CJC-1295 with DAC

What it is

GHRH is the command from the hypothalamus to the pituitary gland: release growth hormone. The Canadian company ConjuChem developed CJC-1295 from it, a variant of the first 29 amino acids of GHRH with 4 substitutions that protect the molecule against breakdown. At the end sits an additional component, the Drug Affinity Complex, DAC for short. It carries a reactive maleimide group that, after administration, binds firmly to a specific site on albumin, the free thiol group at cysteine 34.

Albumin is the most abundant protein in the blood and has an exceptionally long lifespan. The peptide, so to speak, rides piggyback and is protected from the enzymes that rapidly break down free peptides. In the 2005 animal study, CJC-1295 was still detectable in plasma after 72 hours and released 4 times more growth hormone over 2 hours than unmodified GRF(1-29).

Beware of name confusion: the variant without DAC, which is properly called Mod GRF 1-29, is also sold on the market as CJC-1295. In 2009, a Norwegian laboratory found exactly this form without the anchor in a seized preparation labeled CJC-1295. The studies on this page apply only to the form with DAC.

How it works

CJC-1295 with DAC binds to the GHRH receptor of the pituitary gland and amplifies the signal for release there. The gland remains in charge: it releases what it can, and feedback via somatostatin and IGF-1 remains active. This fundamentally distinguishes the approach from injected growth hormone, which bypasses the body’s own axis.

IGF-1 is the actual working value here. Growth hormone fluctuates strongly; IGF-1 is produced mainly in the liver, is slow and stable, and mediates a large part of the effects on tissue. It is precisely this value that rose reliably and persistently in the studies.

The principle of making a short-lived peptide long-lived via albumin is known today from the weight-loss injections. Semaglutide, however, uses a fatty acid for this that attaches loosely to albumin, CJC-1295 a firm chemical bond. Same basic principle, different technique.

Continuous signal or pulse

A big debate revolves around CJC-1295 with DAC: does the continuous signal destroy the natural rhythm of growth hormone pulses, the so-called GH bleed instead of clear peaks? The data on this are more reassuring than its reputation. In 2006, Ionescu and Frohman studied healthy men between 20 and 40 years of age over 12 hours at night with blood draws every 20 minutes, before and one week after a dose. The frequency and height of the pulses remained unchanged. What was raised was mainly the baseline in between: the trough level rose 7.5-fold, mean growth hormone by 46 percent and IGF-1 by 45 percent.

The pulses are thus preserved; they run on a higher baseline level. Whether this permanently raised baseline has advantages or disadvantages over months, however, has not been studied.

Who uses it and what is reported

In forums, CJC-1295 is used for weight loss, muscle building, younger-looking skin, better sleep and the healing of injuries, as an analysis of 23 discussion threads from 9 forums showed. Users of the DAC variant typically report deeper sleep, faster recovery after training, initially fuller muscles due to water retention and, over weeks, better skin and nails. Many have their IGF-1 measured and see the rise confirmed.

These are user reports, not evidence of efficacy. The IGF-1 rise matches the studies; the other effects have never been tested under controlled conditions. The DAC form is valued above all by pragmatists; the long duration of action is its greatest appeal.

What the studies show

Teichman et al. 2006 — the core study

Two randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind dose-escalation studies at 2 centers, duration 28 and 49 days, healthy adults aged 21 to 61. Growth hormone on average 2- to 10-fold for 6 days or longer, IGF-1 1.5- to 3-fold for 9 to 11 days, half-life 5.8 to 8.1 days; after multiple doses a cumulative effect with IGF-1 above baseline for up to 28 days. Hormone levels were measured, not clinical endpoints.

Ionescu & Frohman 2006 — do the pulses remain?

Healthy men aged 20 to 40, nocturnal hormone profiles over 12 hours, before and one week after a dose. Frequency and height of the pulses unchanged, trough level 7.5-fold, mean growth hormone plus 46 percent, IGF-1 plus 45 percent. Without a placebo arm.

Jetté et al. 2005 and Alba et al. 2006 — the animal data

In rats, CJC-1295 was detectable in plasma for 72 hours and 4 times more potent than unmodified GRF(1-29). In mice without their own GHRH, daily administration over 5 weeks normalized weight and length; less frequent doses were less effective. At the same time, the growth-hormone-producing cells of the pituitary gland multiplied.

Where the data stop

All human data are hormone levels in healthy people over a few weeks. Whether CJC-1295 with DAC improves sleep, muscle mass, body fat, skin or recovery has never been studied. The only efficacy study, a phase 2 trial in HIV patients with abdominal fat, began in December 2005 and was stopped in July 2006 after a participant at an Argentine study center died. The connection with the peptide was unclear at the time. According to the FDA presentation to the advisory committee in 2024, it was a heart attack; the treating physician considered undiagnosed coronary heart disease the most likely cause and saw no connection with CJC-1295. This was never independently verified. Results were never published, and development was not continued. A 2026 review therefore places CJC-1295 with DAC in the second of four evidence levels: data on human pharmacology, no controlled efficacy data.

It is also open what an IGF-1 level elevated for weeks means in the long term. Long-term data are completely lacking, and in animal experiments the growth-hormone-producing cells of the pituitary gland multiplied under CJC-1295. What that means for humans, nobody knows.

Status, approval and legal

CJC-1295 with DAC is not approved as a medicine in Germany, the EU or the US and is distributed as a research peptide via the gray market. In sport it is prohibited at all times: it is listed by name on the WADA 2026 Prohibited List under S2.2.4 and in the annex of the German Anti-Doping Act. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cites serious adverse events and limited clinical data. As a matter of principle, we do not give dosage information for non-approved substances.

Safety

In the 2006 studies, the peptide was well tolerated in the short term; no serious side effects occurred. Users most often report redness or wheals at the injection site, plus water retention, tingling in the hands, increased hunger and morning sluggishness. The FDA points to serious events with increased heart rate and a whole-body vasodilation reaction. As with all growth hormone secretagogues, insulin sensitivity can decrease, and because IGF-1 is a growth signal, the peptide is considered off-limits with active or previous cancer. A clinical cancer signal has not been demonstrated, but there are no long-term data. The quality of gray-market products is a risk of its own: in a not yet peer-reviewed analysis of 6,441 samples from 14 peptides, including CJC-1295, 41.6 to 71.1 percent, depending on the standard applied, failed basic quality criteria, and 15 percent contained measurable endotoxin.

Sources

• Teichman et al., Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 2006
• Ionescu & Frohman, Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 2006
• Jetté et al., Endocrinology 2005
• Alba et al., American Journal of Physiology Endocrinology and Metabolism 2006
• Dominikowski et al., Frontiers in Endocrinology 2026
• ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT00267527 – CJC-1295 in HIV-associated abdominal fat, terminated
• aidsmap 2006 – study halted after a death
• Van Hout & Hearne, Substance Use and Misuse 2016
• Henninge et al., Drug Testing and Analysis 2010
• FDA, bulk drug substances that may present significant safety risks, as of April 22, 2026
• FDA, presentation to the Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee on CJC-1295, December 2024