many doses are in a 5 mg Ipamorelin vial?

50 doses at 100 mcg, 25 doses at 200 mcg, 16 doses at 300 mcg.

How long does a 5 mg Ipamorelin vial last?

At 200 mcg a dose and once nightly on 5 days a week in physician-supervised protocols, about 1.2-5 weeks. How long a mixed vial keeps is a separate limit; see storage below.

How many 5 mg vials do I need for a cycle?

1 vial at 100 mcg 5 times a week for 8 weeks; 16 vials at 300 mcg 21 times a week for 12 weeks.

What does 1 unit equal in a 5 mg Ipamorelin vial?

33.33 mcg with 1.5 mL, 16.67 mcg with 3 mL, 10 mcg with 5 mL of bacteriostatic water, on a U-100 syringe.

Research use only · common protocol

Ipamorelin 5 mg vial dosage

A 5 mg Ipamorelin vial mixed with 1.5 mL of bacteriostatic water gives 3.33 mg/mL, so 200 mcg is 6 units (0.06 mL) on a U-100 insulin syringe. At 200 mcg a dose, one vial holds 25 doses.

Email me this plan, with a reminder before the vial's 28-day mark →

The common Ipamorelin protocol is 100-300 mcg, once nightly on 5 days a week in physician-supervised protocols, up to three times daily on an empty stomach in less structured use - common practice, not a dose established in trials. Evidence, side effects and legal status are on the full Ipamorelin dosing page.

Ipamorelin 5 mg vial at a glance

Vial: 5 mg of Ipamorelin per vial
Common dose: 100-300 mcg
How often: once nightly on 5 days a week in physician-supervised protocols, up to three times daily on an empty stomach in less structured use
Mixing example: 1.5 mL bacteriostatic water = 3.33 mg/mL; 1 unit = 33.33 mcg
Doses per vial: 50 at 100 mcg · 25 at 200 mcg · 16 at 300 mcg
Cycle: 8-12 weeks, then 4 weeks off

What Ipamorelin is

Class:: Pentapeptide growth hormone secretagogue
Also called:: NNC 26-0161, Aib-His-D-2-Nal-D-Phe-Lys-NH2
Used for:: Investigated for postoperative ileus, reaching Phase 2 before being discontinued for insufficient efficacy. Marketed to consumers for growth hormone release, an application never approved anywhere.
Human evidence:: Limited human data. The selectivity finding it is famous for is in vitro and animal data only - rat pituitary cells, anaesthetised rats, conscious swine. Human data is limited to a pharmacokinetic study in healthy men (terminal half-life 2 hours) and a Phase 2 program in postoperative ileus that was discontinued for insufficient efficacy. So there is human data - and what it showed was a failure to demonstrate benefit.
Half-life:: About 2 hours (terminal), from a dose-escalation pharmacokinetic study in healthy men given 15-minute intravenous infusions (eight men at each of five dose levels). Not measured after subcutaneous injection in a source I verified.
US status:: Research use only. Never approved by the FDA or any regulator, anywhere, for any indication. Not legally marketed for human use in the US and sold as a research chemical. Ipamorelin acetate appears in FDA's category 2 table under its interim compounding policies, as a substance FDA identified potential significant safety risks for when reviewing the nomination (503B). Named explicitly in the WADA 2026 Prohibited List under S2.2.4 as a growth hormone secretagogue, prohibited at all times.

The full picture, with every study: Ipamorelin guide.

Units per dose: Ipamorelin 5 mg vial

Water added	Concentration	1 unit =	100 mcg	200 mcg	300 mcg
1.5 mL	3.33 mg/mL	33.33 mcg	3 units	6 units	9 units
3 mL	1.67 mg/mL	16.67 mcg	6 units	12 units	18 units
5 mL	1 mg/mL	10 mcg	10 units	20 units	30 units

U-100 insulin syringe (100 units = 1 mL), to the nearest half unit. Water volumes are examples. Other numbers: dosage calculator.

Every dose from 100 mcg to 300 mcg, in units

With 1.5 mL of water in a 5 mg vial (3.33 mg/mL). Every dose across the common range, so you can read off any dose. The sources give a range, not a week-by-week schedule.

Dose	Draw on a U-100 syringe	Volume	Doses per vial
100 mcg	3 units	0.03 mL	50
125 mcg	4 units	0.04 mL	40
150 mcg	4.5 units	0.045 mL	33
175 mcg	5.5 units	0.055 mL	28
200 mcg	6 units	0.06 mL	25
225 mcg	7 units	0.07 mL	22
250 mcg	7.5 units	0.075 mL	20
275 mcg	8.5 units	0.085 mL	18
300 mcg	9 units	0.09 mL	16

How many doses a 5 mg vial holds

Dose	Doses per vial	Weeks per vial
100 mcg	50	2.4-10
200 mcg	25	1.2-5
300 mcg	16	0.8-3.2

Weeks per vial at the common frequency (once nightly on 5 days a week in physician-supervised protocols, up to three times daily on an empty stomach in less structured use). Doses per vial do not depend on how much water you add.

Email me my Ipamorelin 5 mg vial plan

Pick your water volume and dose and I will email you the numbers for this vial - units, volume, doses per vial and how long it lasts - plus the mixing and storage steps, and a reminder before the mixed vial reaches 28 days.

The common Ipamorelin protocol

Dose	100-300 mcg per injection
How often	once nightly on 5 days a week in physician-supervised protocols, up to three times daily on an empty stomach in less structured use
Timing	On an empty stomach - commonly before bed, 20-30 minutes before eating, or right after a workout.
Route	Subcutaneous injection
Cycle	8-12 weeks
Break	4 weeks
Often paired with	CJC-1295
Sources agree?	Partly - the sources differ, and the ranges above cover them

Common practice from the vendors and clinics that publish it, not a dose tested in trials. Where it comes from: [1], [2]. I do not give week-by-week titration: none of these sources states one.

Supplies for one cycle with 5 mg vials

Counted for the low and high ends of the common protocol, mixing each vial with 1.5 mL of water. One new syringe per injection.

Plan	Injections	5 mg vials	Insulin syringes	Bacteriostatic water	Alcohol swabs
100 mcg, 5×/week, 8 weeks	40	1	40	1.5 mL (1 × 10 mL bottle)	82 (1 × 100-pack)
300 mcg, 21×/week, 12 weeks	252	16	252	24 mL (3 × 10 mL bottles)	536 (6 × 100-pack)

Arithmetic on the protocol and this vial size. Swabs: two per vial mixed (both stoppers) and two per injection (vial stopper and skin). An opened multi-dose vial has a use-by date (see storage), which on a slow schedule can matter more than the dose count. Plan your own numbers with the protocol builder.

How to mix a 5 mg Ipamorelin vial

For this vial: 1.5 mL of bacteriostatic water makes 3.33 mg/mL, so 200 mcg is 6 units (0.06 mL) on a U-100 insulin syringe. Pick a different volume from the units table if you want bigger or smaller draws; the number of doses stays the same.

Wipe the rubber stoppers of both the peptide vial and the bacteriostatic water vial with an alcohol swab and let the alcohol dry. ^[3][4]
With a new sterile needle and syringe, draw up the amount of bacteriostatic water you have chosen for the dilution. ^[3][4][5]
Inject the water into the peptide vial by aiming the stream against the inside glass wall, which helps prevent foaming. ^[6]
Swirl or roll the vial gently until the powder has fully dissolved; do not shake it. Do not inject the solution if it is cloudy or has particles in it. ^[3][4][6]
Label the vial with the date and time it was mixed, the amount of water added and how long it can be used after mixing. ^[3]
Store the mixed vial in the refrigerator at 2-8°C (36-46°F) and do not freeze it. ^[6]

Step by step with pictures: how to reconstitute peptides. About the water itself: bacteriostatic water.

Storing Ipamorelin vials

Freeze-dried (lyophilized) peptide keeps far longer than peptide in solution; peptide suppliers advise storing the powder at -20°C away from bright light. ^[7]
Protect peptide vials from heat and light. ^[7][8]
Avoid repeated freeze-thaw cycles; a prescription peptide label also says not to freeze a vial once it has been mixed. ^[6][7]
Once a multi-dose vial, such as bacteriostatic water, has been opened (needle-punctured), date it and discard it within 28 days unless its manufacturer states another date. ^[9][10]

More detail: peptide storage and shelf life.

Injecting safely

Clean the injection site with an alcohol swab and let the skin dry completely before injecting. ^[11][12]
Pinch up a fold of skin and fat (not muscle) and insert the needle at a 45- to 90-degree angle: 90 degrees where there is enough fatty tissue, 45 degrees where there is little. ^[11][12][13]
Pulling back on the plunger (aspiration) is not necessary for a subcutaneous injection, because the chance of the needle being in a blood vessel is small. ^[11]
Inject slowly, at roughly 10 seconds per mL. ^[11]
Common sites are the belly, the thigh and the upper arm; rotate sites, keeping each injection at least 1 inch (2.5 cm) from the last. ^[6][11][12]

Hygiene and warning signs

Use a new sterile needle and syringe for every injection and every time you enter a vial; never reuse them. ^[5][9][12]
Never share needles, syringes or pens with anyone, even if the needle is changed; unsafe injection practices spread hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV. ^[5][8][9]
Put used needles and syringes in a sharps disposal container straight away (FDA-cleared if possible), never loose in the trash, recycling or toilet, and dispose of the container following your community's guidelines. ^[14][15]
Contact a health care provider if the injection site shows signs of infection, such as redness, swelling, red streaks or a fever. ^[12]

Where to inject: subcutaneous injection sites.

How Ipamorelin works

Ipamorelin is a synthetic pentapeptide, Aib-His-D-2-Nal-D-Phe-Lys-NH2, described by Novo Nordisk researchers in 1998. It came from a series of compounds lacking the central Ala-Trp pair of an earlier peptide, GHRP-1. ^[16]
It releases growth hormone through the same receptor as the GHRP peptides, now known as the ghrelin receptor. Experiments with GHRP and GHRH blockers showed it works like GHRP-6, with similar potency and efficacy in rat pituitary cells. ^[16][17]
In pigs, GHRP-6 and GHRP-2 raised ACTH and cortisol, but ipamorelin's ACTH and cortisol levels were not significantly different from those after GHRH, even at doses more than 200 times the dose giving half its maximum growth hormone effect. None of the three changed FSH, LH, prolactin or TSH. ^[16]
In healthy men given 15-minute intravenous infusions, ipamorelin had a terminal half-life of 2 hours. Each dose produced a single burst of growth hormone that peaked at 0.67 hours and then fell to negligible levels. ^[18]

What the Ipamorelin research found

Human evidence: limited human data. Each result says what was studied.

Human studyIn a Phase 2 randomised, double-blind trial in adults after bowel resection (117 enrolled, 114 analysed), intravenous ipamorelin twice daily for up to 7 days did not significantly shorten the time to a first tolerated solid meal: median 25.3 hours against 32.6 hours on placebo (p = 0.15). Secondary efficacy measures also showed no significant difference. ^[17]
Human studyA second Phase 2 dose-finding trial by Helsinn in bowel-resection patients, with 320 enrolled, is recorded as completed in 2014. No results have been posted to the registry. ^[19]
Animal studyIn adult female rats, 15 days of injections three times a day increased longitudinal bone growth with dose, from 42 micrometres a day in untreated rats to up to 52 in treated rats, and increased weight gain, without changing IGF-I levels. ^[20]
Animal studyIn adult female rats given ipamorelin continuously for 12 weeks, bone mineral content rose because the bones grew larger, not denser: volumetric bone mineral density was unchanged. ^[21]
Animal studyIn mice, twice-daily ipamorelin increased fat pad weight relative to body weight, including in growth hormone-deficient mice, and raised food intake and leptin in mice with normal growth hormone. The authors concluded the fat gain was not driven by growth hormone. ^[22]
Animal studyIn rats after abdominal surgery, repeated intravenous ipamorelin over 2 days increased faecal output, food intake and weight gain compared with saline, and a single 1 mg/kg dose shortened the time to the first bowel movement. ^[23]

Ipamorelin side effects and risks

Published human safety data for ipamorelin come only from short-term intravenous use; no trial has reported safety for repeated subcutaneous use.

Human studyIn the Phase 2 bowel-surgery trial, treatment-emergent adverse events occurred in 87.5% of the ipamorelin group and 94.8% of the placebo group. The authors judged intravenous ipamorelin well tolerated over up to 7 days in hospital. ^[17]
Regulator reviewFDA lists ipamorelin acetate in category 2 of its compounding policy, citing a published study that identified serious adverse events, including death, when ipamorelin was given intravenously to improve gastric motility. FDA also notes a potential risk of immunogenicity and says it has no safety information for certain other injectable routes. ^[24]

Other things to know

Never approved anywhere. Its Phase 2 program in postoperative ileus was discontinued for insufficient efficacy - development stopped because it did not work well enough, not because safety was established.
The famous selectivity claim (GH release without a proportional ACTH or cortisol rise) rests on rodent and swine data from 1998. It has not been established as a clinical benefit in humans.
Its 2-hour half-life comes from intravenous infusions in healthy men; each dose produced a single burst of growth hormone that fell to negligible levels, so the growth hormone response is short-lived.
FDA placed ipamorelin acetate in category 2 under its interim compounding policies - the category for nominated bulk substances where FDA identified potential significant safety risks.
Sold as a research chemical and not legally marketed for human use, so identity, purity and dose are unverified.
Prohibited at all times in sport (WADA S2.2.4).

Reported side effects and what the studies measured: Ipamorelin side effects.

Where this vial size comes from

Ipamorelin is sold as a 5 mg vial by the pages below, each checked on the date shown. I list them as evidence that this size exists, not as a recommendation to buy from them.

Pinnacle PeptidesvendorLists it as: "IPAMORELIN 5MG"; supplied at 5mg per vial · checked 2026-09-28
Core Research PeptidesvendorLists it as: "Ipamorelin 5mg" — 5mg lyophilized, vial containing 5 milligrams · checked 2026-09-28

The doses come from the sourced common protocol on the Ipamorelin dosing page, and every number on this page is arithmetic on those doses and this vial size.

Other Ipamorelin vial sizes

5 mg
10 mg vial

Where to buy Ipamorelin for research

Sold for research use only. Listed by Next Level Pharm and BioEdge Research Labs; compare them on my vendors page or see the listing on the Ipamorelin page.

Questions

How much water do I add to a 5 mg Ipamorelin vial?: There is no single correct amount: water changes how many units a dose is, not how many doses the vial holds. With 1.5 mL the vial is 3.33 mg/mL and 200 mcg is 6 units (0.06 mL) on a U-100 insulin syringe. The units table gives 1.5, 3, 5 mL.
How many doses are in a 5 mg Ipamorelin vial?: 50 doses at 100 mcg, 25 doses at 200 mcg, 16 doses at 300 mcg.
How long does a 5 mg Ipamorelin vial last?: At 200 mcg a dose and once nightly on 5 days a week in physician-supervised protocols, about 1.2-5 weeks. How long a mixed vial keeps is a separate limit; see storage below.
How many 5 mg vials do I need for a cycle?: 1 vial at 100 mcg 5 times a week for 8 weeks; 16 vials at 300 mcg 21 times a week for 12 weeks.
What does 1 unit equal in a 5 mg Ipamorelin vial?: 33.33 mcg with 1.5 mL, 16.67 mcg with 3 mL, 10 mcg with 5 mL of bacteriostatic water, on a U-100 syringe.

References (24 sources)

[1] Beverly Hills Rejuvenation Center: Ipamorelin 100 mcg per dose starting, titrated to 200-300 mcg per dose, paired with CJC-1295 once daily at bedtime on an empty stomach, 5 days a week, 8-12 week cycles followed by a break of roughly 4 or more weeks (clinic, checked 2026-09-27)
[2] Form Blends: 100-300 mcg per injection, once to three times daily, 8-12 week cycles with 4 week break, 5mg vial in 2mL BAC water (vendor, checked 2026-09-27)
[3] OpenStax, Rice University: 12.3 Preparing Unit-Dose Packaged Medications - Clinical Nursing Skills
[4] East Carolina University College of Nursing: Reconstitution of Medication
[5] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Considerations for Blood Glucose Monitoring and Insulin Administration
[6] DailyMed, National Library of Medicine: SEROSTIM (somatropin) for injection - prescribing information and instructions for use
[7] GenScript: Peptide Storage and Handling Guidelines
[8] DailyMed, National Library of Medicine: OZEMPIC (semaglutide) injection - prescribing information
[9] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Preventing Unsafe Injection Practices
[10] Pfizer: Bacteriostatic Water for Injection, USP - prescribing information
[11] OpenStax, Rice University: 12.5 Administering Subcutaneous Injections - Clinical Nursing Skills
[12] MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine: Subcutaneous (SQ) injections
[13] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Chapter 6: Vaccine Administration - Pink Book
[14] US Food and Drug Administration: Best Way to Get Rid of Used Needles and Other Sharps
[15] US Food and Drug Administration: DOs and DON'Ts of Proper Sharps Disposal
[16] Raun K, Hansen BS, Johansen NL et al. Ipamorelin, the first selective growth hormone secretagogue. Eur J Endocrinol. 1998;139(5):552-61.
[17] Beck DE, Sweeney WB, McCarter MD. Prospective, randomized, controlled, proof-of-concept study of the Ghrelin mimetic ipamorelin for the management of postoperative ileus in bowel resection patients. Int J Colorectal Dis. 2014;29(12):1527-34.
[18] Gobburu JV, Agersø H, Jusko WJ et al. Pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic modeling of ipamorelin, a growth hormone releasing peptide, in human volunteers. Pharm Res. 1999;16(9):1412-6.
[19] ClinicalTrials.gov, National Library of Medicine: NCT01280344 - Phase II dose-finding study of ipamorelin for recovery of gastrointestinal function after bowel resection (Helsinn Therapeutics)
[20] Johansen PB, Nowak J, Skjaerbaek C et al. Ipamorelin, a new growth-hormone-releasing peptide, induces longitudinal bone growth in rats. Growth Horm IGF Res. 1999;9(2):106-13.
[21] Svensson J, Lall S, Dickson SL et al. The GH secretagogues ipamorelin and GH-releasing peptide-6 increase bone mineral content in adult female rats. J Endocrinol. 2000;165(3):569-77.
[22] Lall S, Tung LY, Ohlsson C et al. Growth hormone (GH)-independent stimulation of adiposity by GH secretagogues. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2001;280(1):132-8.
[23] Venkova K, Mann W, Nelson R et al. Efficacy of ipamorelin, a novel ghrelin mimetic, in a rodent model of postoperative ileus. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 2009;329(3):1110-6.
[24] US Food and Drug Administration: Certain Bulk Drug Substances for Use in Compounding that May Present Significant Safety Risks (category 2 table, ipamorelin acetate, 503B; content current as of 22 April 2026)