CJC-1295
Also known as: CJC-1295 DAC, CJC-1295 with DAC, Modified GRF (1-29), Mod GRF 1-29, DAC:GRF
A synthetic growth-hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) analog that raises GH and IGF-1 in humans, but has no proven clinical benefit and is sold only as a research chemical.
Not approved by the FDA for any use. Sold for laboratory research only. Two distinct products are sold under this name — "CJC-1295 with DAC" (a Drug Affinity Complex that binds albumin for a multi-day half-life) and "CJC-1295 without DAC" (also called Modified GRF 1-29), which is short-acting. They are pharmacologically different.
What it is
CJC-1295 is a synthetic analog of growth-hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH). It binds the GHRH receptor on the pituitary and prompts the gland to release growth hormone (GH), which in turn raises insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1). Two different products share the name: CJC-1295 with DAC, engineered with a Drug Affinity Complex that binds albumin and extends its action to several days, and CJC-1295 without DAC (Modified GRF 1-29), which is short-acting. They are not interchangeable.
What it’s approved or studied for
Nothing is approved. CJC-1295 is not FDA-approved for any use and is sold as a research chemical. The most-cited human data come from an early-phase study in healthy adults that measured hormone levels — not a disease outcome.
What human evidence exists
There is genuine, if thin, human pharmacokinetic evidence that CJC-1295 with DAC raises GH and IGF-1 in a dose-dependent way (Grade C — preliminary, from a small study). That is a biomarker effect. The leap from “raises a hormone” to “burns fat,” “builds muscle,” or “slows aging” is exactly where the evidence stops: no randomized human trial has demonstrated any of those clinical outcomes. Those claims are Grade U to E.
The major unknowns
The clinically important questions are unanswered: does it change body composition, and is chronically elevated IGF-1 safe? Long-term human safety is unknown (Grade U). Because it is a research chemical, product purity is also uncontrolled — the with-DAC vs. without-DAC confusion means buyers often don’t know which molecule, or what dose, they actually have.
Most important safety considerations
Sustained IGF-1 elevation carries theoretical concern, particularly regarding any existing malignancy, and no controlled safety data address it. The product is unregulated, prohibited in sport under WADA’s S2 category, and not a legal therapeutic. This page summarizes the research record; it is not medical advice or an endorsement of use.
Evidence by outcome
Each outcome is graded on its own evidence — a compound can be strong for one use and unproven for another. See how we grade.
A measurable, dose-dependent biomarker effect shown in a small human study. — A phase-1/2 study in healthy adults (Teichman 2006) reported that single subcutaneous doses of CJC-1295 with DAC produced 2- to 10-fold GH elevations and 1.5- to 3-fold IGF-1 elevations lasting 9–11 days, without changing GH pulse frequency. This establishes the pharmacodynamic effect, not any clinical outcome.
Unknown — no controlled human trials measured this. — Raising GH/IGF-1 is often marketed as fat loss and recomposition, but no randomized human trial has tested whether CJC-1295 changes body fat, weight, or lean mass.
Unknown — no human outcome data.
Marketed heavily, but unsupported by controlled evidence. — These are extrapolations from the biomarker effect, not endpoints any trial has demonstrated.
Unknown — no long-term human safety data exist.
Safety
Common adverse effects
- Injection-site reactions
- Flushing
- Headache
- Water retention (reported anecdotally)
Serious risks
- Sustained IGF-1 elevation of uncertain long-term significance
- Unregulated product purity and contamination risk
- No controlled human safety data
Contraindications
- Not approved for human use; no human contraindication data; theoretical concern with active malignancy given IGF-1 elevation
References