How Does IGF-1 LR3 Compare to Des(1-3)IGF-1?
Published 2026-07-11 · REVIVE Peptides Research Desk · 2 min read
Short answer: IGF-1 LR3 and Des(1-3)IGF-1 are both research variants of native IGF-1 designed to reduce binding to IGF-binding proteins, but they take opposite structural approaches: IGF-1 LR3 adds a 13-amino-acid N-terminal extension, while Des(1-3)IGF-1 removes the first three N-terminal amino acids of native IGF-1 entirely.
Both analogs target the same region of the IGF-1 molecule — the N-terminus — because published structural research identified that region as central to IGFBP binding. Des(1-3)IGF-1 achieves reduced IGFBP affinity through deletion (removing residues 1 through 3 of native IGF-1), which is a shorter, simpler modification than the extension-plus-substitution approach used to create IGF-1 LR3.
In published in-vitro comparisons, both variants show meaningfully reduced IGFBP binding relative to native IGF-1 and comparable IGF-1 receptor activity to the native hormone. Researchers choosing between them in the literature have generally been guided by experimental design considerations — such as which structural changes are least likely to interfere with a specific assay — rather than one variant being categorically superior to the other.
Des(1-3)IGF-1, like IGF-1 LR3, is an unregulated research chemical rather than an approved pharmaceutical, and neither is stocked, listed, or available to order from REVIVE LAB UAE. This page is general research information only.
Not sold by REVIVE LAB UAE. This page is published for research-education purposes only. Neither IGF-1 LR3 nor Des(1-3)IGF-1 is part of the REVIVE LAB UAE product catalog and no order for either can be placed on this site.
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