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CJC-1295 with DAC

Also known as CJC-1295 DAC, DAC:GRF, Drug Affinity Complex GRF, ConjuChem CJC-1295

Long-acting GHRH analogue that binds albumin and raises GH release for 6 to 8 days per injection.

early-clinical Growth hormone research chemical

At a glance

Category
Growth hormone
Status
research chemical
Route
subcutaneous (intravenous in study settings)
Half-life
estimated at 5.8-8.1 days in healthy adults aged 21-61 1
Onset
After a single injection, mean plasma GH rose 2- to 10-fold for 6 days or more and mean plasma IGF-1 rose 1.5- to 3-fold for 9-11 days; after multiple doses mean IGF-1 stayed above baseline for up to 28 days 1
Molecular weight
approximately 3647 g/mol
Sequence
Tetra-substituted GRF(1-29): Tyr-D-Ala-Asp-Ala-Ile-Phe-Thr-Gln-Ser-Tyr-Arg-Lys-Val-Leu-Ala-Gln-Leu-Ser-Ala-Arg-Lys-Leu-Leu-Gln-Asp-Ile-Leu-Ser-Arg-NH2, with a maleimidopropionyl-lysine linker (DAC)

Developed by ConjuChem; clinical development halted after phase 2. Not approved in the US or the EU. CJC-1295 was nominated as a bulk substance for use in compounding and placed by the FDA in category 2 — substances that may present significant safety risks — before the nomination was withdrawn by the nominator; it is retained on the FDA's list of bulk substances previously in category 2. The FDA's stated grounds are a risk of immunogenicity for certain routes from peptide-related impurities and characterisation difficulty, and serious adverse events associated with CJC-1295 including increased heart rate and systemic vasodilatory reaction, with available clinical data described as limited 3. It is sold as a 'research chemical'.

Doping status: Prohibited at all times (WADA S2, GH-releasing factors)

Checked against the WADA 2026 Prohibited List. For a specific product and country, Global DRO is the lookup athletes are expected to use — the List names substances, not brand names.

Mechanism of action

CJC-1295 with DAC is an analogue of the first 29 amino acids of growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH). It binds to the GHRH receptor on the somatotroph cells of the anterior pituitary and increases the synthesis and release of growth hormone via the cAMP/PKA pathway. It is therefore a GHRH analogue and not a ghrelin agonist: it acts through a different receptor than ipamorelin, hexarelin, GHRP-2, GHRP-6 and MK-677.

Four amino acid substitutions (D-Ala at position 2, Gln at 8, Ala at 15, Leu at 27) protect the molecule against breakdown by dipeptidyl peptidase-4 and against oxidation and deamidation. The 'DAC' (Drug Affinity Complex) is a maleimide group on an additional lysine at the C-terminus that, after injection, forms a covalent bond with cysteine-34 of serum albumin. This couples the molecule to the blood protein and extends the half-life from minutes to days.

This long duration of action is simultaneously the main pharmacological objection. Growth hormone is normally released in pulses, with troughs in between that appear necessary for the sensitivity of target tissues. CJC-1295 with DAC creates a persistently raised background level (a 'GH bleed'), which flattens the physiological pulsatility. Whether that is harmful in the long term has not been investigated in humans.

Because GHRH analogues and ghrelin receptor agonists act through separate receptors, combined administration produces a GH peak larger than the sum of the two individually 2. With CJC-1295 with DAC this means in practice that a GHRP places a peak on top of a permanently raised baseline. Negative feedback via somatostatin and IGF-1 remains intact in principle, but under continuous stimulation becomes less effective at maintaining a normal pattern.

What the research shows

The pharmacokinetics and the prolonged elevation of GH and IGF-1 in humans are well documented in phase 1/2 research. Clinical outcomes — body composition, strength, function — have never been demonstrated in controlled research. Development was discontinued and there are no safety data beyond a few months.

Research in humans

Teichman et al. (JCEM 2006) studied single and multiple doses in healthy adults: doses of 30 and 60 mcg/kg raised mean GH levels 2- to 10-fold for 6 days or longer, with an IGF-1 rise that persisted for 9-11 days and accumulation on repeated administration 1. Phase 2 studies were conducted in HIV-associated lipodystrophy; these were not fully published and the programme was discontinued. There are no published studies on muscle mass, fat mass or functional outcomes.

Animal and lab research

Preclinical research confirms prolonged GH and IGF-1 elevation and growth promotion. Animal models say little about the consequences of years of flattened GH pulsatility in adult humans.

Caveats. The main human study involves a few dozen participants over a short period and uses hormone levels as its only endpoint. There is no independent replication and no long-term safety data. Material sold as a 'research chemical' is not controlled for purity and identity; analyses of commercial samples have repeatedly shown discrepancies, including products that actually contain mod GRF 1-29 without DAC.

What it is used for

  • Raising one's own GH and IGF-1 levels with one or two injections per week instead of daily administration
  • Often combined with a ghrelin receptor agonist (ipamorelin, GHRP-2) to add a pulsatile component to the raised baseline
  • In research settings: HIV-associated lipodystrophy and GH deficiency (neither reached registration)

Dosing

Dose
User protocols mention 1-2 mg per week; in the published phase 1 research 30-60 mcg/kg per dose was used (at 80 kg: 2.4-4.8 mg), clearly higher than common practice
Frequency
1-2x per week; because of the half-life of 6-8 days, accumulation occurs over the first weeks
Route
subcutaneous
Duration
Cycles of 12 weeks with a break are described in user protocols; no research supports any particular duration
  • There is no approved dosage. All schedules mentioned here are descriptive and come from user protocols or from the phase 1/2 research, which used 30 or 60 mcg/kg and never led to a dose recommendation 1.
  • Because of accumulation, adjustment is slow and effects are long-lasting: after multiple doses mean IGF-1 remained above baseline for up to 28 days 1.
  • Unlike short-acting variants, timing around meals or sleep is largely irrelevant, because the level is continuously raised.
  • The distinction from 'CJC-1295 without DAC' (mod GRF 1-29) is frequently confused in the trade; these are pharmacologically very different compounds with a half-life of days versus minutes.

These figures describe what the literature and published protocols report. They are not advice and not a dosing instruction.

Protocols

Phase 1 dose escalation in healthy adults, Teichman 2006

published trial

Source: Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 2006

Single ascending doses30 or 60 mcg/kg subcutaneously
Multiple-dose parttwo or three doses, given weekly or every two weeks

A phase 1 pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic study, not a dose-finding study for any indication, and it never produced a dose recommendation. At 80 kg, 30-60 mcg/kg works out at 2.4-4.8 mg per dose, considerably more than the amounts that circulate - so the trial does not validate the smaller doses people actually use either.

CJC-1295 with DAC, common user schedule

user protocol — not validated

Source: Pattern reported on forums and by vendors

This is not a validated schedule. It is a pattern that circulates among users and sellers, reproduced because it is what people actually follow — not because it has been tested. No trial established these doses, this interval or this duration, and nobody is checking what is in the vial. Treat every number below as an assertion, not a finding.

Weekly total1-2 mg subcutaneously
Frequencyonce or twice weekly, commonly split into two doses of 500 mcg to 1 mg
Run lengthabout 12 weeks, then a break

With a half-life of 6-8 days the compound accumulates: the full effect is not visible for 3-4 weeks and has not worn off 3-4 weeks after the last injection, so adjustment is slow and so is recovery from a side effect. The 'empty stomach before bed' rule carried over from the short-acting secretagogues does not apply here, because the level is continuously raised rather than pulsed. Vendors also sell mod GRF 1-29 as 'CJC-1295 without DAC', and the two differ in half-life by orders of magnitude.

Schedules are reproduced as their source states them. Units, IU and milligrams explains why the figures are not interchangeable between products.

Reconstitution

Vial sizes
2 mg, 5 mg
Solvent
bacteriostatic water (0.9% benzyl alcohol)
Storage
Reconstituted 2-8 °C, keeps for approximately 3-4 weeks. Powder in the freezer (-20 °C), protected from light.

Worked example

2 mg vial + 2 ml bacteriostatic water = 1 mg/ml. 1 mg = 1 ml = 100 units on a U100 insulin syringe; 500 mcg = 50 units.

Let the water run down the wall of the vial, not directly onto the powder. Do not shake. The maleimide group is sensitive to hydrolysis; repeated warming and cooling reduces binding to albumin and therefore the duration of action.

Work it out for CJC-1295 with DAC

Safety

Side effects

  • Increased heart rate and systemic vasodilatory reaction — the serious adverse events the FDA identifies as associated with CJC-1295, and its stated safety ground for the category 2 placement 3
  • Injection site reactions: redness, swelling, itching — reported more often than with short-acting GHRH analogues
  • Fluid retention and oedema in hands, ankles and face, due to the persistently raised GH level
  • Tingling and numbness in the hands; carpal tunnel syndrome is a known class effect of prolonged GH elevation
  • Joint and muscle pain
  • Reduced insulin sensitivity and a rise in fasting glucose; this risk is greater with continuous stimulation than with pulsatile agents
  • Headache and flushing shortly after injection
  • Fatigue, drowsiness
  • With persistently very high IGF-1: theoretical risk of acromegaly-like changes (growth of hands, feet, jaw, soft tissues). At normal user doses this has not been documented, but IGF-1 monitoring is the reason this should remain measurable.
  • For balance: in the published phase 1/2 study no serious adverse reactions were reported and the compound was described as safe and relatively well tolerated over the weeks studied 1. That study was small and short, and does not address the FDA's postmarketing observations.

Do not use if

  • Active or previously treated malignancy — GH and IGF-1 are growth factors and there is a theoretical, not excluded concern that they may stimulate existing malignant cells. With a long-acting compound and continuously raised IGF-1 this concern weighs more heavily than with short-acting variants.
  • Diabetes mellitus or impaired glucose tolerance without medical supervision
  • Active diabetic retinopathy
  • Pregnancy and breastfeeding
  • Children and adolescents with open growth plates, outside medical supervision
  • Severe acute illness, after open heart surgery or in acute respiratory failure
  • Pituitary adenoma or other untreated pituitary disorder

Interactions

Glucocorticoids suppress GHRH-mediated GH release. Raised GH and IGF-1 reduce insulin sensitivity, which may increase the need for insulin or oral antidiabetics. Growth hormone affects cortisol metabolism via 11-beta-HSD-1 and may increase hydrocortisone requirements in adrenal insufficiency; it may also alter the conversion of T4 to T3. Somatostatin analogues (octreotide, lanreotide) block the effect. Oral oestrogens blunt the IGF-1 response. Other interactions have not been systematically studied.

Common questions

What is CJC-1295 with DAC?
A long-acting GHRH analogue: a synthetic copy of the hormone that tells the pituitary to release growth hormone, with a “DAC” (drug-affinity complex) that binds it to albumin so it keeps working for roughly 6–8 days per injection.
What is the difference between CJC-1295 with and without DAC?
The DAC version is long-acting (days). Plain CJC-1295 without DAC is essentially Mod GRF 1-29, which is short-acting (minutes) and gives a brief pulse instead.
Is CJC-1295 used with ipamorelin?
Yes — it is commonly stacked with ipamorelin, because a GHRH analogue and a GHRP pull different levers of GH release. None of these combinations is an approved regimen. See MK-677 vs ipamorelin.
Is CJC-1295 legal or banned in sport?
It is an unapproved research chemical, and GH-releasing factors are on the WADA Prohibited List (S2) and banned at all times. See doping status.

Sources