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Peptide Spencer
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Growth hormone axis

CJC-1295

Also known as CJC-1295 with DAC, CJC-1295 DAC, CJC-1295 without DAC, CJC-1295 no DAC, Mod GRF 1-29, Mod GHRH 1-29

Preclinical onlyNo human studies exist of the form without DAC used in the formulary blends. The DAC form has limited human pharmacokinetic data.

Growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) analogue

Not FDA-approved. Not on FDA's 503A category lists (May 14, 2026). Source, May 14, 2026

Identity. The name CJC-1295 covers two different products. The form with DAC (drug affinity complex) binds albumin and has a half-life of 5.8-8.1 d. It is the only form with published human pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic data. The form without DAC (Mod GRF 1-29) is short-acting and has no peer-reviewed human study. The formulary lists CJC-1295 only inside ipamorelin blends (6 mg per vial) and does not state the form. The one clinic protocol identified uses the form without DAC. Confirm the supplied form with the partner pharmacy before any dosing.

At a glance

These dosages are a helpful guide, not a prescription. Every clinician is expected to do their own due diligence before prescribing.

  1. Typical

    30 or 60 microg/kg SC, single dose (best-tolerated; DAC form)1

    Human study
Frequency
Single dose; second trial: 2 or 3 weekly/biweekly doses (dose not stated)1
Route
sc (subcutaneous)1
Course
Trials lasted 28 and 49 d (which trial had which is not stated)1
DAC form only, weight-based single doses in healthy adults; do not apply to no-DAC CJC-1295 or use as a blend vial dose.
Calculate this dose

Dosing detail

Human studies

Human study

  • Healthy adults 21-61 yr; CJC-1295 (DAC form per the source's long-acting description), single ascending-dose trial. The published abstract names 30 or 60 as the best-tolerated doses. The other two doses are not reported.

    30 or 60 (best-tolerated; one of four ascending single doses, remaining values not stated in abstract) microg/kg1

    Route
    sc
    Frequency
    single dose
    Duration
    The two trials lasted 28 and 49 d. The published abstract does not say which trial had which duration.
    n
    not stated in abstract
    Design
    Two randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, ascending-dose trials
    Source quote
    Subcutaneous administration of CJC-1295 resulted in sustained, dose-dependent increases in GH and IGF-I levels in healthy adults and was safe and relatively well tolerated, particularly at doses of 30 or 60 microg/kg.

    Finding. Dose-dependent 2- to 10-fold GH rise for 6 d or more and 1.5- to 3-fold IGF-I rise for 9-11 d. Half-life 5.8-8.1 d. No serious adverse reactions.

  • Healthy adults 21-61 yr; second trial, multiple dosing. Dose per injection is not reported in the abstract.

    not stated in abstract not stated in abstract1

    Route
    sc
    Frequency
    A total of 2 or 3 doses, spaced 1 or 2 weeks apart (abstract: 'two or three weekly or biweekly doses')
    Duration
    The two trials lasted 28 and 49 d. The published abstract does not say which trial had which duration.
    n
    not stated in abstract
    Design
    Randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, ascending-dose trial
    Source quote
    CJC-1295 or placebo was administered sc in one of four ascending single doses in the first study and in two or three weekly or biweekly doses in the second study. After multiple CJC-1295 doses, mean IGF-I levels remained above baseline for up to 28 d.

    Finding. After multiple doses, mean IGF-I stayed above baseline for up to 28 d, with evidence of a cumulative effect.

  • Healthy men 20-40 yr, single injection, overnight 12-h GH sampling every 20 min before and 1 wk after injection.

    60 or 90 microg/kg2

    Route
    injection (route not specified)
    Frequency
    single dose
    Duration
    Sampling 1 wk after injection
    n
    not stated in abstract
    Design
    Pharmacodynamic clinical trial (before/after, healthy men)
    Source quote
    GH pulsatility was assessed by 20-min blood sampling during an overnight 12-h period in healthy 20- to 40-yr-old men before and 1 wk after injection of either 60 or 90 microg/kg CJC-1295.

    Finding. GH pulsatility was preserved. Trough GH rose 7.5-fold, mean GH rose 46% and IGF-I rose 45%. The two doses did not differ significantly.

Clinical practice

Clinical practice

No trial, label or society guideline supports any practice number here. The clinic describes its protocol as an operating convention. Per injection, the clinic maintenance dose (0.50 mg) is 2.5 to 5 times the 0.1-0.2 mg forum and consumer figures. Weekly totals overlap (clinic 2.5 mg/week; no-DAC 0.7-4.2 mg/week), so the sources are not simply low versus high. A 2026 sports-medicine review states that dosing, frequency and duration remain unknown. Do not average these figures. Which form (DAC or no-DAC) the formulary blend contains is not established.

Start
Single clinic protocol (CJC-1295 without DAC plus ipamorelin; 10 mg vial = 5 mg + 5 mg in 2 mL BAC water, 2.5 mg/mL each): 0.15 mg CJC-1295 + 0.15 mg ipamorelin per dose (0.3 mg combined) daily in week 1. Forum-derived figure for the form without DAC alone: 100-200 ug per injection.
Titration
Same clinic: the CJC-1295 dose rises from 0.15 mg to 0.50 mg per dose by the end of month 2 (+0.05 mg per week), then holds at 0.50 mg through month 3. A consumer health page advises starting at the lower end and increasing slowly based on labs and symptoms. No titration step is documented for DAC.
Typical
See normalized_table. Per injection, the form without DAC is 0.1-0.2 mg (review and consumer page figures), and the clinic maintenance dose is 0.50 mg CJC-1295. DAC is 1-2 subcutaneous injections per week (consumer page), or 1-2 mg/week (forum-derived). Values are per peptide. The combined blend mg is never the CJC-1295 dose.
Ceiling
Only one ceiling is stated: clinic maintenance of 0.50 mg CJC-1295 + 0.50 mg ipamorelin per dose, with no further escalation. No ceiling is documented for the form without DAC alone, or for DAC beyond the forum figure of 1-2 mg/week.
Frequency
Clinic: once daily, 5 days on and 2 days off. Consumer health page: 1–3 times daily without DAC; 1–2 times weekly with DAC.
Route
Subcutaneous
Timing
Clinic: before bed and at least two hours after the last meal. Forum-derived: preferably after strength training.
Cycle
Clinic: up to 3 cycles back to back, then a 2 month break. The clinic calls its schedule an operating convention, not validated pharmacology. Forum-derived: 12-16 weeks on and 4-6 off without DAC; 8-12 or 12-16 weeks on and 4-6 off with DAC. The longest human exposure studied is 49 d (DAC, healthy adults). The cycle lengths here are convention with no safety data beyond that. The clinic cycle is roughly 6-9 months of GH/IGF-1 stimulation.

Sources

  • Clinical practicePeer-reviewed review6
    Importantly, information regarding the indications, dosing, frequency, and duration of treatment remains unknown.

What clinics and vendors publish

These ranges come from clinic and vendor publications, not studies.

Clinic-reportedCommunity-reported
  • Clinic-reportedPharmacy or clinic protocol3
    The CJC 1295 ipamorelin dosage used at Perfect B starts at 6 units (0.3 mg) daily during week one and escalates weekly over a two to three month cycle.
  • Clinic-reportedPharmacy or clinic protocol3
    Every dose below is for the Perfect B blend: one 10 mg vial holding 5 mg CJC-1295 (no DAC) and 5 mg ipamorelin
  • Clinic-reportedPharmacy or clinic protocol3
    Month 1, week 1 | 6 units | 0.06 mL | 0.15 mg | 0.15 mg | 0.3 mg; Month 3, all weeks | 20 units | 0.20 mL | 0.50 mg | 0.50 mg | 1.0 mg (columns: Units, Volume, CJC-1295, Ipamorelin, Combined)
  • Clinic-reportedPharmacy or clinic protocol3
    rises 2 units each week to 20 units (1.0 mg) by the end of month 2
  • Clinic-reportedPharmacy or clinic protocol3
    injected once a day for 5 days followed by 2 days off
  • Clinic-reportedPharmacy or clinic protocol3
    before bed and at least two hours after your last meal
  • Clinic-reportedPharmacy or clinic protocol3
    Up to 3 cycles run back to back, and then a 2 month break before repeating.
  • Clinic-reportedPharmacy or clinic protocol3
    We steer away from CJC-1295 with DAC (Drug Affinity Complex) because it is more correlated with side effects.
  • Community-reportedOther web source4
    For No DAC: 100–200 mcg subcutaneously, 1–3 times daily.
  • Community-reportedOther web source4
    For DAC: 1–2 subcutaneous injections per week.
  • Community-reportedOther web source4
    Start at the lower end of dosing. Increase slowly based on lab results and symptoms.
  • Community-reportedOther web source5
    Bodybuilding-related forum: 100–200 µg per injection SC, 1–2 times daily, often used in combination with Ipamorelin to increase pulsatile GH release
  • Community-reportedOther web source5
    Typical cycles: 12–16 weeks on, followed by 4–6 weeks off
  • Community-reportedOther web source5
    Bodybuilding-related forums: 1–2 mg/week SC in 1–2 injections; typical cycles: 8–12 weeks or 12–16 weeks on, followed by 4–6 weeks off

Safety

Serious warnings

  • FDA states it 'has identified serious adverse events associated with CJC-1295 including increased heart rate' and a 'systemic vasodilatory reaction'.7
  • FDA states compounded drugs containing CJC-1295 'may pose risk for immunogenicity for certain routes of administration' and 'Available clinical data are limited.'7
  • No FDA-approved CJC-1295 product exists, so there is no approved label and no boxed warning to quote.5
  • A phase II trial of CJC-1295 was discontinued in 2006 after the death of a trial subject. The attending physician believed the most likely explanation was asymptomatic coronary artery disease with plaque rupture and occlusion, unrelated to treatment. The relationship to the drug was not independently established. Cardiovascular risk assessment before use is prudent. The source is a secondary summary citing the 2006 company notice, which was not read directly.8

Contraindications

  • By class analogy only, from the tesamorelin (EGRIFTA WR) label; tesamorelin is a different molecule and no CJC-1295 label exists. Tesamorelin is contraindicated in disruption of the hypothalamic-pituitary axis (hypophysectomy, hypopituitarism, pituitary tumor or surgery, head irradiation or head trauma), in active malignancy ('Any preexisting malignancy should be inactive and its treatment complete prior to instituting therapy'), in known hypersensitivity, and in pregnancy.9
  • Clinic source: 'IGF-1 promotes cell proliferation, so an undetected malignancy is a real contraindication and not a theoretical one.'3

Adverse effects

  • Phase I trials in healthy adults: 'No serious adverse reactions were reported'. CJC-1295 was 'safe and relatively well tolerated, particularly at doses of 30 or 60 microg/kg'. The abstract gives no event counts.1
  • Adverse effects reported for GH-axis peptides in self-administration settings include prolactin and cortisol elevations, appetite changes, dysglycaemia, fluid retention, myalgia, arthralgia and injection-site reactions. These are class-level findings and are not specific to CJC-1295.5
  • Mitogenic GH/IGF-1 signalling is listed as a theoretical oncologic concern. No clinical carcinogenic signal is established, and no long-term safety data are available.5

Monitoring

  • Consumer health page: 'Regularly monitor IGF-1, blood sugar, and any side effects.'4
  • Clinic page: monitor glucose and HbA1c, because the GH and IGF-1 axis raises insulin resistance and blood glucose.3
  • By analogy to the tesamorelin label (not CJC-1295 guidance): evaluate glucose status before starting and monitor periodically. Watch for fluid retention (edema, arthralgia, carpal tunnel syndrome). Monitor patients with diabetes at regular intervals for development or worsening of retinopathy. In the trials, IGF-I stayed above baseline up to 28 d after repeat DAC dosing, so baseline and periodic IGF-1 is a reasonable measure. Heart rate and blood pressure follow from the FDA's serious-event text.9

Interactions

  • The formulary offers CJC-1295 only as a blend with ipamorelin. See the ipamorelin monograph for its own safety text. No CJC-1295 drug interaction data were found.5

Handling

Reconstitution

Clinic protocol for a 10 mg blend vial (5 mg CJC-1295 without DAC + 5 mg ipamorelin): 'Draw 2 mL of BAC water', giving 2.5 mg/mL of each peptide. The formulary vial is 6 mg with a split that is not established, so this volume does not transfer. See the unit warning under practice.

Storage before mixing

Not found in a citable source.

Storage after mixing

Clinic statement, not a stability study: 'Reconstituted peptide remains stable for 4 to 6 weeks in refrigeration. Do not freeze.' Follow the compounding pharmacy's beyond-use date on the label. If the liquid appears cloudy or contains particles, do not use it. At 0.15 mg per dose, a 3 mg CJC-1295 share (assumed split) is about 20 doses, around 4 weeks at 5 days on. At 0.50 mg it is 6 doses.3

Evidence

Human data are limited to placebo-controlled phase I pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic trials of the DAC form in healthy adults, the longest lasting 49 d. They show dose-dependent rises in GH and IGF-I, and no serious adverse reactions were reported. No efficacy or patient-outcome data exist. The form without DAC and the ipamorelin blend, the likely formulary product, have no peer-reviewed human study, so the DAC data do not apply to them. No FDA-approved product exists. A phase II program was discontinued in 2006 after a participant death (described under safety warnings). Practice dosing rests on one clinic page, one consumer health page and forum figures.

Mechanism

CJC-1295 is a growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) analogue with four amino-acid substitutions that resist breakdown by proteases. It stimulates pituitary GH release and raises IGF-1. The DAC form binds albumin after injection, giving a half-life of 5.8-8.1 d and sustained rises in GH and IGF-I. The form without DAC is short-acting and has no direct human data.125

Availability

Custom strengths on request.

References

According to PubMed

  1. 1Prolonged 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 91(3):799-805, 2005
  2. 2Pulsatile secretion of growth hormone (GH) persists during continuous stimulation by CJC-1295, a long-acting GH-releasing hormone analog.J Clin Endocrinol Metab 91(12):4792-7, 2006
  3. 3CJC-1295/Ipamorelin Dosage Protocol: The Complete Clinical Guide to Dosing, Cycling, and Injection (Perfect B Aesthetic Medicine, Doral FL; author listed as APRN, FNP-BC; page updated 2026-10-13)Perfect B Aesthetic Medicine clinic website, 2026
  4. 4CJC-1295 DAC vs No DAC: medical reality (Ubie Doctor's Note; published 2026-05-06, reviewed 2026-06-26 by an internal-medicine MD)Ubie Doctor's Note, 2026
  5. 5The emerging landscape of performance-enhancing peptides modulating GH-IGF1 axis: bridging the gap between clinical evidence and patient self-administration.Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) 17:1822475 (narrative review; PMC13322892), 2026
  6. 6Injectable Peptide Therapy: A Primer for Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Physicians.Am J Sports Med 54(1):223-229, 2026
  7. 7Certain Bulk Drug Substances for Use in Compounding that May Present Significant Safety Risks (CJC-1295 row, table 'Bulk drug substances nominated but withdrawn'; page content current as of 04/22/2026)U.S. FDA, 2026
  8. 8CJC-1295 (Wikipedia; cites ConjuChem 2006 'Patient Died in Lipodystrophy Drug Study')Wikipedia, secondary, 2026
  9. 9EGRIFTA WR (tesamorelin) prescribing information, used as class analogy onlyU.S. FDA label, 2025
  10. 10FDA Briefing Document, Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee (PCAC) Meeting, December 4, 2024 (CJC-1295-related bulk drug substances)U.S. FDA, 2024
  11. 11Questions for PCAC regarding whether FDA should include certain bulk drug substances on the 503A Bulks List, December 4, 2024 meetingU.S. FDA, 2024

Last reviewed 2026-10-14. 39 figures checked against their sources. How this works