Tesamorelin Dosage Calculator: mg to mL to Syringe Units
REVIEWED BY
Marcus Reinhardt — Chemical Researcher, Lead Analyst & Peptide Research Advisor
Marcus Reinhardt is a chemical researcher specializing in sustainable materials and advanced formulation science, with research experience in compound development and health optimization. He reviews all Peptide Insider educational content for scientific accuracy, strength of supporting evidence, and practical relevance. Editorial team.
Written by Marcus Reinhardt · Lead Analyst, Peptide Insider · LinkedIn
Evidence-first peptide coverage — every claim on this page is linked to its primary source and reviewed against our editorial policy
Citations verified against PubMed · Published: 2026-09-07 · Last updated: 2026-09-07
Tesamorelin is a synthetic analogue of growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH 1–44) and, as Egrifta, a prescription drug approved for excess abdominal fat in HIV-associated lipodystrophy. Research-market vials are lyophilized powder that has to be dissolved before anything can be measured, and turning a labelled 5 mg vial plus a syringe of bacteriostatic water into insulin-syringe units is where the arithmetic errors happen. This tesamorelin dosage calculator does that arithmetic, shows each step, and draws the result on a syringe.
WHAT THIS TOOL IS, AND IS NOT
It converts the vial size and water volume you enter into a concentration, and converts an amount you choose into insulin-syringe units. Nothing is pre-filled as a dose and nothing on this page recommends one. Tesamorelin is a prescription drug with one studied regimen in one population, reproduced further down as context; research-market vials are not that product and no other regimen has been studied.
How the tesamorelin math works
Three steps, and every peptide calculator uses the same three. First, concentration: milligrams in the vial divided by millilitres of bacteriostatic water added gives mg/mL. A 5 mg vial with 2 mL of water is 2.5 mg/mL. Second, what one syringe unit holds: a U-100 insulin syringe has 100 units per millilitre, so one unit is 0.01 mL, and the amount in one unit is the concentration divided by 100 (in mg) or multiplied by 10 (in mcg). At 2.5 mg/mL, one unit holds 25 mcg. Third, units to draw: the amount you chose, in mcg, divided by the mcg in one unit.
Two practical consequences fall out of that arithmetic. Adding more water lowers the concentration, so any given amount becomes more units and is easier to read on the syringe; adding less water does the opposite and can push an amount below two units, where the markings stop being precise. And the vial’s total content sets a hard ceiling: it does not matter how it is diluted, a 5 mg vial only ever contains 5 mg.
Tesamorelin reconstitution chart
The same arithmetic laid out for the vial sizes tesamorelin is commonly sold in, at one, two and three millilitres of bacteriostatic water. “Per unit” is one mark on a U-100 insulin syringe; “per 10 units” is 0.1 mL. These are conversions, not doses.
| Vial | Water added | Concentration | Per unit | Per 10 units |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 mg | 1 mL | 2 mg/mL | 20 mcg | 200 mcg |
| 2 mg | 2 mL | 1 mg/mL | 10 mcg | 100 mcg |
| 2 mg | 3 mL | 0.667 mg/mL | 6.67 mcg | 66.7 mcg |
| 5 mg | 1 mL | 5 mg/mL | 50 mcg | 500 mcg |
| 5 mg | 2 mL | 2.5 mg/mL | 25 mcg | 250 mcg |
| 5 mg | 3 mL | 1.667 mg/mL | 16.67 mcg | 166.7 mcg |
| 10 mg | 1 mL | 10 mg/mL | 100 mcg | 1,000 mcg |
| 10 mg | 2 mL | 5 mg/mL | 50 mcg | 500 mcg |
| 10 mg | 3 mL | 3.333 mg/mL | 33.33 mcg | 333.3 mcg |
Table values are exact arithmetic (mg ÷ mL; mcg per unit = mg/mL × 10). They assume the vial label is accurate, which for research-market products is only established by a batch-matched certificate of analysis.
What the tesamorelin trials administered
Tesamorelin is unusual among the compounds on this site: it is an approved prescription drug (Egrifta), and its evidence base is a fixed regimen studied in one population. Both phase 3 trials and the later academic trials used the same thing: 2 mg by subcutaneous injection once daily, in adults with HIV on antiretroviral therapy who had excess abdominal fat. The table is context for readers, not a schedule, and none of it is entered into the calculator for you.
| Trial | Population | Regimen | Duration | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pooled phase 3 trials (Falutz 2010, J Clin Endocrinol Metab) | 806 ART-treated HIV patients with excess abdominal fat, randomised 2:1 | Tesamorelin 2 mg (n = 543) or placebo (n = 263), subcutaneously, daily; re-randomised at week 26 | 26 weeks plus a 26-week extension | PMID 20554713 |
| Randomised clinical trial (Stanley 2014, JAMA) | HIV-infected patients with abdominal fat accumulation | Tesamorelin 2 mg (n = 28) or placebo (n = 22), subcutaneously, daily | 6 months | PMID 25038357 |
Two details from those abstracts matter for a calculator page. First, the regimen did not vary: there was no dose-ranging arm, so there is no evidence for what a higher or lower amount does. Second, the effect was on visceral fat specifically; in the pooled analysis, patients who stayed on tesamorelin for 52 weeks had a visceral adipose tissue change of −35 cm² (−17.5%), while the JAMA trial recorded a fasting glucose increase at 2 weeks (treatment effect 7 mg/dL) that was no longer evident at 6 months (treatment effect 2 mg/dL, 95% CI −6 to 10). Those are the outcomes the 2 mg figure is attached to; they were measured in people with HIV-associated lipodystrophy, not in the general population, and with a pharmaceutical product rather than a research vial.
Our tesamorelin for visceral fat guide covers the fat-loss evidence in detail, and the tesamorelin profile summarises the compound.
Reconstitution notes that change the numbers
Bacteriostatic water, not sterile water, for multi-draw vials. Bacteriostatic water contains 0.9% benzyl alcohol, which is what allows a reconstituted vial to be entered more than once; sterile water has no preservative. Our bacteriostatic water guide covers the label facts.
Volume added is the number that matters, not the vial’s stated capacity. If you add 2 mL, the concentration uses 2 mL regardless of whether the water vial says 10 mL or 30 mL. Measure the water with the same insulin syringe you will draw with, since 100 units is 1 mL.
Lyophilized powder adds a negligible volume. A few milligrams of peptide dissolved in millilitres of water does not change the volume in a way an insulin syringe can resolve, which is why every calculator, including this one, ignores it.
Label accuracy is the biggest error term. A vial labelled 5 mg that assays at 80% of label contains 4 mg of the stated compound, and every number above shifts with it. This is why a recent, batch-matched third-party certificate of analysis is the minimum standard on Peptide Insider, and why we publish how to read one.
Frequently asked questions
Does this calculator recommend a tesamorelin dose?
No. The amount field is blank until you type into it and the page never fills it. The calculator converts the vial size and water you enter into a concentration and converts an amount you choose into syringe units. The regimen used in the trials is described on this page as context, with the abstracts linked, and is not a recommendation.
How many units is 1 mg of tesamorelin?
It depends on the concentration, so the question has no fixed answer. As arithmetic only: a 5 mg vial dissolved in 2 mL is 2.5 mg/mL, so 1 mg is 0.4 mL, which is 40 units on a U-100 insulin syringe; the same vial in 1 mL is 5 mg/mL and 1 mg becomes 20 units. Enter your own vial, water and amount above to see your figures.
Is research-market tesamorelin the same as Egrifta?
Egrifta is the FDA-approved pharmaceutical product, manufactured to drug standards with a defined formulation and reconstitution instructions. Research vials are sold for laboratory use, are not made under those standards, and their content is only established by a batch-matched certificate of analysis. The arithmetic is the same for both; the confidence in the label is not.
Why does the tesamorelin evidence only cover one dose?
Because the development programme tested one regimen, 2 mg daily, in one population, adults with HIV and excess abdominal fat, and that regimen is what the trials measured. There is no published dose-ranging study, so nothing can be said from the evidence about what a different amount would do.
Which is the right vial size to reconstitute?
The calculator handles any vial: enter the milligrams on your label and the water you add. Larger vials at the same concentration simply give more draws, which the draws-per-vial tile shows, and the cost-per-draw tile divides an optional vial price by that figure.
Which syringe size should I select?
The one you actually have. The 30, 50 and 100 options are all U-100 insulin syringes, so one unit is 0.01 mL on each; the setting only changes the capacity ceiling and the drawing. The calculator warns when an amount exceeds the selected syringe or falls below two units, where the markings stop being precise.