Evidence grades
Regulatory status
Not FDA-approved for any use; an abandoned drug candidate (developed by ConjuChem) now sold gray-market as a 'research only' peptide and classed as an investigational new drug. Its only company-run clinical program — a Phase 2 trial for HIV-related lipodystrophy — was halted in 2006 after a participant died (the trial physician judged the death cardiac and unrelated to CJC-1295), and development was not resumed. Placed on the FDA's compounding 'Category 2' (significant safety risks) in 2023, then removed in September 2024 after the nominations were withdrawn — a procedural change that does NOT authorize compounding; at PCAC meetings in late 2024 the FDA recommended against adding it to the 503A bulks list, so it cannot be legally compounded. Prohibited in sport by WADA (S2, growth-hormone-releasing factors), in and out of competition.
Summary
CJC-1295 is a synthetic analog of growth-hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) — the brain signal that tells the pituitary to release growth hormone (GH). It is sold gray-market, usually paired with ipamorelin, to raise GH for muscle growth, fat loss, recovery, sleep, and anti-aging. It comes in two forms that get confused constantly: CJC-1295 with DAC (a "Drug Affinity Complex" that latches onto blood albumin and stretches the peptide's half-life to roughly a week, producing a sustained GH/IGF-1 rise) and CJC-1295 without DAC — which is essentially just Modified GRF (1-29), a short-acting version that produces a brief, more natural GH pulse. The honest state of the evidence: a single human study shows CJC-1295 (DAC) reliably and durably raises GH and IGF-1 — but that is a biomarker, not a benefit, and there are no human trials showing it builds muscle, burns fat, or slows aging. Its company clinical program was halted in 2006 after a participant died, and it was never developed to approval.
What people use it for
CJC-1295 is used (by subcutaneous injection) to increase growth hormone with the goals of building muscle, losing fat, improving recovery and sleep, and "anti-aging." It is most often combined with ipamorelin, a ghrelin-receptor agonist that raises GH through a different receptor, on the theory that hitting both the GHRH and ghrelin pathways yields a bigger, longer GH release. In practice, the short-acting no-DAC (Mod GRF 1-29) form is what is usually stacked with ipamorelin (to mimic a natural pulse), while the DAC form is used for a sustained, days-long elevation. These are the claims the evidence sections test; describing them is not endorsement.
Human evidence
There is one substantive human study of CJC-1295, and it measured hormones, not outcomes. In a 2006 report (Teichman et al., Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism) — two randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled ascending-dose trials in healthy adults — a single subcutaneous injection of CJC-1295 (the DAC version) produced dose-dependent increases in GH of roughly 2- to 10-fold lasting six or more days, and increases in IGF-1 of about 1.5- to 3-fold lasting 9–11 days, with an estimated half-life of about 6–8 days; repeated dosing kept IGF-1 above baseline for up to 28 days. The study reported it was generally well tolerated at the doses used, with no serious adverse reactions in that trial.
That study establishes one thing clearly — CJC-1295 (DAC) raises GH and IGF-1 in people, and does so for a long time. It establishes nothing about the uses it's actually sold for. There are no human trials of CJC-1295 for muscle growth, fat loss, body composition, recovery, sleep, or aging, and no studies showing that the sustained hormone elevation translates into any clinical benefit. As with ipamorelin (its usual partner), the marketing rests on the assumption that "raises GH" equals "produces results," which has not been tested.
Animal / preclinical evidence
CJC-1295's design is the preclinical story. It is built on Modified GRF (1-29) — the active fragment of GHRH, altered at a few positions to resist enzymatic breakdown — and the DAC version adds a chemical group that binds covalently to circulating albumin, which is what extends its action from minutes to days. This albumin-tethering "Drug Affinity Complex" technology is the molecule's defining feature and the reason the DAC form produces a prolonged, relatively non-pulsatile GH elevation rather than the sharp pulse of natural GHRH. The mechanism is well characterized; what is missing is human outcome data downstream of it.
Anecdotal / community reports
Low-confidence. These are community reports, not evidence. Not medical guidance.
Users (typically running no-DAC CJC-1295 with ipamorelin before bed, or the DAC form once or twice weekly) report improved sleep, recovery, body composition, and skin over a cycle, based on personal experience rather than controlled comparison. Because CJC-1295 genuinely raises GH/IGF-1, some subjective effects are plausible — but raised hormone levels plus expectation and the placebo response would produce similar reports regardless of real-world benefit, which is why the absence of outcome trials matters. The CJC-1295 + ipamorelin "stack" is a community protocol, not an evidence-based regimen; there is no controlled human study of the combination for any marketed use.
Doses used in published studies
Context only — not a recommendation. PeptideIQ Base does not provide dosing advice.
The only published human dosing comes from the 2006 Teichman study, which used single subcutaneous doses of CJC-1295 (DAC) on the order of 30–60 µg/kg in a monitored research setting to characterize hormone release — a pharmacology study, not a therapeutic protocol. The subcutaneous "stack" regimens circulating online (no-DAC CJC-1295 with ipamorelin at bedtime, or weekly DAC dosing) are not derived from published efficacy trials and are not reproduced here as guidance. Because there is no approved, quality-controlled product, there is no validated dose.
Safety & side effects
The human safety profile of CJC-1295 is not established beyond short hormone-measurement studies, and the most important fact sits in its development history: the company program was stopped after a death. ConjuChem was running a Phase 2 trial of CJC-1295 (DAC) in people with HIV-related visceral fat accumulation when a participant died; the company halted the study in July 2006. Importantly, the attending physician concluded the most likely cause was asymptomatic coronary artery disease with plaque rupture — judged unrelated to CJC-1295 — so this is not evidence that the drug killed someone. But the program was abandoned and never resumed, which is why no approved product exists and why long-term human safety was never characterized.
Beyond that, the mechanistic concerns are the same as for any agent that chronically raises GH and IGF-1: insulin resistance and higher blood sugar, fluid retention, joint pain and carpal-tunnel-type symptoms, and the long-standing theoretical worry that sustained GH/IGF-1 elevation could promote the growth of existing tumors. These concerns are arguably greater for the DAC version specifically, because it produces a continuous, days-long, non-pulsatile GH elevation rather than the brief natural pulse the body normally uses. No direct CJC-1295–cancer link has been demonstrated, but it is an unstudied area, not a cleared one. Finally, the practical risk: gray-market "research only" vials are unregulated and may be underdosed, contaminated, or mislabeled.
Regulatory / legal status
CJC-1295 is not FDA-approved for any use; it is effectively an abandoned drug candidate now sold as a "research only" chemical and classed as an investigational new drug rather than a marketable medicine.
Its compounding status mirrors ipamorelin's. In 2023 the FDA placed CJC-1295 on the interim 503A "Category 2" list (bulk substances that may present significant safety risks). In September 2024 it was removed from Category 2 — but only because the nominations to add it to the approved 503A bulks list were withdrawn, a procedural change that does not authorize compounding. At the Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee meetings in late 2024, the FDA's analysis recommended against adding CJC-1295 (in both its DAC and no-DAC/Modified GRF (1-29) forms) to the 503A bulks list. So as of this writing it is neither approved nor on the approved compounding list, and reaches consumers only through unregulated channels. Broader peptide-compounding policy remains in flux in 2026 (the same dynamic described in the BPC-157 brief), but "the rules might change" is not "proven safe and effective."
In sport, the World Anti-Doping Agency prohibits CJC-1295 at all times, in and out of competition, under category S2 (peptide hormones / growth-hormone-releasing factors). Status varies by country and can change; this is not legal advice.
Podcast / media mentions
CJC-1295 appears throughout longevity and peptide-focused podcasts and clinic marketing, almost always alongside ipamorelin, framed as a way to "optimize" growth hormone for recovery, sleep, body composition, and aging. Two things are worth listening for. First, the DAC-versus-no-DAC distinction is frequently blurred, even though it changes the drug's behavior substantially — a week-long sustained GH elevation (DAC) is a very different physiological proposition from a brief pulse (no-DAC). Second, and more important, discussions tend to slide from "it raises growth hormone" to "therefore it builds muscle and slows aging," a leap with no human evidence behind it. The honest framing for a listener: CJC-1295 reliably moves a hormone, was dropped from development after a trial death, and has never been shown to deliver the outcomes it's marketed for. The critique is of that certainty, not of the people discussing the molecule.
Sources
- Teichman et al. — Prolonged Stimulation of GH and IGF-I Secretion by CJC-1295, a Long-Acting Analog of GHRH, in Healthy Adults (J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2006;91(3):799-805) [PK/PD, DAC version][human-rct]
- aidsmap — Lipodystrophy study halted after patient death (July 2006; ConjuChem stopped the Phase 2 CJC-1295 trial; attending physician attributed the death to coronary artery disease, unrelated to treatment)[media]
- FDA — Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee review materials, docket FDA-2024-N-4777 (documents 'CJC-1295 + DAC' vs 'CJC-1295 without DAC / Modified GRF (1-29)' and the FDA analysis)[regulatory]
- FDA — Certain Bulk Drug Substances for Use in Compounding That May Present Significant Safety Risks (the interim 503A 'Category 2' framework)[regulatory]
- Lexology — FDA removes certain peptide bulk drug substances from Category 2 of interim 503A bulks list and sets dates for PCAC review (FDA recommended against adding CJC-1295/ipamorelin to the 503A list)[regulatory]
- BSCG — CJC-1295 Use in Sports and Military Rules Explained (WADA Prohibited List S2 growth-hormone-releasing factors; prohibited at all times)[regulatory]