CJC-1295

Think of it as a stuck-down accelerator pedal for the body's own growth-hormone engine. Instead of brief natural taps on the pedal, it presses gently for days. Scientists confirmed the engine does rev higher but they never showed the car actually goes anywhere useful. They parked the whole project after a crash in a separate test, leaving today's online versions as parts pulled from an abandoned prototype.

CJC-1295 is a synthetic GHRH(1-29) analogue with four stabilising amino-acid substitutions that resist degradation by dipeptidyl peptidase-IV (DPP-IV). The 'DAC' version bears an albumin-binding linker that covalently couples it to circulating serum albumin, forming a long-lived depot with a half-life of roughly 6-8 days. It acts as an agonist at pituitary GHRH receptors on somatotroph cells, stimulating cAMP-dependent synthesis and pulsatile release of endogenous growth hormone, which in turn raises hepatic IGF-1. It works upstream of the pituitary's own machinery rather than supplying GH directly, so GH secretion remains broadly pulsatile.

Research contexts. Not proven uses, and not recommendations.

Real but limited and old. Two early randomised, placebo-controlled trials in healthy adults (published 2006) established the core human evidence: a single subcutaneous dose produced dose-dependent increases in GH (roughly 2-10-fold) for six or more days and in IGF-1 (about 1.5-3-fold) for 9-11 days, with IGF-1 remaining elevated for up to about 28 days after repeated dosing, and a half-life of roughly 6-8 days. GH pulsatility was largely preserved and short-term tolerability in these small studies was acceptable. However, these trials measured hormone levels only. There is no human evidence that CJC-1295 improves muscle mass, strength, body composition, fat loss or any clinical outcome. A separate Phase 2 trial in HIV lipodystrophy was halted in 2006 after a participant died of a myocardial infarction, attributed by investigators to pre-existing coronary artery disease rather than the drug. The developer discontinued the programme. There have been no modern Phase 2/3 trials and no long-term controlled safety data.

• !No marketing authorisation anywhere: never an approved medicine in the UK, US or EU. Development was abandoned after the mid-2000s.
• !No proven benefit in humans: every human study measured hormone levels only. None demonstrated improved muscle, fat loss or performance.
• !Participant death in a Phase 2 lipodystrophy trial (cardiac) ended the development programme. Long-term human safety is essentially uncharacterised.
• !Sustained elevation of GH and IGF-1 carries plausible risks: insulin resistance and raised blood glucose, fluid retention and oedema, joint pain, and a theoretical (unquantified) increase in cancer risk from chronic IGF-1 elevation.
• !Grey-market quality: products sold 'for research use only / not for human consumption' are unregulated. Documented cases of mislabelled or impure preparations mean you cannot be sure what is in the vial or its purity.
• !Banned in sport (WADA S2), so use risks sanctions for any tested athlete.
• !The short-acting 'modified GRF(1-29)' or 'no-DAC' product is frequently sold under the CJC-1295 name, creating confusion about what is actually being supplied.

Not a licensed medicine in the UK. The MHRA has granted no marketing authorisation for CJC-1295 for any indication. It is an abandoned investigational drug, now sold almost exclusively as an unlicensed 'research chemical' labelled 'not for human consumption'. Supplying or selling it for human use without authorisation is unlawful under the Human Medicines Regulations 2012. It is prohibited at all times in sport under section S2 of the WADA Prohibited List (adopted by UK Anti-Doping).

• · Phase 1/2· Completed (reported 2006); programme subsequently discontinued

  Randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind ascending-dose trials of CJC-1295 in healthy adults (ConjuChem programme)

  Two trials (28- and 49-day) at two sites in healthy adults, single and repeated subcutaneous dosing; basis of the Teichman 2006 JCEM publication.

• · Phase 2· Halted in 2006 after a participant death (cardiac, adjudicated as unrelated/pre-existing disease); development discontinued

  Phase 2 trial of CJC-1295 in HIV-associated lipodystrophy

  The halt led ConjuChem to abandon CJC-1295 development; no NCT identifier confidently known.

1. 01
   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 — Teichman SL, Neale A, Lawrence B, Gagnon C, Castaigne JP, Frohman LA, Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (2006)

   Landmark human PK/PD trial: dose-dependent, prolonged GH and IGF-1 elevation after subcutaneous dosing in healthy adults.

2. 02
   Pulsatile Secretion of Growth Hormone (GH) Persists during Continuous Stimulation by CJC-1295, a Long-Acting GH-Releasing Hormone Analog — Ionescu M, Frohman LA, Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (2006)

   Showed GH pulsatility is largely preserved despite continuous GHRH-receptor stimulation.

3. 03
   Once-daily administration of CJC-1295, a long-acting growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) analog, normalizes growth in the GHRH knockout mouse — Alba M, Fintini D, Sagazio A, Lawrence B, Castaigne JP, Frohman LA, Salvatori R, American Journal of Physiology - Endocrinology and Metabolism (2006)

   Key proof-of-concept animal study of growth normalisation; not human evidence.

4. 04
   Identification of CJC-1295, a growth-hormone-releasing peptide, in an unknown pharmaceutical preparation — Henninge J, Pepaj M, Hullstein I, Hemmersbach P, Drug Testing and Analysis (2010)

   Documents anti-doping detection and grey-market/illicit supply of CJC-1295.

5. 05
   CJC-1295 - overview, development history and discontinuation, Wikipedia (2026)

   Secondary source summarising ConjuChem development, the halted HIV-lipodystrophy trial and abandonment. Tertiary reference only; primary trial data are cited above.