CJC-1295

What Is CJC-1295?

CJC-1295 refers to two distinct molecules that are frequently conflated in the grey market — a confusion that matters for dosing, half-life, and what you’re actually putting in your body.

CJC-1295 without DAC (also called Modified GRF 1-29 or Mod GRF 1-29): A 29-amino acid synthetic GHRH analogue based on sermorelin’s sequence with four amino acid substitutions at positions 2, 8, 15, and 27 designed to improve resistance to enzymatic degradation (DPP-IV cleavage). These modifications increase the half-life from sermorelin’s ~8 minutes to approximately 30 minutes. MW: ~3,367 Da.

CJC-1295 with DAC (Drug Affinity Complex): The same modified peptide conjugated with maleimidopropionic acid (MPA), which forms a covalent bond with serum albumin after injection. This dramatically extends the half-life to approximately 6–8 days, creating sustained GH elevation rather than pulsatile release. MW: ~3,647 Da. Originally developed by ConjuChem Biotechnologies (now Aeterna Zentaris).

This distinction is not academic — it fundamentally changes the pharmacology:

Property	CJC-1295 no DAC	CJC-1295 with DAC
Half-life	~30 minutes	~6–8 days
GH release pattern	Pulsatile (more physiological)	Sustained elevation (less physiological)
Dosing frequency	2–3x daily	1–2x weekly
Typical dose	100–200 mcg per injection	1–2 mg per injection
Commonly paired with	Ipamorelin	Used alone or with GHRP

When vendors sell “CJC-1295” without specifying DAC status, buyers cannot know which molecule they’re receiving. This is a meaningful quality and safety issue.

How It Works

Both forms of CJC-1295 work through the same fundamental mechanism as sermorelin — binding to GHRH receptors on anterior pituitary somatotrophs to stimulate GH synthesis and secretion. The amino acid substitutions at positions 2, 8, 15, and 27 provide greater metabolic stability than sermorelin but do not alter receptor affinity in a clinically meaningful way.

The “no DAC” version preserves pulsatile GH release patterns similar to sermorelin, which is why it is preferred by most biohacking protocols — the body’s natural GH rhythm is approximately maintained. The “with DAC” version produces sustained GH elevation that overrides pulsatile release, potentially increasing the risk of side effects associated with chronic GH excess and blunting the somatotroph’s normal rest-secretion cycle.

The pairing with ipamorelin (a ghrelin mimetic) is popular because the two peptides stimulate GH release through complementary pathways — CJC-1295 acts on GHRH receptors (the “accelerator”) while ipamorelin acts on ghrelin/GHS receptors (the “amplifier”). This dual stimulation produces synergistic GH output greater than either peptide alone. However, this specific combination has not been studied in a published controlled trial.

What the Research Actually Shows

The Clinical Program That Went Nowhere

ConjuChem Biotechnologies developed CJC-1295 with DAC through early clinical trials:

Teichman SL et al. (J Clin Endocrinol Metab, 2006;91(3):799–805): Single ascending dose study in 62 healthy adults. Subcutaneous CJC-1295 with DAC produced dose-dependent increases in GH levels (2–10 fold above baseline) and IGF-1 levels (1.5–3 fold) sustained for 6–14 days after a single injection. The GH increases persisted significantly longer than those seen with sermorelin. Side effects were generally mild — injection site reactions, headache, diarrhea, nausea.

Ionescu M and Bhatt DL (Clinical development data): A subsequent multi-dose study reportedly showed sustained IGF-1 elevation over 60–90 days. However, the clinical program was ultimately abandoned — ConjuChem was acquired, and CJC-1295 with DAC never advanced to Phase III trials or FDA submission.

Why the program stalled: The sustained, non-pulsatile GH elevation raised safety concerns. Chronic GH excess is associated with insulin resistance, edema, carpal tunnel syndrome, and theoretically, increased cancer risk. The DAC version’s inability to produce physiological pulsatile patterns was likely a factor in the abandoned development pathway.

No Published Clinical Data for CJC-1295 Without DAC

Here is the critical point most vendors fail to mention: the published clinical trial (Teichman et al.) used CJC-1295 with DAC — the long-acting albumin-binding version. No published human clinical trial exists for CJC-1295 without DAC (Mod GRF 1-29), which is the version most commonly sold and used in the grey market.

The “no DAC” version is preferred by the biohacking community precisely because its shorter half-life allows pulsatile dosing — but this preference is based on pharmacological reasoning, not clinical evidence. Its safety profile in humans has not been formally characterized.

What’s Missing

• No completed Phase II or Phase III trials for either form
• No published human trial for Mod GRF 1-29 (without DAC) — the version most people use
• No published study of the ipamorelin + CJC-1295 combination that is the market’s most popular GH secretagogue protocol
• No long-term safety data — the longest published human exposure is a single dose study
• No body composition or functional endpoint trial — only hormonal biomarker data exists
• No published comparison with sermorelin

Safety Profile

From the published study (with DAC): Mild injection site reactions, transient headache, diarrhea, nausea. No serious adverse events in the 62-subject dose-escalation study. However, this was a single-dose study — chronic administration data is unpublished.

Theoretical concerns with the DAC version: Sustained GH elevation without pulsatile rest periods raises concerns about insulin resistance (GH is a counter-regulatory hormone to insulin), fluid retention, joint pain, and potential tumor-promoting effects of chronic IGF-1 elevation. These are the same concerns that led to the abandoned clinical program.

Theoretical concerns with the no-DAC version: Fewer concerns about sustained elevation (the shorter half-life allows pulsatile dosing), but the complete absence of human safety data means the profile is unknown, not “safe.”

The combination stack concern: When CJC-1295 (either form) is combined with ipamorelin or another GHRP, total GH output may substantially exceed what either peptide produces alone. No safety data exists for this combination. Users self-dosing based on community protocols are operating without any published safety framework.

Legal and Regulatory Status

FDA: Category 2 — CJC-1295 (both forms) presents “significant safety risks” and cannot be legally compounded by 503A or 503B pharmacies. In December 2024, the Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee (PCAC) explicitly voted against including CJC-1295 on the compounding bulks list, citing safety concerns.

WADA: Prohibited under S2.2.4 (Growth Hormone Releasing Factors), classified as a GHRH analogue. Banned at all times, in and out of competition.

Grey-market status: CJC-1295 (both forms) remains widely available from research chemical vendors under the standard “for research use only” disclaimers. The FDA has issued warning letters to vendors selling CJC-1295, and the Tailor Made Compounding federal conviction involved CJC-1295 distribution.

Common Vendor Claims vs. Reality

What vendors say	What the evidence shows
”Clinically proven to increase GH”	One single-dose study (DAC version only); no trial for the no-DAC version most people use
”Builds muscle and burns fat”	No body composition trial has been completed or published
”Best when combined with ipamorelin”	Mechanistically plausible but never studied in any published trial
”Safe and well-tolerated”	Short-term data suggests mild side effects, but no long-term data exists for either version
”Can be compounded legally”	False since January 2025 — Category 2, compounding prohibited
”Same as sermorelin but better”	Different regulatory status (Cat 2 vs Cat 1), different evidence base, no head-to-head comparison exists

The Bottom Line

CJC-1295 is a pharmacologically interesting GHRH analogue with one published dose-escalation study (DAC version only) that showed effective GH stimulation. But “pharmacologically interesting” is where the evidence story ends. The clinical development program was abandoned. The version most people actually buy and use (no DAC) has never been studied in humans. The most popular protocol (ipa/CJC combo) has never been evaluated. And as of January 2025, it cannot be legally compounded.

If you’re choosing between CJC-1295 and sermorelin for GH secretagogue therapy, the comparison is straightforward: sermorelin has prior FDA approval, Category 1 legal status, documented adult human studies, and a well-characterized safety profile. CJC-1295 has one abandoned single-dose study and Category 2 prohibition. The only argument for CJC-1295 over sermorelin is pharmacological — the amino acid substitutions may provide modestly longer-lasting GH stimulation per injection. Whether that theoretical advantage justifies the legal risk and evidence gap is a decision for each individual.

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This profile will be updated as new research becomes available. Last reviewed: February 25, 2026.