Compound record · Growth hormone axis

CJC-1295

Also CJC-1295 DAC · DAC:GRF · CJC-1295 without DAC · Mod GRF 1-29 · Modified GRF (1-29) · CJC

Long-acting GHRH analogue (albumin-binding)

Growth hormone axisEvidence · PreliminaryEarly-stage human studiesWADA · Prohibited at all times

Long-acting GHRH analogue abandoned in development; sold as a research chemical

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Record reviewed 1 September 2026 · 6 references

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Single-compound pen
CJC-1295 (no DAC)
Peptide pen · 10 mg / 3 mL
£180 · In stock

Class: Long-acting GHRH analogue (DAC)
Half-life: ≈ 6–8 days (native GHRH: minutes)
Human trials: Two Phase 1/2 studies in ≈ 80 healthy volunteers
Development: Halted 2006 after a trial participant's death
Status: Not authorised anywhere; WADA-prohibited (S2)

01 Overview

What CJC-1295 is

Summary

CJC-1295 is a modified GHRH(1–29) peptide carrying a 'Drug Affinity Complex' (DAC) that bonds it to albumin in the blood, stretching its half-life from minutes to about six to eight days. Two small Phase 1/2 studies in healthy adults showed sustained rises in GH and IGF-1, but its developer ConjuChem stopped the programme in 2006 after a participant died during a Phase 2 trial in HIV lipodystrophy. It has never been authorised as a medicine anywhere and is sold only as an unregulated research chemical, often paired with ipamorelin.

Mechanism

Acts on pituitary GHRH receptors to stimulate endogenous GH release; the DAC linker forms a covalent bond with circulating albumin so the peptide keeps stimulating the pituitary for days after a single injection, raising average GH and IGF-1 levels while GH pulses continue. 'Mod GRF 1-29' is the same tetra-substituted GHRH(1–29) sequence without the DAC linker and therefore acts for minutes rather than days.

Routes studiedSubcutaneous injection

Anti-dopingProhibited at all times

02 Evidence by goal

What has been shown, for which goal

Grades follow one scale across the site. Preliminary overall means: early-phase human data or case series; findings need replication.

Muscle & recovery
Insufficient
Human data are limited to GH and IGF-1 blood levels in fewer than 80 healthy volunteers over at most seven weeks; no study has measured muscle mass, strength or recovery.
Fat loss / body composition
Insufficient
The only efficacy trial — a Phase 2 study of 192 adults with HIV-associated visceral fat — was halted in 2006 and never reported results; there are no fat-loss data in any population.
Injury & recovery support
Insufficient
No human studies; claims rest on the general role of GH and IGF-1 in tissue growth.
Athletic performance
Insufficient
No performance studies; prohibited at all times under the WADA list (S2) and detectable in anti-doping testing.

03 Regulatory status

Where it is authorised, and for what

Status is recorded per jurisdiction from regulator sources and reviewed by hand. It is never inferred from another region's decision.

United Kingdom

Not authorised

Not authorised as a medicine; sold only as an unregulated 'research chemical'.

No MHRA licence has ever been applied for. Products sold online are labelled 'not for human consumption' and are outside medicines quality controls.

StatusNot authorised

Status last reviewed1 September 2026

SourceOur maintained database — never inferred

04 Dosing research

What the evidence says about exposure

Published human studies and the doses, routes and durations they used — reported as research information, not a recommendation.

Research information — not a recommendation. These are the exposures used in published human studies, reported so you can see what has been tested. They are not dosing instructions and do not apply to any individual.

Study 01

Single and repeated subcutaneous CJC-1295 in healthy adults (two ascending-dose studies)

Teichman SL et al., J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2006;91:799–805 · Source

Phase 1/22006

Design: Two randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, ascending-dose studies (28 and 49 days)
Population: Healthy adults aged 21–61 (44% men); 42 in the single-dose study and 24 in the multiple-dose study
Participants: n = 66
Duration: 28 days (single dose) and 49 days (2–3 doses over 14 days)
Route: Subcutaneous injection

Doses studied: Study 1: single doses of 30, 60, 125 or 250 µg/kg. Study 2: two doses of 30 or 60 µg/kg two weeks apart, or three weekly doses of 20 or 30 µg/kg
Outcome at this exposure: After one injection, mean GH rose 2- to 10-fold for 6 days or more and IGF-1 rose 1.5- to 3-fold for 9–11 days; estimated half-life 5.8–8.1 days. After repeated doses IGF-1 stayed above baseline for up to 28 days, with evidence of accumulation. GH pulsatility was preserved.
Adverse events observed: No serious adverse reactions. Injection-site reactions (irritation, redness, induration, pain, itching) in about 70% of single-dose recipients and all repeat-dose recipients; transient urticaria at the site in about 30%; headache (63%), diarrhoea (43%) and flushing with transient low blood pressure (30%), all more common at 125–250 µg/kg. Three participants withdrew because of adverse effects. No changes in glucose, liver tests or ECG; no antibodies detected.

Study 02

GH pulsatility after a single CJC-1295 injection in healthy young men

Ionescu M & Frohman LA, J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2006;91:4792–4797 · Source

Phase 12006

Design: Open-label physiological study with overnight 20-minute blood sampling before and one week after dosing
Population: Healthy men aged 20–40
Participants: Not reported
Duration: 1 week after a single dose
Route: Subcutaneous injection

Doses studied: Single dose of 60 or 90 µg/kg
Outcome at this exposure: GH secretion increased with preserved pulsatility: pulse frequency and size were unchanged while basal (trough) GH rose markedly, and IGF-1 increased.
Adverse events observed: Adverse effects were reported as mild and short-lived at these doses.

All human dosing data come from single or 2–3 weekly doses over at most seven weeks in roughly 80 healthy volunteers. The Phase 2 HIV-lipodystrophy trial (weekly 60–240 µg/kg, 192 participants) was stopped after a participant's death and never published. Doses circulating online — such as 1–2 mg of CJC-1295 DAC weekly, or 100 µg of 'Mod GRF 1-29' several times daily — have not been studied, and no study has run longer than 49 days.

05 Safety

Adverse effects and contraindications

Common effects seen in trials or reports, serious effects that warrant urgent review, and conditions under which use is not appropriate or needs assessment.

Common adverse effects

Injection-site irritation, redness, hardening, pain or itching (most recipients in trials)
Transient hives at the injection site (about 30%)
Headache (about 63%)
Diarrhoea or loose stools (about 43%, dose-related)
Flushing and warmth within 30 minutes of injection
Transient drop in blood pressure
Nausea or abdominal pain
Water retention (expected with sustained GH elevation)

Serious adverse effects

Death of a participant in the 2006 Phase 2 trial — causality not established, but development was terminated
IGF-1 elevation persisting for weeks after each dose — effects cannot be 'switched off' if problems arise
Glucose intolerance or diabetes with sustained GH excess
Fluid retention, joint pain and carpal tunnel syndrome (GH excess)
Possible acceleration of an existing malignancy
Immunogenicity and allergic reactions (an FDA-cited safety concern for peptide products)
Contamination or wrong-dose harms from unregulated vials

Contraindications

CancerDo not use
Raises GH and IGF-1 for days at a time and cannot be reversed once injected; any active or previous malignancy should be regarded as excluding use.
Acromegaly or pituitary tumourDo not use
Sustained GHRH-receptor stimulation in acromegaly or with a pituitary tumour is inappropriate.
Cardiovascular diseaseCaution
The only participant death in its development programme was attributed to probable undiagnosed coronary disease; flushing and transient low blood pressure occurred in trials, and there are no cardiovascular safety data.
DiabetesCaution
Prolonged GH elevation opposes insulin and can raise glucose; glucose was unchanged in the short studies, but sustained use has not been evaluated.
Diabetic retinopathy (eye disease)Caution
IGF-1 elevation is a recognised concern for retinopathy progression with GH-axis agents.
Hormonal disorderCaution
Requires a functioning pituitary; pituitary or adrenal disorders need endocrine assessment first.

Do not use = should not be used · Caution = needs assessment

06 Interactions

Medicine classes that need review

Grouped by how seriously the combination should be taken. Class labels match the medicines questionnaire in the assessment.

Major
Moderate
Minor

Major

Combination should be reviewed by a prescriber before use.

Growth hormone
Somatropin
Duplicate GH-axis stimulation with additive IGF-1 exposure; injected GH also suppresses the pituitary response CJC-1295 depends on.

Moderate

Monitoring or dose review is usually advised.

Insulin
Lantus, NovoRapid, Humalog, Tresiba
Days-long GH elevation opposes insulin; glucose monitoring and dose review are advised.
Sulfonylurea
Gliclazide, glimepiride, glipizide
Glucose control may deteriorate; monitoring advised.
Corticosteroid
Prednisolone, dexamethasone, hydrocortisone
Glucocorticoids blunt GH release and raise glucose; GH increases cortisol clearance, so replacement doses may need review.

Minor

Generally compatible; awareness is sufficient.

Other glucose-lowering medicine
Metformin, SGLT2 inhibitors, DPP-4 inhibitors
Glucose-lowering effect may be partly offset; monitoring advised.
Hormone replacement therapy
Oestrogen, progesterone
Oral oestrogens blunt hepatic IGF-1 generation and may mask the biochemical response.
Oral contraceptive
Combined pill, progestogen-only pill
Oral oestrogen-containing contraceptives may blunt the IGF-1 response; no data.
Thyroid hormone
Levothyroxine, liothyronine
Thyroid status affects the GH response; ensure replacement is stable.

07 Pregnancy & breastfeeding

Status in pregnancy

Insufficient data

No human or published animal reproductive data. Given a days-long action that cannot be withdrawn once injected, use in pregnancy or while breastfeeding cannot be supported.

08 Monitoring

What is usually monitored

Parameters that trials and product information track. A clinician decides what applies to an individual.

01IGF-1 — expected to stay elevated for weeks after each dose
02Fasting glucose and HbA1c
03Blood pressure and heart rate (flushing and transient hypotension were seen in trials)
04Swelling, joint pain and hand tingling
05Injection-site reactions, which affected almost all trial participants
06Age-appropriate cancer screening

09 Combinations

What is known about combining it

Notes on pairing with other compounds in the directory: whether the combination has been studied in people, and where mechanisms overlap.

Ipamorelin
Limited human data
Overlap · Both raise GH and IGF-1 — CJC-1295 through the GHRH receptor and ipamorelin through the ghrelin receptor.
The most commonly co-used pair ('CJC/Ipa'). Short physiology studies show that GHRH and ghrelin-receptor agonists release GH synergistically, which is the rationale, but no clinical trial has ever tested this combination for any outcome or its safety; the FDA has described it as an unapproved novel drug combination.
Tesamorelin
No human studies
Overlap · Both are GHRH analogues acting on the same receptor.
Duplicate GHRH stimulation; no data and no rationale.
Sermorelin
No human studies
Overlap · Both are GHRH(1–29)-based analogues.
Duplicate mechanism; no human data for the combination.
Somatropin
No human studies
Overlap · Duplicate GH-axis stimulation; injected GH suppresses the pituitary response CJC-1295 depends on.
No rationale or data; IGF-1 and glucose effects would be additive.
IGF-1 LR3
No human studies
Overlap · Additive IGF-1 exposure from two unlicensed products.
No human data; IGF-1 LR3 has never been studied in people.
Semaglutide
No human studies
No human studies of GH secretagogues combined with GLP-1 medicines; GH raises glucose while GLP-1 lowers it.
Tirzepatide
No human studies
No human data on the combination.
BPC-157
No human studies
Marketed together as 'recovery' stacks; no human data for the combination and BPC-157 lacks human efficacy data.

Discuss any proposed combination with a qualified healthcare professional.

10 Source considerations

Supply, quality and legitimacy

How the compound reaches people in practice, and what that means for product quality.

01Not a licensed medicine anywhere and not eligible for compounding in the US after the 2023–2024 FDA review; the only supply is unregulated 'research chemical' vials.
02Independent testing of research-chemical peptides has repeatedly found mislabelled identity, under- or over-dosing and contaminants; the FDA cited peptide impurities and immunogenicity as specific concerns.
03'CJC-1295 DAC' and 'CJC-1295 without DAC' (Mod GRF 1-29) are frequently confused; they differ roughly a thousand-fold in duration of action, so the same microgram dose has very different consequences.
04The FDA has issued warning letters to sellers and clinics marketing CJC-1295/ipamorelin as unapproved new drugs.

11 Questions for your clinician

Take these to your appointment

Specific to this compound. The personal assessment adds questions drawn from your own history and medicines.

01Is there any documented deficiency that would justify GH-axis stimulation, and if so why not a licensed treatment?
02Given the effect lasts for days per dose, what is the plan if I develop side effects?
03What are my baseline IGF-1, glucose and HbA1c, and how often would they be rechecked?
04Do I have any cancer, cardiovascular, pituitary or diabetes history that changes the risk?
05What do we know about the identity and purity of the specific product I have?
06Am I subject to anti-doping rules in any sport?

The personal assessment tailors this list to your responses.

12 Alternatives

Compounds with stronger evidence or firmer regulatory footing

Listed for overlapping goals. Whether any is appropriate depends on your history — the assessment maps that for you.

13 References

Sources behind this record

Regulator documents and peer-reviewed publications used to derive every grade and statement above.

The Peptide Checkup provides educational information and a structured summary of published research and regulatory status. It is not medical advice, does not diagnose or treat any condition, and does not replace a consultation with a qualified healthcare professional.

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