Is IGF-1 DES legal in the US?
No. It is not approved and is sold as a research chemical.
CAnimal and cell studiesNot approvedas of 2026-10-26
IGF-1 DES, the des(1-3) fragment of insulin-like growth factor 1, is not approved by the FDA for any use and is sold online as a research chemical. 1
No. It has no approved use anywhere and is sold as a research chemical. Full-length recombinant IGF-1 (mecasermin) is approved for children with severe IGF-1 deficiency. That is a different product. 1
More on IGF-1 DES
Citations
- Ross 1989, Biochemical Journal: IGF binding proteins inhibit IGF-1 and IGF-2 but not des(1-3)IGF-1 doi.org
- Martin 1991, Am J Physiol: IGF-I and its variant des-(1-3)IGF-I enhance growth in rats with reduced renal mass doi.org
- Dominikowski 2026, Front Endocrinol: performance-enhancing peptides that act on the GH-IGF-1 axis, review doi.org
Reference information only, not medical advice. Drawn from the IGF-1 DES article, fact-checked against the cited sources. No dosing anywhere on this site.