CJC-1295
GHRH Analog, The Drug-Affinity-Complex Half-Life Story
Evidence grade 2 of 5, Thin. Read how the Atlas grades evidence.
The written rationale for this grade is still being prepared.
- FDA
- Not FDA-approved; abandoned in clinical development; now compounded/gray-market
Reference only. Not medical advice.
What can go wrong
Sustained supraphysiologic GH/IGF-1 exposure raises theoretical concerns about insulin resistance, edema, carpal-tunnel symptoms, joint pain, and, for elevated IGF-1, long-debated cancer-signaling concerns. 'With DAC' formulations produce continuous rather than pulsatile elevation, which is less physiologic. Gray-market products vary in purity; the CJC-1295 sold today is not an approved finished drug.
This is something to take to a clinician. The Atlas can tell you what is known about cjc-1295 in general. It cannot tell you what is happening in your body, and the difference matters most for exactly the symptoms that bring people to this page.
CJC-1295 is a synthetic analog of growth-hormone-releasing hormone GHRH(1-29). Its signature feature is an optional Drug Affinity Complex (DAC): a maleimide group that covalently binds Cys34 of endogenous serum albumin after injection, extending half-life from roughly 30 minutes to several days. It was developed by ConjuChem, showed pharmacologic proof-of-concept in a published human study, but was never brought to market and is now sold compounded or as a research chemical, often paired with ipamorelin.
A once-weekly GHRH, clever chemistry, no finished-drug approval.
What people take it for
These are the reasons people give for taking it. They are not effects it has been shown to have.
Combinations named above are how people use these compounds together, under names the community gave them. The combinations themselves have not been studied. Evidence for one compound is not evidence for a pair.
How it is supposed to work
CJC-1295 binds pituitary GHRH receptors to stimulate the body's own GH release. The DAC version's maleimido-lysine group covalently attaches to the free thiol on Cys34 of serum albumin, creating a long-lived depot protected from peptidase degradation. This preserves pulsatile GH release while raising baseline GH and IGF-1 for days.
- Route
- Subcutaneous injection
- DAC dosing
- ~weekly (long half-life)
- No-DAC dosing
- Multiple times daily (short half-life)
Proof of pharmacology is not proof of benefit
Teichman et al. (JCEM, 2006) showed a single subcutaneous CJC-1295-DAC dose produced multi-fold, multi-day increases in GH and IGF-1 with no rise in prolactin, cortisol, or ACTH. That established the DAC mechanism works pharmacologically. It did NOT establish that chronically elevating GH/IGF-1 in healthy adults improves body composition, recovery, or longevity, or that it is safe long-term. The drug was ultimately abandoned in development.
Replacement is not the same as a cycle
There is no physiological 'replacement' dose of CJC-1295 in healthy men, any effective dose pushes GH/IGF-1 above baseline. Continuous DAC-driven elevation is further from the body's natural pulsatile pattern than short-acting secretagogues, and the metabolic consequences of chronic supraphysiologic GH/IGF-1 are the core unknown.
What people get wrong
Often said'Clinically proven to raise GH.'
ActuallyA 2006 study proved it raises GH pharmacologically. It did not prove clinical benefit or long-term safety, and the drug was never approved.
Who profits, and who pushes back
Nobody is named here yet, because we have not done that work on this entry. Read that as unfinished. Somebody almost certainly sells this, and somebody almost certainly disputes it. Assume both until we have checked.
What we do not know
- Does chronic CJC-1295 elevation of GH/IGF-1 improve any hard outcome in healthy adults?
- What are the long-term metabolic and neoplastic risks of continuous supraphysiologic IGF-1?
The market for this
What follows describes how this is bought and sold. It is not a buying guide and it is not an endorsement of any seller.
Available compounded (status has shifted with FDA bulks-list changes) and widely as a research chemical, most often co-sold with ipamorelin.
At a glance
- Backbone
- GHRH(1-29) analog, 30 aa with DAC
- Half-life without DAC
- ~30 min
- Half-life with DAC
- ~6-8 days (albumin-bound)
- Developer
- ConjuChem Biotechnologies
What this entry does not yet cover
What follows is unfinished work on our side, not a finding about CJC-1295. A short entry is not a safe entry.
- Cost and market. We have not documented what it sells for or who sells it.
- Supply chain. We have not mapped where it is made.
- Who uses it. We have not documented the user groups.
- What could change. No forward-looking summary yet.
- How it compares. We have not set it against the alternatives.
- Children and teenagers. We have not checked what is known about younger people.
- Where we land. We have not taken a position on this yet.
Sources
The studies below are named and described, but not linked. You cannot open them from here and check our reading against them, which means this page is our summary of the literature rather than a document you can verify. Weigh it accordingly until the links exist.
The studies that matter
Teichman et al., J Clin Endocrinol Metab2006
Single SC CJC-1295-DAC dose raised GH and IGF-1 for days without raising prolactin/cortisol/ACTH; established DAC pharmacology