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Growth hormone axis
CJC-1295: With DAC, Without DAC, and What the Research Shows
The short answer
CJC-1295 is a synthetic version of GHRH, the hormone that tells the pituitary to release growth hormone. It comes in two forms that behave very differently: with DAC, which binds to a blood protein and keeps growth hormone raised for days, and without DAC, which produces a short pulse. Human trials exist but are small, and it is not FDA approved.
Questions people ask about CJC-1295
- What is the difference between CJC-1295 with DAC and without DAC?
- Does CJC-1295 actually raise growth hormone in humans?
- CJC-1295 vs sermorelin: what is the difference?
- Why do people stack CJC-1295 with ipamorelin?
- Does continuous stimulation ruin natural GH pulses?
- Is CJC-1295 FDA approved?
- Is CJC-1295 banned in sport?
- What are the side effects of CJC-1295?
- Is CJC-1295 the same as mod GRF 1-29?
CJC-1295 at a glance
| Also called | With DAC: DAC:GRF, CJC-1295 DAC. Without DAC: modified GRF (1-29), mod GRF 1-29 |
|---|---|
| What it is | Synthetic analog of growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH), first 29 amino acids, modified |
| Acts on | The GHRH receptor in the anterior pituitary |
| Main system | Growth hormone axis: body composition, recovery, sleep |
| Evidence level | Two small human trials of GH and IGF-1 levels; no outcome trials |
| FDA status (Sept 2026) | Not approved. On the FDA’s Category 2 bulk substances list, barring compounding |
| In sport | Prohibited at all times (WADA S2.2.4, GHRH analogs, named) |
What is CJC-1295?
GHRH is the body’s own signal to release growth hormone, and it breaks down within minutes. CJC-1295 is that signal rebuilt to last longer: the first 29 amino acids of GHRH, with changes that protect it from the enzymes that would normally chew it up.
The two versions matter more than anything else on this page.
- With DAC (Drug Affinity Complex) carries a chemical hook that latches onto albumin, a protein in your blood. That turns a signal lasting minutes into one lasting days, and growth hormone stays elevated rather than pulsing.
- Without DAC, sold as modified GRF (1-29), has no hook. It produces a short, sharp pulse closer to what the body does naturally.
Targeted Peptide Systems profiles both separately (pp. 91–96), and Metabolic Precision (pp. 121–125) treats the choice between them as a design decision, not a detail.
How does CJC-1295 work?
It binds the GHRH receptor in the pituitary and amplifies a signal the body already sends. Two consequences follow, and they explain the whole compound.
It needs a working pituitary. Because it stimulates release rather than supplying hormone, someone whose pituitary cannot respond gets nothing from it. That is also the argument for the class over injected growth hormone: the body’s own feedback system stays in the loop.
Pulsing survives, even with DAC. The obvious worry with a version that lasts days is that constant stimulation would flatten the natural rhythm, and growth hormone’s pulses appear to matter. A 2006 study looked for exactly that and found pulsatility persisted during continuous stimulation (reference 2).
Metabolic Precision (pp. 69–73) has the physiology this feeds into: fat release, lean mass preservation, tissue maintenance, deeper sleep.
What does the research show?
The main human study. Teichman and colleagues, 2006, in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism: in healthy adults, single doses of CJC-1295 raised growth hormone and IGF-1, and the effect lasted well beyond a day, consistent with its long half-life (reference 1).
The follow-up. Ionescu and Frohman, also 2006: continuous stimulation with CJC-1295 did not abolish the natural pulses of growth hormone (reference 2).
What both have in common. They measured hormone levels in small groups of healthy volunteers. Neither measured fat loss, muscle gain or recovery, so what that hormone rise produces over months is something the mechanism points at and a trial has yet to follow up.
So the mechanism is on firm ground: CJC-1295 raises growth hormone and IGF-1 in people, and that comes from human trial data rather than inference, which is more than most compounds in this library can claim. What months of that does to body composition or recovery is the part nobody has measured yet.
Side effects and cautions
The effects usually listed here belong to growth hormone itself, and the record for them comes largely from growth hormone given from outside the body, at exposures that carry levels above the range the body would produce on its own: fluid retention, tingling in the hands, joint discomfort, headache, and reduced insulin sensitivity in the short term (reference 5). Injection-site reactions are the exception; those belong to the injection rather than the hormone. CJC-1295 works through the pituitary instead, amplifying your own GHRH signal, so the physiological range is where the mechanism sits. Push past that range and the effects above become possibilities rather than a given, which is why glucose is the marker to follow and why monitoring belongs in the plan from the start.
The DAC version deserves more caution, because a signal you cannot switch off for several days gives you no way to back out quickly if something is not agreeing with you.
Metabolic Precision (p. 73) again: the growth hormone axis responds poorly in an insulin-resistant, high-visceral-fat state, so this class belongs after metabolic correction rather than before it.
Not for anyone with active cancer, uncontrolled diabetes or pituitary disease outside of medical care.
Is CJC-1295 legal or FDA approved?
Not FDA approved. It sits on the FDA’s Category 2 bulk substances list, which bars compounding pharmacies from using it. It was reviewed in 2024 and remained there, and was not among the peptides the July 2026 advisory committee voted on (references 3, 4).
Banned in sport. WADA names CJC-1295 explicitly among prohibited GHRH analogs, banned at all times (reference 6).
This page is reviewed and updated as the status changes.
CJC-1295 vs sermorelin, tesamorelin and ipamorelin
- vs sermorelin: both are GHRH analogs. Sermorelin is shorter-acting; CJC-1295 was engineered to last longer, dramatically so with DAC.
- vs tesamorelin: also a GHRH analog, and the only one of the group that is an approved medicine, for reducing excess abdominal fat in HIV-associated lipodystrophy (reference 7). See our tesamorelin profile.
- vs ipamorelin: different receptor entirely. Ipamorelin works through the ghrelin receptor, which is why the two are paired rather than chosen between. See our ipamorelin profile.
- vs injected growth hormone: growth hormone bypasses the pituitary and the feedback that regulates it. The GHRH analogs work through it.
The stacking rule from Metabolic Precision (pp. 240–241): one GHRH analog only. Sermorelin, CJC-1295 and tesamorelin all compete for the same receptor.
Risk, benefit, and the conversation this page is for
How to weigh it. Some research peptides have a quiet toxicology record, or an unfinished efficacy record. CJC-1295 is a different case: on its mechanism it genuinely moves physiology, in this case growth hormone and IGF-1, and that is the reason to weigh it with due diligence rather than enthusiasm. Monitoring is paramount here, and the markers that matter are blood sugar and fluid balance, with the added point that the long-acting DAC version cannot be stopped quickly.
The regulatory picture is moving, selectively. In July 2026 an FDA advisory committee recommended six peptides, BPC-157, TB-500, KPV, MOTS-c, Epitalon and Semax, for the list of bulk substances compounding pharmacies may use. CJC-1295 was not among them. It sits in Category 2, barred from compounding, which is the same committee reaching a different conclusion about a different molecule. Reading those decisions one at a time is more useful than treating every compound outside the approved list as equivalent.
Why the class is taken seriously. Unlike most compounds in this library, the mechanism here is confirmed in people: the growth hormone and IGF-1 rise is trial data. That is why clinicians take the class seriously, and also why they monitor it. The useful question is not whether engaging it does anything. It is whether you have done the due diligence to make an informed decision about engaging it at all: what your baseline looks like, what else you are taking, what you would measure along the way, and what would tell you to stop.
Which is the point of the series. Nothing here is a recommendation to use CJC-1295. People misuse approved medicines and unapproved compounds alike, and that is neither the purpose nor the intent of this page. The point is a better conversation than the internet usually allows: with a clinician who knows your history, your labs and everything else you take, and who can help build a plan that fits you.
CJC-1295: frequently asked questions
What is the difference between CJC-1295 with DAC and without DAC?
The DAC version attaches to albumin in the blood, so growth hormone stays elevated for days. Without DAC, often sold as modified GRF (1-29), the effect is a short pulse closer to natural release. Targeted Peptide Systems (pp. 91–96) profiles them separately for that reason.
Does CJC-1295 actually raise growth hormone in humans?
Yes, that part is established. A 2006 study in healthy adults found prolonged increases in growth hormone and IGF-1 after single doses (reference 1). What that produces over months is the part a trial has yet to follow.
CJC-1295 vs sermorelin: what is the difference?
Both are GHRH analogs acting on the same receptor. Sermorelin is short-acting; CJC-1295 was designed to last longer. They should not be combined, since they compete for that receptor.
Why do people stack CJC-1295 with ipamorelin?
They act on two different receptors, GHRH and ghrelin, so the signals complement each other rather than compete. The mechanism reasoning is sound; human evidence for the combination is limited.
Does continuous stimulation ruin natural GH pulses?
That was the concern with the DAC version. A 2006 study found that pulsatile growth hormone secretion persisted during continuous stimulation with CJC-1295 (reference 2).
Is CJC-1295 FDA approved?
No. It is on the FDA’s Category 2 bulk substances list, which bars compounding pharmacies from using it (references 3, 4).
Is CJC-1295 banned in sport?
Yes, at all times. WADA names it among prohibited growth hormone releasing factors (reference 6).
What are the side effects of CJC-1295?
Those effects belong to growth hormone itself, documented mostly from growth hormone given from outside the body at levels above the body’s own range: fluid retention, tingling in the hands, joint aches, headache, and reduced insulin sensitivity in the short term (reference 5). CJC-1295 amplifies your own signal instead, so they read as possibilities if levels are pushed past the physiological range rather than as expected effects. The long-acting DAC version cannot be stopped quickly, which is the practical reason to monitor.
Is CJC-1295 the same as mod GRF 1-29?
Modified GRF (1-29) is the name usually given to CJC-1295 without DAC. Products are labelled inconsistently, which is one reason the two forms get confused.
Where CJC-1295 appears in our books
This page is the plain-language overview. The books go further: mechanism detail, evidence tiers, how CJC-1295 fits a full protocol, and the cautions that go with it. Page numbers refer to the print editions.
Regenerative Resilience
In the anabolic and growth factor category · pp. 147–148
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Open the Protocol BuilderSee the book seriesReferences
- Teichman SL, Neale A, Lawrence B, et al. 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. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2006;91(3):799–805. View sourceCited in Targeted Peptide Systems (p. 347), The Cognitive Advantage (p. 409), Metabolic Precision (p. 354) and Regenerative Resilience (p. 352)
- Ionescu M, Frohman LA. Pulsatile secretion of growth hormone (GH) persists during continuous stimulation by CJC-1295, a long-acting GH-releasing hormone analog. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2006;91(12):4792–4797. View source
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration. July 23–24, 2026: Meeting of the Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee. View source
- National Community Pharmacists Association. FDA advisory committee nominates six peptides for pharmacies to compound. July 31, 2026. View source
- Møller N, Jørgensen JO. Effects of growth hormone on glucose, lipid, and protein metabolism in human subjects. Endocr Rev. 2009;30(2):152–177. View source
- World Anti-Doping Agency. The 2026 Prohibited List. View source
- Falutz J, Allas S, Blot K, et al. Metabolic effects of a growth hormone-releasing factor in patients with HIV. N Engl J Med. 2007;357(23):2359–2370. View sourceCited in Metabolic Precision (p. 354) and The Longevity Map (p. 198)
How this page is maintained. Regulatory status and trial results change. We review this page against current sources and update it as new information becomes available; the date at the top shows the last review.
Educational information only, not medical advice. CJC-1295 is discussed here for education. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to use it or a dosing guide. Talk to a qualified clinician before starting, stopping or combining any compound.