What it is
CJC-1295 without DAC is a modified copy of GRF (1-29), the first 29 amino acids of growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH). The unmodified fragment is sermorelin. This version swaps four amino acids: D-alanine at position 2, glutamine at 8, alanine at 15 and leucine at 27. Those swaps are meant to protect the peptide from the enzymes that break sermorelin down within minutes.
The name is a source of confusion. When ConjuChem published its work in 2005, "CJC-1295" meant the four-substitution peptide plus an extra lysine carrying a reactive linker that bonds to albumin, the Drug Affinity Complex or DAC. Research suppliers later started selling the backbone without the linker as "CJC-1295 no DAC". The older and more accurate name is Modified GRF (1-29), or Mod GRF 1-29. For the albumin-bound compound, see CJC-1295 with DAC.
How it works
Like natural GHRH, it binds the GHRH receptor on somatotroph cells in the anterior pituitary. The cell releases a pulse of growth hormone, and the liver responds by making more IGF-1.
Three points follow from that mechanism:
- It works through the pituitary, not around it. Somatostatin, the body's brake on GH release, still applies. The ceiling is the pituitary's own capacity.
- The signal is short. Without the albumin anchor, the peptide is cleared from the blood fairly quickly, so each injection produces a pulse rather than a sustained rise. That is the main reason people choose it over the DAC version.
- It pairs with a different receptor. GHRH analogues and ghrelin mimetics such as ipamorelin act through separate receptors. In a 1990 study in 18 healthy men, a GH-releasing peptide given with GHRH released GH synergistically, more than the sum of each alone. That finding is the basis of the CJC-1295 + ipamorelin pairing.
What the research found
Human studies
We found no published human trial of the four-substitution peptide on its own. The human CJC-1295 data that is often quoted for it, the 2006 trials by Teichman and by Ionescu, used the DAC version. Those results describe a drug with a half-life of days and do not transfer directly to a peptide that acts for a short time.
The closest human evidence for a short-acting GHRH analogue is sermorelin, which raised GH and IGF-1 in small trials in older adults in the 1990s, and tesamorelin, which is FDA-approved.
Animal and lab studies
The 2005 ConjuChem paper in Endocrinology built several albumin-binding versions of GRF (1-29) and tested them in cultured rat pituitary cells and in rats. The conjugates resisted breakdown by the enzyme DPP-IV and still activated the GHRH receptor. That work was designed to select the DAC compound, so it says little about the no-DAC backbone as a standalone product.
Side effects reported in studies
With no human trials of this exact peptide, there is no study-based side-effect profile. The DAC version was described as relatively well tolerated in healthy adults, with no serious adverse reactions reported in the 2006 dose-ranging trials.
The US FDA lists CJC-1295 among bulk substances that raise safety concerns for compounding. It cites possible immunogenicity, difficulty characterising peptide-related impurities, and serious adverse events including increased heart rate and a systemic vasodilatory reaction. The FDA listing does not separate the DAC and no-DAC forms.
Any compound that raises GH also raises IGF-1, so the theoretical long-term concerns are the same as for growth hormone: fluid retention, joint aches, reduced insulin sensitivity, and the unresolved question of IGF-1 and cancer risk.
CJC-1295 no DAC vs other GHRH analogues
| Compound | Structure | Duration of signal | Human data |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sermorelin | GRF (1-29), unmodified | Minutes | Small trials; once approved |
| CJC-1295 no DAC | GRF (1-29), four substitutions | Short pulse | None published |
| CJC-1295 with DAC | Same plus albumin-binding linker | Days | Phase 1 and 2 |
| Tesamorelin | Full 44 amino acid GHRH, modified | Short pulse | Phase 3; FDA-approved |
Status in the Philippines
No CJC-1295 product is registered with FDA Philippines, and it has never been approved as a medicine in any country. It is not a controlled substance under RA 9165. Locally it is sold by research-chemical suppliers, usually alongside ipamorelin or pre-mixed with it. A GH-axis compound raises IGF-1, and IGF-1 blood tests are available at Philippine laboratories; see bloodwork in the Philippines.
Local stock CJC-1295 + Ipamorelin 10mg at Primara Labs, delivered in Metro Manila and nationwide. Research use only.
Storage
The freeze-dried powder tolerates short periods at room temperature but keeps best in the refrigerator. Once mixed with bacteriostatic water, store it at 2 to 8°C, away from the freezer compartment and the door. Brownouts are the practical risk in the Philippines: a cooler with ice packs covers a few hours without power. For mixing arithmetic, the reconstitution calculator does the unit conversion.
