CJC-1295

CNot approvedGHRH analogues →CJC-1295 DACmodified GRF(1-29)tesamorelin's cousin
In one paragraphCJC-1295 is a modified growth-hormone-releasing hormone fragment engineered to bind albumin so that it lasts days rather than minutes. Early human trials showed substantial, sustained rises in growth hormone and IGF-1 with weekly dosing. Development was discontinued and no trial has measured whether that translates into any clinical outcome. It is not approved anywhere and is banned in sport.
Schematic 3D structure of CJC-1295
29 residues · modified GRF(1-29), helical · schematic
Overall gradeC Weak
Human trialsEarly-phase only; programme discontinued
Outcomes graded4
Last reviewed2 September 2026
EvidenceWhat it isHow it worksUnknownsMolecule & PKRegulationQuestionsReferences

What the human research shows

A drug that did exactly what it was designed to do to a blood marker, and was never tested for whether that mattered. The hormone data are real and from proper early-phase trials. Everything downstream of the hormone is unmeasured.

MetabolicCardioMuscleHealingNeuroImmuneSexualSkinAgeing

Evidence profile0–5

  • Metabolic & weight—0.0
  • Cardiovascular—0.0
  • Muscle & growthB3.5
  • Healing & repair—0.0
  • Neuro & sleep—0.0
  • Immune & inflammation—0.0
  • Sexual & hormonal—0.0
  • Skin & appearance—0.0
  • Ageing & longevity—0.0
Each score is confidence × effect size, taken from the best-evidenced benefit in that domain: the grade (A–D) sets the confidence, the measured effect sets the size. Hover a domain to see the outcomes behind it. Adverse effects are excluded and listed separately below.
OutcomeGradeEffect sizeHuman studiesWhere the evidence comes from
Growth hormone / IGF-1 elevationBProbableLargePhase 1 / early phase 2Weekly dosing produced sustained multi-fold GH increases and IGF-1 elevations over weeks in healthy adults — a large, reproducible effect on the marker.1
Body compositionDNo human evidenceNot measurableNoneNo trial has measured muscle or fat change.
Any clinical outcomeDNo human evidenceNot measurableNoneThe programme was discontinued before efficacy trials in any indication.
Safety in humansadverseCWeakNot measurableEarly-phase onlyShort early-phase exposure only. Long-term safety of sustained IGF-1 elevation is unstudied.
AMultiple good human trials, consistentBSome human trials, mostly consistentCFew or weak human studiesDAnimal or anecdotal onlyeffect size · red = adverse

Literature searched to 2 September 2026. Human studies only; animal and cell work informs the mechanism section and nothing else.

Registered trials

ClinicalTrials.gov lists 1 interventional study naming CJC-1295 as an intervention, and none with results posted to the registry.

A registration is not a result. Anyone can register a study, and many never report — so this list shows what has been attempted, not what has been shown. The graded evidence above is the answer to whether something works.

StudyPhaseStatusParticipantsSponsorResults
A Study to Evaluate CJC 1295 in HIV Patients With Visceral ObesityNCT00267527 · started Dec 2005Phase 2Terminated120*ConjuChemNone

Participant counts marked * are the sponsor's estimate, not a final enrolment. Source: ClinicalTrials.gov, read directly from the registry and refreshed weekly.

What it is

CJC-1295 is the same 29-amino-acid GHRH fragment as sermorelin, with four amino-acid substitutions to resist breakdown and — in the DAC version — a chemical linker that binds it to albumin in the blood. Albumin circulates for weeks, so the peptide goes with it. That is the whole design idea: turn a minutes-long hormone into a weekly injection.

Confusingly, much of what is sold as "CJC-1295" without DAC is simply modified GRF(1-29), which does not have the long half-life. The two are routinely conflated in marketing.

How it is thought to work

Same receptor as sermorelin and tesamorelin, sustained far longer. The pharmacological question that was never answered is whether continuous elevation is better or worse than the body's natural pulses — growth hormone is normally released in bursts, and receptors respond differently to a constant signal.

What is still unknown

  • Whether sustained rather than pulsatile GH elevation is beneficial or harmful.
  • Any clinical outcome at all.
  • Long-term safety; the trials never ran long enough to say.

The molecule and how long it lasts

Identity
Formula
C165H269N47O46
Molecular weight
3647.2 g/mol
CAS number
446262-90-4
PubChem
CID 91971820

Record is CJC-1295 with DAC

PubChem record, read 23 September 2026.

Pharmacokinetics
Route
Subcutaneous (healthy adults; the DAC form)
Half-life
About 6–8 days (CJC-1295 with DAC). No human data for the 'no-DAC' form

From a published human pharmacokinetic study: Teichman SL, et al. Prolonged stimulation of growth hormone and IGF-I secretion by CJC-1295, a long-acting analog of GH-releasing hormone, in healthy adults. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2006;91:799–805

Regulatory status

European Union
Unauthorised medicinal product

No marketing authorisation in any member state. Supplying it for human use is an offence under national medicines law; 'research use only' labels do not change that.

United States
Not approved; compounding barred

The advisory committee excluded all five CJC-1295 forms on 4 December 2024; the nomination is listed as withdrawn since April 2026. Sold otherwise as an unapproved 'research chemical'.

United Kingdom
Unlicensed medicine

Not licensed by the MHRA. Selling or supplying it is an offence under the Human Medicines Regulations 2012; importing a small quantity purely for personal use is not itself an offence, but consignments are seized.

Australia
Schedule 4, unapproved

Prescription-only substance not on the ARTG. Obtainable only on prescription (compounded or imported under the Personal Importation Scheme with a prescription). Named in the TGA's April 2026 advisory. Named in NSW law as a prescribed restricted substance.

Canada
Not authorised

No Drug Identification Number; selling it is illegal. Among the products Health Canada seized from a domestic vendor in August 2025. Residents cannot import prescription drugs by mail.

Sport (WADA)
Prohibited at all times

GHRH analogue: S2.2.4.

Questions people actually ask

Does CJC-1295 build muscle?
Unknown. It raises growth hormone and IGF-1 substantially — that part is well documented in early trials. Whether that changes muscle or fat has never been measured in a trial.
What is the difference between CJC-1295 with and without DAC?
The DAC (drug affinity complex) version binds to albumin and lasts about a week. Without DAC it is essentially modified GRF(1-29), lasting around half an hour. They are sold under the same name.
Why was development stopped?
The programme was discontinued after early-phase work, without efficacy trials in any indication.

One page per claimed effect

References

  1. 1

Change log

  • 2026-09-02Initial publication. Hormone effect graded B; all downstream outcomes D.