CJC-1295

What it is

CJC-1295 is really two different products sharing one name. Both are lab-made copies of a piece of GHRH, the hormone your hypothalamus uses to tell the pituitary gland to release growth hormone in pulses - so both work by nudging your own GH pulses higher, not by adding GH directly. The DAC version has an extra chemical hook (the drug affinity complex) that latches onto albumin, a protein that circulates in blood for days, so one injection keeps GH and IGF-1 elevated for roughly a week. The no-DAC version (also called Mod GRF 1-29) lacks that hook, clears the body much faster, and more closely mimics the body's own short natural GH pulses - which is why people using it inject it far more often, typically daily. Neither version is FDA-approved for any use. The only published human study is a 2006 Phase 1/2 trial of the DAC version in healthy adults; a separate Phase 2 trial of the DAC version in people with HIV-related fat redistribution was halted after a participant died, with the cause still under investigation as of the last report found. The no-DAC version is almost always paired with a ghrelin-mimetic peptide like Ipamorelin in community use, on the theory that hitting two different receptors on the same pituitary cells amplifies the GH pulse - a plausible mechanism, but not one tested in a human trial of the combination.

Dose ranges

Study-backed ranges carry a source you can open. Community ranges are widely reported but not clinically established - treat them as what people do, not as advice.

Reconstitution & storage

Vendor/community convention, not a manufacturer or clinical monograph - neither form has an FDA-approved product. Both DAC and no-DAC versions are commonly sold as 2 mg, 5 mg, or 10 mg lyophilized vials (no-DAC is also sold pre-blended with Ipamorelin, e.g. 5+5 mg or 10+10 mg in one vial). 1-3 mL of bacteriostatic water is typical: a 10 mg vial with 1 mL gives 10 mg/mL, with 2 mL gives 5 mg/mL, with 3 mL gives about 3.33 mg/mL. Use bacteriostatic water made for injection, not plain or tap water, and let it run down the vial wall rather than hitting the powder directly.

Common stacks

Interactions & cautions

No dedicated human drug-interaction study exists for either form of CJC-1295. The only published human trial (Teichman et al. 2006, DAC form, healthy adults) reported no serious adverse reactions at doses up to 60 mcg/kg. Separately, a Phase 2 trial of CJC-1295 (DAC form, branded DAC:GRF) in people with HIV-related visceral obesity/lipodystrophy was halted by sponsor ConjuChem in July 2006, after 192 participants had enrolled, when a participant in Argentina reportedly died hours after an injection - as reported by aidsmap on July 31, 2006, the cause of death and its relationship to the study drug was still under investigation at that time; this was a different trial from the healthy-adult PK study. Mechanism-based cautions (not clinically confirmed for CJC-1295 specifically): avoid with active malignancy, since GH/IGF-1 signaling can theoretically support tumor growth; avoid in pregnancy or breastfeeding (unstudied); use caution with diabetes or insulin resistance, since GH secretagogues can raise blood glucose. Neither form is FDA-approved for any indication, and CJC-1295 is listed as a prohibited substance by the World Anti-Doping Agency. Because the DAC form's effects last days, not minutes, any adverse effect also persists longer than it would with the no-DAC form.

Questions people ask

Sources

1. [1]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 PMID 16352683studyHuman Phase 1/2 trial (Teichman et al., healthy adults 21-61): CJC-1295 with DAC had an estimated half-life of 5.8-8.1 days, raised GH 2- to 10-fold for 6+ days and IGF-1 1.5- to 3-fold for 9-11 days (up to 28 days with repeat dosing), with 30 or 60 mcg/kg well tolerated and no serious adverse reactions.
2. [2]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 (PubMed record via NCBI) PMID 16352683studyCross-verifies the same half-life (5.8-8.1 days), dose-dependent GH/IGF-1 findings, and safety conclusion directly from NCBI's PubMed data, independent of the journal page.
3. [3]Human Growth Hormone-Releasing Factor (hGRF) 1-29 Albumin Bioconjugates Activate the GRF Receptor on the Anterior Pituitary in Rats: Identification of CJC-1295 as a Long-Lasting GRF Analog PMID 15817669studyPreclinical rat study identifying CJC-1295: a maleimide group on the tetrasubstituted hGRF(1-29) peptide covalently binds the free thiol on albumin's Cys34, keeping the peptide detectable in rat plasma beyond 72 hours and producing about 4-fold greater GH secretion than native hGRF(1-29) in cultured pituitary cells.
4. [4]Incorporation of D-Ala2 in growth hormone-releasing hormone-(1-29)-NH2 increases the half-life and decreases metabolic clearance in normal men PMID 7962295studyIn 10 normal men, D-Ala2-GHRH-(1-29)-NH2 (the single-substitution precursor of the no-DAC molecule) had a half-life of 6.7 +/- 0.5 minutes versus 4.3 +/- 1.4 minutes for native GHRH-(1-29)-NH2, with significantly lower metabolic clearance (21 vs 39.7 mL/kg.min, P<0.001).
5. [5]CJC-1295 (Wikipedia)communitySummarizes DAC mechanism (maleimidopropionyl-lysine bioconjugation to albumin), confirms the 6-8 day half-life estimate, and notes CJC-1295 is not FDA-approved and is WADA-prohibited; also that ConjuChem halted development during Phase 2 after a trial participant's death.
6. [6]Modified GRF (1-29) (Wikipedia)communityDescribes the no-DAC molecule's four substitutions versus native GRF(1-29) (position 2 D-alanine, position 8 glutamine, position 15 alanine, position 27 leucine) and its GHRH-receptor mechanism.
7. [7]Lipodystrophy study halted after patient deathcommunityConfirms ConjuChem halted its Phase 2 trial of CJC-1295 (DAC:GRF) for HIV-related visceral obesity on July 17, 2006, after 192 participants enrolled, following a participant's death; as of the July 31, 2006 report, cause of death and its relationship to the study drug were still under investigation.
8. [8]BAC Water with CJC-1295 and Ipamorelin: GH Peptide Reconstitution GuidecommunityVendor/community reconstitution guidance: example ratios for CJC-1295 and Ipamorelin vials with bacteriostatic water, plus storage guidance (lyophilized at -20C, reconstituted at 2-8C, ~28-30 days stability once mixed).
9. [9]CJC-1295 with DAC Dosing Guide: Schedule, Half-Life & SafetycommunityCommunity dosing protocol for CJC-1295 DAC (500-2000 mcg weekly, escalating over 8-12 week cycles), reconstitution ratios for a 10 mg vial, and detailed storage temperature/duration guidance for lyophilized and reconstituted forms.
10. [10]CJC-1295 + Ipamorelin Peptide Dosing Guide: Protocol, Timing & CyclecommunityCommunity stacking protocol for CJC-1295 no-DAC plus Ipamorelin (100-300 mcg of each daily, fasted, often pre-bed), and states outright that human RCT data on this specific combination at these doses does not exist.