Cardarine vs GW0742
Written by Aaron CuhaReviewed Sep 2026
The short answer
The same idea, acting on the PPAR-delta switch, sold twice. GW0742 is the sibling compound marketed on Cardarine's endurance story, with none of the same evidence. No human study of any kind has ever been published, and the endurance result is mice on a treadmill.
- Cardarine people
- 0
- Cardarine nulls
- 0
- GW0742 people
- 0
- GW0742 nulls
- 0
Dose
No human dose established
No published study on this page has given this compound to people and reported a result.
1 registered with no result
Dose
No human dose established
No published study on this page has given this compound to people and reported a result.
3 animal studies, 1 lab study, no human study
First-hand reports are counted on each profile and never added together. This page sets two published records side by side. It does not pick a winner.
Column A
CardarineGW501516 (cardarine)
Cardarine is a drug GSK stopped developing, reportedly after long rodent studies found cancers in many organs. It is still sold widely for endurance and fat loss, despite that report and a ban in sport.
Column B
GW0742GW0742, selective PPAR-beta/delta agonist
The sibling of GW501516 (cardarine), sold on the same endurance story with none of the same evidence. No human study of GW0742 of any kind has ever been published. The endurance result is mice on a treadmill.
Side by side, on the facts we can check
| What we compare | Cardarine | GW0742 |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Metabolic | Metabolic |
| FDA status | Never approved; work on it stopped over cancer risk | Never approved and never tested in a registered human trial. WADA, the world anti-doping agency, bans it in sport, along with the other drugs that work the same way (PPAR-delta drugs). |
| Half-life | ~24 hours (reported) | Not established in humans; no human pharmacokinetic study of this compound exists. |
| Molecular weight | 453.5 Da | 471.5 Da |
| How it works | It switches on PPAR-delta, a gene switch that turns up fat burning in muscle. | GW0742 switches on PPAR-delta, a switch inside cells that ramps up fat burning and mitochondrial genes in muscle. In the mouse drug-pair study, mice given GW0742 tended to have more PGC-1alpha, a master switch for making mitochondria. At exhaustion, several fat-handling genes were turned up in their muscle. The mice shifted from burning sugar to burning fat, saved their muscle sugar stores, and put off low blood sugar. Whether any of this happens at a safe dose in a person has never been tested. |
| Studies in people | 1 | 0 |
| Evidence | Preliminary: 1 registered with no result | Animal or lab only: 3 animal studies, 1 lab study, no human study |
| Legal status, US | Not approved; sold 'for research use only' | Not approved; research use only |
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Cardarine and GW0742?
Cardarine: Cardarine is a drug GSK stopped developing, reportedly after long rodent studies found cancers in many organs. It is still sold widely for endurance and fat loss, despite that report and a ban in sport. GW0742: The sibling of GW501516 (cardarine), sold on the same endurance story with none of the same evidence. No human study of GW0742 of any kind has ever been published. The endurance result is mice on a treadmill.
Which has stronger research evidence, Cardarine or GW0742?
Each compound gets a band worked out from facts we counted, with the math shown. Cardarine is Preliminary (1 registered with no result). GW0742 is Animal or lab only (3 animal studies, 1 lab study, no human study). That counts how much has been done in people. It does not rate whether either one works, and neither one is called the winner.
Are Cardarine and GW0742 FDA-approved?
Cardarine: Never approved; work on it stopped over cancer risk. GW0742: Never approved and never tested in a registered human trial. WADA, the world anti-doping agency, bans it in sport, along with the other drugs that work the same way (PPAR-delta drugs)..
Reviewed Sep 2026. This page puts two published records side by side. It is for learning, and it is not medical advice. When this site shows a dose, it is the dose a trial or a clinic actually used, or what people say they did, with the source attached. None of it tells you what to take.