Relamorelin

Pharmaceutical

Relamorelin is an investigational, injectable agonist of the ghrelin/growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHSR-1a) developed as a prokinetic — a drug that speeds the movement of food through the stomach. Its lead target is diabetic gastroparesis, a complication of diabetes in which the stomach empties too slowly, causing nausea, vomiting, bloating, early fullness, and abdominal pain. Unlike ghrelin-receptor agonists aimed at appetite or growth hormone, relamorelin was designed to exploit ghrelin's effect on gastric motility, offering a mechanism distinct from existing prokinetics. Relamorelin is a stabilized, synthetic pentapeptide analog of ghrelin engineered for greater potency and metabolic stability than the native hormone. Administered by subcutaneous injection, it activates GHSR-1a on gastrointestinal pathways to stimulate coordinated stomach contractions and accelerate gastric emptying. In clinical development it advanced through phase 2, and a phase 2b trial in diabetic gastroparesis reported positive effects on core symptoms — including vomiting — and on the rate of gastric emptying, supporting further study of the compound. Despite these encouraging mid-stage results, relamorelin is not approved by any regulatory agency and remains investigational. It is therefore labeled research-only, and it is not available as a prescribed treatment for gastroparesis or any other condition. Patients with gastroparesis are managed with dietary measures, glucose control in diabetes, approved prokinetics and antiemetics, and other clinician-directed strategies; relamorelin is not part of standard care. Any statements about its efficacy here are qualitative and reflect investigational findings, not an approved indication. Relamorelin belongs to the same ghrelin-receptor family as several compounds on this site. It shares its target with endogenous ghrelin, the Japan-approved cachexia drug anamorelin, and the FDA-approved diagnostic macimorelin, and it is mechanistically related to research secretagogues such as ipamorelin and ibutamoren. Its prokinetic focus, however, connects it more closely to the motility field — see our overviews of gastroparesis and functional dyspepsia, the explainer on the migrating motor complex, and the use-case discussion of relamorelin in diabetic gastroparesis.