Home / Compounds / Somatropin

Somatropin

Recombinant human growth hormone · Multiple brands, including Genotropin, Norditropin, Humatrope

UK status

Licensed, and a Class C controlled drug

Availability

Prescription only

Evidence base

Human RCT for licensed uses

Controlled drug

Yes, Class C

Growth hormone is included here because it sits in the same conversation as peptides in gyms and online, and because its legal position is stricter than most people realise.

01What it is

Somatropin is human growth hormone produced by recombinant DNA technology, a protein of 191 amino acids identical in sequence to the hormone the pituitary gland makes. It is a protein rather than a short peptide, which is a difference of scale rather than category.

02How it came about

Growth hormone was originally extracted from human pituitary glands taken at post-mortem. That practice ended in the 1980s after recipients developed Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease from contaminated material, a disaster that shaped medical thinking about biological products for a generation.

Recombinant somatropin, produced in genetically modified cells from 1985, removed that risk entirely and made supply reliable. It is a genuine medical advance for children and adults who lack the hormone. Its misuse by people who do not lack it began almost immediately.

03UK legal and licensing status

Somatropin is a licensed prescription-only medicine in the UK for specific conditions, principally growth hormone deficiency in children and adults, and certain named genetic conditions. Those licences are narrow and clinically defined.

Athletes: prohibited by WADA under peptide hormones and growth factors, at all times.

04How it works

Growth hormone acts partly directly and partly by stimulating the liver to produce IGF-1, insulin-like growth factor 1, which mediates many of its effects on tissue growth. It also affects how the body handles fat and glucose, which is the basis of both its therapeutic use and its misuse.

05What it is not

Claims that attach themselves to this compound and do not hold up.

• Not an anti-ageing treatment. Evidence supports replacing a hormone in people deficient in it. That is not evidence that raising it above normal helps anyone else.
• Not legally equivalent to the research peptides. It is a Class C controlled drug. Supply and production are criminal offences with far heavier penalties than unlicensed medicine supply.
• Not a muscle-building shortcut without cost. Effects on glucose metabolism and tissue growth are the reason it is prescribed cautiously even for licensed use.
• Not reliably genuine when bought illicitly. Counterfeiting is widespread in illicit supply.

06What the evidence shows

For its licensed indications the evidence base is long-standing and robust. That evidence concerns treating deficiency, restoring a hormone to a normal level in people who lack it.

07Reported harms

Recognised effects include fluid retention, joint and muscle pain, carpal tunnel symptoms and effects on glucose tolerance. The Summary of Product Characteristics for each brand carries the full frequency table.

Counterfeit growth hormone is widespread in illicit supply, and product bought outside a pharmacy frequently is not what the label claims.

08Interactions and cautions

Growth hormone opposes insulin, so glucose control can worsen and diabetes medication may need adjusting. It also interacts with corticosteroid metabolism and with thyroid hormone handling. Each brand's SPC carries the detail.

09Stopping

In licensed use, stopping returns the person to their deficient state and effects reverse. In misuse, gains attributable to fluid retention resolve quickly.

10Monitoring

In licensed use: IGF-1, glucose and HbA1c, thyroid function, and growth measurements in children, all by a specialist. This is closely supervised treatment, which is itself informative about the risk profile.

11Questions worth asking

Take these to a doctor or pharmacist. A good clinician will not mind being asked, and the answers are specific to you in a way nothing on this page can be.

1. Have I actually been tested for growth hormone deficiency, and by whom?
2. What would this do to my glucose control?
3. Am I clear that supplying this to anyone else is a criminal offence?

12Common questions

13Sources

Links go to the authoritative source. Where a document sits behind a paywall or moves around, the full citation is given so you can find it yourself.

1. Summary of Product Characteristicselectronic medicines compendium
2. Somatropin monographBNF
3. Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 classificationlegislation.gov.uk
4. Prohibited List, peptide hormones and growth factorsWADA