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Peptide Biologicals

On desire, hunger and growth.

Peptide Biologicals reading list

The studies behind the desire, appetite and growth questions, including results that resist a tidy explanation.

The bremelanotide reward experiment

The bremelanotide trials concern desire and desire-related distress in premenopausal women with HSDD. The human imaging experiment and female Syrian hamster study approach different aspects of that biology. That group rewards another visit because the differences between their questions are as useful as the individual results.

Pituitary responses and organ endpoints

Ipamorelin's founding characterisation, human pharmacokinetics and bowel-resection trial trace a path from hormone release to a clinical endpoint that was missed. Semaglutide's cardiovascular and kidney trials widen the appetite discussion towards illness outcomes. The direct tirzepatide–semaglutide comparison concerns weight in its own defined population.

The full list follows. It includes animal studies, human trials, reviews and prescribing information; the population and type of evidence remain part of each finding's meaning.

  1. Lu Z, Ngan MP, Liu JYH, Yang L, Tu L, Chan SW, Giuliano C, Lovati E, Pietra C, Rudd JA. The growth hormone secretagogue receptor 1a agonists, anamorelin and ipamorelin, inhibit cisplatin-induced weight loss in ferrets: Anamorelin also exhibits anti-emetic effects via a central mechanism. Physiology & Behavior. 2024;284:114644. ↗
  2. Stokes AH, Falls JG, Yoon L, Cariello N, Faiola B, Colton HM, Jordan HL, Berridge BR. Integrated approach to early detection of cardiovascular toxicity induced by a ghrelin receptor agonist. International Journal of Toxicology. 2015;34(2):151-161. ↗
  3. Beck DE, Sweeney WB, McCarter MD; Ipamorelin 201 Study Group. Prospective, randomized, controlled, proof-of-concept study of the ghrelin mimetic ipamorelin for the management of postoperative ileus in bowel resection patients. International Journal of Colorectal Disease. 2014;29(12):1527-1534. ↗
  4. Gobburu JV, Agerso H, Jusko WJ, Ynddal L. Pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic modeling of ipamorelin, a growth hormone releasing peptide, in human volunteers. Pharmaceutical Research. 1999;16(9):1412-1416. ↗
  5. Johansen PB, Nowak J, Skjaerbaek C, Flyvbjerg A, Andreassen TT, Wilken M, Orskov H. Ipamorelin, a new growth-hormone-releasing peptide, induces longitudinal bone growth in rats. Growth Hormone & IGF Research. 1999;9(2):106-113. ↗
  6. Raun K, Hansen BS, Johansen NL, Thogersen H, Madsen K, Ankersen M, Andersen PH. Ipamorelin, the first selective growth hormone secretagogue. European Journal of Endocrinology. 1998;139(5):552-561. ↗
  7. Mayfield CK, et al. Injectable Peptide Therapy: A Primer for Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Physicians. The American journal of sports medicine. 2026;54:223-229. ↗
  8. Borland JM, Kohut-Jackson AL, Peyla AC, Hall MA, Mermelstein PG, Meisel RL. Female Syrian hamster analyses of bremelanotide, a US FDA approved drug for the treatment of female hypoactive sexual desire disorder. Neuropharmacology. 2025;267:110299. ↗
  9. Thurston L, Hunjan T, Mills EG, Wall MB, Ertl N, Phylactou M, Muzi B, Patel B, Alexander EC, Suladze S, Modi M, Eng PC, Bassett PA, Abbara A, Goldmeier D, Comninos AN, Dhillo WS. Melanocortin 4 receptor agonism enhances sexual brain processing in women with hypoactive sexual desire disorder. J Clin Invest. 2022;132(19):e152341. ↗
  10. Kingsberg SA, Clayton AH, Portman D, Williams LA, Krop J, Jordan R, Lucas J, Simon JA. Bremelanotide for the Treatment of Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder: Two Randomized Phase 3 Trials. Obstet Gynecol. 2019;134(5):899-908. ↗
  11. Simon JA, Kingsberg SA, Portman D, Williams LA, Krop J, Jordan R, Lucas J, Clayton AH. Long-Term Safety and Efficacy of Bremelanotide for Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder. Obstet Gynecol. 2019;134(5):909-917. ↗
  12. U.S. Food and Drug Administration / DailyMed. Bremelanotide Injection — US Prescribing Information (DailyMed/FDA). DailyMed (US FDA structured product label). 2019. ↗
  13. Aronne LJ, et al. (SURMOUNT-5 Investigators). Tirzepatide as Compared with Semaglutide for the Treatment of Obesity. N Engl J Med. 2025. ↗
  14. Perkovic V, et al. (FLOW Trial Committees and Investigators). Effects of Semaglutide on Chronic Kidney Disease in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes. N Engl J Med. 2024. ↗
  15. Lincoff AM, et al. (SELECT Trial Investigators). Semaglutide and Cardiovascular Outcomes in Obesity without Diabetes. N Engl J Med. 2023. ↗
  16. Wilding JPH, et al. (STEP 1 Study Group). Once-Weekly Semaglutide in Adults with Overweight or Obesity. N Engl J Med. 2021. ↗
  17. Smits MM, Van Raalte DH. Safety of Semaglutide. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2021. ↗
  18. Farzam K, Patel P. Tirzepatide (StatPearls). StatPearls [Internet], NCBI Bookshelf. 2024. ↗
  19. Zeng Q, et al. Safety issues of tirzepatide (pancreatitis and gallbladder or biliary disease) in type 2 diabetes and obesity: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2023. ↗
  20. Jastreboff AM, et al. Tirzepatide Once Weekly for the Treatment of Obesity. N Engl J Med. 2022. ↗
  21. Frias JP, et al. Tirzepatide versus Semaglutide Once Weekly in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes. N Engl J Med. 2021. ↗