Peptide Graded

All peptides / Muscle and bone

CJC-1295

GHRH analog (secretagogue)

Also CJC1295, CJC 1295, CJC-1295 DAC, CJC-1295 no DAC, Modified GRF 1-29, Mod GRF 1-29

Evidence
BSome human evidence
FDA status
Not approvedas of 2026-10-26
Route
Injection
Studies cited
3 human1 animal or cell

It is sold as an injection to build muscle, burn fat and slow ageing. Small trials show it raises growth hormone for days, but none show it changes muscle or fat.

Sold for

CJC-1295 is sold as a long-acting growth-hormone booster for muscle gain, fat loss, sleep and recovery, usually paired with ipamorelin.

Studies say

Small trials in healthy volunteers confirm that it raises GH and IGF-1 for a week or more per injection, which is a real pharmacological effect measured on blood tests, but no study has shown it changes body composition or any health outcome.

Why grade B. Two randomized placebo-controlled dose-ranging trials and one overnight sampling study, all in healthy adults, show CJC-1295 raises growth hormone and IGF-1 for days after a single injection. The largest enrolled a few dozen volunteers, measured hormone levels only, and lasted 49 days. No trial has measured muscle, fat, recovery or ageing outcomes, which are the uses it is sold for, so the grade is B on surrogate endpoints only. 12

FDA. CJC-1295 is not approved by the FDA for any use and is sold as a research chemical. Its nominations for the compounding bulks list were withdrawn in September 2024, and in December 2024 the FDA's Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee voted against adding it, so it is not eligible for pharmacy compounding either. 785

Written from 8 cited sources. Last refreshed 2026-10-27. Not physician reviewed.

What this means for you

What people take it for
Building muscle, losing fat, slowing ageing
Can a US doctor prescribe it?
No. It is not approved and is sold as a research chemical.
Properly tested in people?
Partly: a few small trials in healthy volunteers, lasting at most 49 days, checking blood tests only.

Evidence checklist

  • Randomised controlled trial Two placebo-controlled dose trialsyes
  • Human study over 100 people Trials enrolled a few dozen volunteersno
  • More than one research group Main trials from one group plus one studyno
  • Clinical outcomes, not surrogate markers GH and IGF-1 levels onlyno
  • Human safety data beyond case reports Short trials; nothing beyond 49 daysno

Drawn from the cited studies below. A dash means the sources give no information.

What it is

CJC-1295 is a modified piece of growth-hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH). GHRH is the peptide from the hypothalamus that tells the pituitary to release growth hormone. The piece has 29 amino acids. Four are swapped to resist breakdown. A chemical handle called a drug affinity complex (DAC) is added at one end. 3

The DAC is a maleimide group. Within minutes of injection, it forms a permanent bond with albumin, the most common protein in blood. Riding on albumin keeps the peptide in the blood for days. A free peptide lasts minutes. ConjuChem developed it in the mid-2000s and ran early trials, then stopped. 31

Products sold online as CJC-1295 without DAC are a different molecule. They are the same swapped GHRH piece with no albumin anchor, also called modified GRF (1-29). No one has reported its half-life in humans. A related D-Ala2 GHRH analog cleared from blood in about seven minutes in a 1994 infusion study. 46

How it works

CJC-1295 binds the GHRH receptor on pituitary somatotroph cells. This increases growth hormone release, which then raises IGF-1 made by the liver. In rats, the albumin-bound form was still found after 72 hours. It produced a GH response four times larger than plain GHRH(1-29). 3

Researchers sampled healthy men every 20 minutes overnight. A single injection raised trough GH levels 7.5-fold and mean GH by 46%. The number and size of GH pulses did not change. So the natural pulse pattern stayed, on top of a higher baseline. 2

What human research shows

Teichman and colleagues ran two randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trials in healthy adults aged 21 to 61. After one injection, mean GH rose 2- to 10-fold for six days or more. IGF-1 rose 1.5- to 3-fold for 9 to 11 days. The estimated half-life was 5.8 to 8.1 days. After repeated injections over several weeks, IGF-1 stayed above baseline for up to 28 days. It also built up. No serious adverse reactions occurred. 1

Ionescu and Frohman ran a separate study in healthy men. It confirmed that GH pulses were preserved. IGF-1 rose by about 45% one week after a single injection. 2

No published trial has measured lean mass, fat mass, strength, sleep quality or injury recovery with CJC-1295. A 2026 narrative review of performance peptides puts it in the tier with pharmacokinetic and hormone data but no outcome trials. 4

StudyModelFinding
Teichman 2006 dose-ranging trialsHumans, healthy adults, two randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trials, 28 and 49 daysGH rose 2- to 10-fold for six days or more and IGF-1 1.5- to 3-fold for 9 to 11 days after a single injection; half-life 5.8 to 8.1 days. 1
Ionescu 2006 pulsatility studyHumans, healthy men aged 20 to 40, 12-hour overnight sampling before and one week after injectionTrough GH rose 7.5-fold and IGF-1 45% with pulse frequency and amplitude unchanged. 2
Jette 2005 albumin bioconjugationRats and cultured rat pituitary cellsCJC-1295 bound albumin within 15 minutes, stayed in plasma beyond 72 hours and gave a fourfold larger GH response than GHRH(1-29). 3
Performance-peptide review 2026Narrative review of clinical and self-administration evidenceCJC-1295 has hormone and pharmacokinetic data but no outcome trials; adverse effects reported in users include dysglycaemia, fluid retention and joint pain. 4

Safety

In the controlled trials, the reported effects were injection-site reactions, flushing, headache and brief dizziness. The authors judged the drug well tolerated at the trial doses. The trials were too small and short to detect rare events. 1

The worries are those of any lasting rise in GH and IGF-1. They include fluid retention, joint pain, carpal-tunnel symptoms and higher blood glucose. Over the long term, there may be a mitogenic (cell-growth-promoting) risk, but it is unproven. The 2026 review notes that users often stack several GH-axis peptides from unregulated suppliers. So dose and purity are unknown. 4

Everything beyond 49 days is unknown. There are no long-term safety data in anyone. There are no data at all in people with cancer, diabetes or pituitary disease. 14

Questions for your clinician

  • Has any controlled trial shown benefit for muscle, fat or recovery, the uses it is sold for?
  • What do raised GH and IGF-1 levels mean for my blood sugar and long-term risk?
  • How would I know what is in a vial from an unregulated supplier?

Questions people ask

How do the DAC and no-DAC versions of CJC-1295 compare?

The DAC version carries a reactive group that bonds to albumin after injection. This gives it a half-life of roughly six to eight days. The no-DAC version is the same modified GHRH piece without that anchor. No one has published its human half-life, and the closest studied analog cleared in minutes. All the human trial data are for the DAC version. 1346

Has CJC-1295 ever received FDA approval?

No. It has never been approved. Its compounding nominations were withdrawn in 2024, and the FDA's advisory committee voted against listing it. It is sold only as a research chemical. 785

How long does it take to raise IGF-1?

In the trials, IGF-1 rose within a day or two of a single injection. It stayed 1.5- to 3-fold above baseline for 9 to 11 days. Repeated injections kept it raised for up to 28 days. 1

Which adverse effects have users and trial subjects reported?

In the trials, people had injection-site reactions, flushing, headache and dizziness. No serious reactions were reported. Outside trials, users report water retention, joint aches and blood-sugar changes. There are no data on long-term use. 14

How does CJC-1295 differ from sermorelin?

No. Sermorelin is the unmodified first 29 amino acids of GHRH, and it clears in minutes. CJC-1295 has four amino-acid swaps for stability. The DAC form also has an albumin anchor that extends its action to days. 36

Citations

  1. Teichman 2006, J Clin Endocrinol Metab: prolonged GH and IGF-1 stimulation by CJC-1295 in healthy adults pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  2. Ionescu 2006, J Clin Endocrinol Metab: pulsatile GH secretion persists during CJC-1295 stimulation pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  3. Jette 2005, Endocrinology: hGRF(1-29)-albumin bioconjugates, identification of CJC-1295 pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  4. 2026, Front Endocrinol: performance-enhancing peptides modulating the GH-IGF-1 axis, review pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  5. FDA: certain bulk drug substances for use in compounding may present significant safety risks fda.gov
  6. 1994, J Clin Endocrinol Metab: D-Ala2 GHRH(1-29) half-life and clearance in normal men pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  7. Lexology, September 2024: FDA removes certain peptide bulk drug substances from Category 2 lexology.com
  8. FDA briefing document, Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee, December 2024 fda.gov

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