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Peptide Insider

Growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) analog

CJC-1295

Also known as CJC-1295 with DAC · DAC:GRF · Drug Affinity Complex GHRH analog

Clinical ResearchEARLY CLINICALFDA approved: No

CJC-1295 is a synthetic analog of the first 29 amino acids of growth hormone-releasing hormone, modified with a chemical linker — the "drug affinity complex", or DAC — that binds covalently to albumin in the bloodstream. Albumin circulates for weeks, so tethering the peptide to it converts a molecule with a half-life of minutes into one with a half-life measured in days. Early-phase human studies confirmed that this works as designed: single injections produced elevations in growth hormone and IGF-1 lasting more than a week <Cite id="teichman-2006" />. What those studies did not do — and what no published trial has since done — is establish that the resulting hormone elevation produces a clinical benefit. Confusing the two is the central error in most consumer discussion of this compound.

Written by Peptide Insider Editorial TeamPublished Last reviewed

The Insider Summary

What it is
A long-acting GHRH analog engineered to bind albumin, extending its duration of action from minutes to days.
Why researchers are interested
It answers a real pharmacological problem. Native GHRH is cleared almost immediately; CJC-1295 sustains stimulation of the pituitary, raising GH and IGF-1 for more than a week after a single dose.
Evidence
Early clinical. Randomised, placebo-controlled Phase 1 studies in healthy adults established the pharmacokinetic and hormonal profile. Endpoints were hormone concentrations — surrogate measures — not body composition, function or any clinical outcome.
Regulatory status
Not approved by the FDA for any indication, and not part of an active publicly disclosed development programme. FDA lists CJC-1295 among substances whose 503A compounding nominations were withdrawn.
Bottom line
The pharmacology is well described and the clinical file is empty. CJC-1295 reliably raises two hormone levels in healthy adults; whether raising them does anything worthwhile, and at what cost over time, has not been studied.

Quick reference

Compound
Peptide analog
Research areas
Growth Hormone & Endocrine Research
Evidence level
EARLY CLINICAL
Research status
Clinical Research
FDA approved
No
Human clinical evidence
Limited
Sequence
A modified GHRH(1–29) analog bearing a drug affinity complex (maleimidoproprionic acid) that binds covalently to circulating albumin.
Last reviewed
17 September 2026

What is CJC-1295 — and what is “no-DAC”?

A naming problem sits in the middle of this topic and causes persistent confusion.

CJC-1295 with DAC is the compound actually studied in the published human trials: a GHRH(1–29) analog carrying the drug affinity complex that binds albumin and gives it a multi-day duration of action.

"CJC-1295 without DAC" is a name applied in consumer markets to modified GRF(1–29) — a GHRH analog without the albumin-binding linker, and therefore with a half-life of minutes rather than days. It is a different pharmacological proposition entirely, and the Teichman trial data do not describe it.

When a source cites "CJC-1295 research" without specifying which of these it means, that source has not read the research carefully.

What is CJC-1295 being studied for?

The published human work is pharmacological rather than therapeutic: it characterises what the compound does to hormone concentrations in healthy adults, which is the normal purpose of a Phase 1 programme.

The intended clinical direction was growth hormone deficiency and related conditions where sustained, physiologically patterned GH stimulation would be preferable to direct GH replacement. That programme did not proceed to published late-stage trials, and there is no active, publicly disclosed development effort we have identified.

In consumer settings the compound is discussed in connection with body composition, recovery and sleep. We have not identified published controlled human trials measuring any of those endpoints for CJC-1295.

How does CJC-1295 work?

CJC-1295 binds the growth hormone-releasing hormone receptor on pituitary somatotrophs, stimulating synthesis and pulsatile release of growth hormone, which in turn drives hepatic production of IGF-1. Because it acts upstream at the pituitary rather than replacing growth hormone directly, release remains at least partly subject to normal negative feedback through somatostatin — a frequently cited theoretical advantage over exogenous growth hormone, and one that has not been tested against long-term clinical endpoints. The DAC modification forms a covalent bond with a cysteine residue on serum albumin, giving the reported half-life of roughly 6–8 days.

Research and clinical evidence

The table below grades the published record separately for each research area, because a compound can be well studied in one context and entirely unstudied in another. Grades follow the Peptide Insider evidence taxonomy.

Evidence level by research area
Research areaEvidence levelWhat the published record shows
Growth hormone and IGF-1 stimulation (pharmacodynamics)EARLY CLINICALRandomised, placebo-controlled Phase 1 studies in healthy adults established dose-dependent, multi-day elevation of GH and IGF-1 after single and repeated dosing.
Growth hormone deficiency (clinical outcomes)INSUFFICIENTNo published late-phase trials with clinical endpoints. The development programme did not progress to registration.
Body composition, recovery, sleepINSUFFICIENTThe uses most discussed outside clinical settings have no published controlled human trial evidence that we have identified.

Human clinical studies

Studies conducted in people. These carry the most weight, and their absence is itself a finding.

Prolonged stimulation of GH and IGF-1 secretion by CJC-1295, a long-acting GHRH analog, in healthy adults[1]

2006
Design
Two randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled ascending-dose studies, 28–49 days in duration
Population
Healthy adults aged 21–61
Subjects
Healthy volunteers across single-dose and multiple-dose cohorts

FindingsAfter a single subcutaneous injection, plasma GH rose 2- to 10-fold for six days or more and IGF-1 rose 1.5- to 3-fold for 9–11 days. Estimated half-life was 5.8–8.1 days. With repeated dosing, mean IGF-1 remained elevated for up to 28 days. Doses of 30–60 µg/kg were reported as well tolerated with no serious adverse reactions.

LimitationsEndpoints were hormone concentrations in healthy volunteers — surrogate measures that say nothing about clinical benefit. Small, short, and conducted in people without the condition the compound was intended to treat. No long-term safety data.

FDA and regulatory status

CJC-1295 is not approved by the FDA for any indication and is not, as far as we have been able to determine, the subject of an active publicly disclosed clinical development programme.

FDA lists CJC-1295 among substances nominated for the section 503A bulk drug substances list whose nominations were withdrawn [2]. It is therefore not available as a compounded preparation made from bulk substance under 503A.

Growth hormone and its secretagogues are also subject to specific statutory restrictions in the United States beyond ordinary drug law, and are prohibited in competitive sport under World Anti-Doping Agency rules.

Safety and known risks

Risks are separated into what is documented, what is plausible but unestablished, and what has not been studied. The third column is usually the longest one for an unapproved compound, and it is not a reassurance.

Known risks

Documented in regulatory labelling or published trial safety data.

  • In the published Phase 1 studies, doses of 30–60 µg/kg were reported as well tolerated, with no serious adverse reactions. That is a short-term finding in a small healthy population.

Potential risks

Plausible on mechanism or drug-class grounds, but not established for this compound.

  • Sustained elevation of IGF-1 is the mechanism of action, and it is also the mechanism behind the principal safety questions associated with growth hormone axis stimulation generally — including effects on glucose tolerance, fluid retention, joint symptoms and, over long periods, concerns about neoplastic risk. FDA labelling for approved GHRH-analog products carries warnings in these areas.
  • Continuous rather than pulsatile stimulation of the GH axis has theoretical consequences for receptor regulation that have not been characterised over long periods in humans.

Unknown or insufficiently studied

Questions the published record does not currently answer.

  • No published data on exposure beyond a few weeks.
  • No published data on clinical outcomes of any kind.
  • No published data in older adults, in people with metabolic disease, or in people with a cancer history.

Frequently asked questions

Does CJC-1295 raise growth hormone?
Yes — this is the best-established fact about it. In randomised placebo-controlled Phase 1 studies, a single injection raised plasma GH 2- to 10-fold for six days or more and IGF-1 1.5- to 3-fold for 9–11 days.[1]
Does raising growth hormone produce a benefit?
That is a separate question, and the published trials do not answer it. They measured hormone concentrations in healthy volunteers, not body composition, physical function, recovery or any clinical endpoint.
What is the difference between CJC-1295 with and without DAC?
The DAC is an albumin-binding linker that extends the half-life from minutes to roughly 6–8 days. "CJC-1295 without DAC" is a consumer name for modified GRF(1–29), which lacks that linker. The published human trial data describe the DAC version.
Is CJC-1295 FDA approved?
No. It has no approved indication, and FDA lists it among substances whose 503A compounding nominations were withdrawn.[2]

Continue reading

Comparison

CJC-1295 vs Ipamorelin

Two growth hormone secretagogues with different receptors and very different evidence. One has Phase 1 hormone data; the other has a published Phase 2 trial that missed its endpoint.

Comparison

Tesamorelin vs CJC-1295

Two GHRH analogs with the same upstream mechanism and completely different evidence. What separates an approved medicine from a discontinued research compound.

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References

Peptide Insider cites primary sources wherever they exist — regulatory documents, trial registrations and peer-reviewed literature — in preference to secondary summaries.

  1. 1.
    Teichman SL, Neale A, Lawrence B, Gagnon C, Castaigne JP, Frohman LA. Prolonged stimulation of growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor I secretion by CJC-1295, a long-acting analog of GH-releasing hormone, in healthy adults. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 2006;91(3):799–805.
    Peer-reviewedDOI: 10.1210/jc.2005-1536PMID: 16352683
  2. 2.
    U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Certain Bulk Drug Substances for Use in Compounding That May Present Significant Safety Risks. FDA, 2026;Page last updated 22 April 2026.
    Regulatory