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Peptides Explained

Growth-hormone axis

CJC-1295

A lab-made peptide that raises growth hormone for days. Not approved; two versions share one name.

Not an authorised medicine

At a glance

Is it an approved medicine?
No Not approved as a medicine in the EU, the UK or the US.
Has it been tested in people?
A little Only small safety studies in people.
Is it allowed in sport?
No Banned in sport at all times. Anti-doping list (WADA), section S2
What is the biggest risk?
No one knows what long use does. Vials may hold another version. More about the risks

Status checked on . The details and sources are further down this page.

Stop and get help if you notice

  • Chest pain, or a racing heart1
  • Hives, swollen face or throat, hard to breathe1,24
  • Hot, red, swollen injection site, or fever1,77

If it is severe, call your local emergency number.

All warning signs, further down this page Warning signs for any peptide

The 30-second version

About 8 minutes for the short version; 38 with every detail open.

  • CJC-1295 is a lab-made peptide. It makes the body release more growth hormone for days.
  • It is not an approved medicine in Europe, the UK or the US. It is banned in sport.
  • Two different peptides are sold as CJC-1295. Only the version 'with DAC' was ever tested in people.
  • Only three small studies in healthy adults were published. Most people had just one injection.
  • More growth hormone can cause swelling, joint pain and higher blood sugar. Long-term effects are unknown.
Class
Growth-hormone axis
How it was given
Injection under the skin in every human study
How long it lasts
Half-life about 6 to 8 days (with DAC)
Without DAC
A different peptide; no published study in people
Human studies
Three small studies in healthy adults, 2006 to 2009
Status in the EU
Not authorised
Tested in people
A little

Label facts, not dosing advice. Sources are in the sections below.

Last reviewed
Computer model of the blood protein albumin: green spiral ribbons, with small orange chains of fat held inside it.
Albumin, a blood protein. The original CJC-1295 was built to bond to it and last for days. Illustration: Deposition authors: Bhattacharya, A.A., Gruene, T., Curry, S.; visualization author: User:Astrojan (Wikimedia Commons) CC BY-SA 4.0 Image details

Each section starts with the short answer. The rest is folded under “In detail”.

Evidence profile

Four separate questions. Not a score.

Human clinical evidence How far has it been tested in people?
Phase I (safety, small)
Preclinical volume How much laboratory and animal research exists?
Minimal
Source independence How many independent groups produced it?
One group dominates
Safety characterisation How well do we know the harms in humans?
Partial
In detail Why these grades: the reason for each step
Human clinical evidence
Phase 1. The highest published human evidence is two small randomised, placebo-controlled trials in 66 healthy adults (2006), plus two small studies without a comparison group in 12 and 11 healthy men, partly the same men. The developer's phase 2 trial in people with HIV was stopped in 2006 and never published, so under our rubric it does not count.
Preclinical volume
Minimal. By our count on 22 October 2026, four full papers report what CJC-1295 does in cells or animals (two from the developer's network, two from independent laboratories that used it as a tool), and three more describe how it is broken down. The developer's toxicology exists only as four conference abstracts; even counting them, the total is about 11, at the very bottom of the next band.
Source independence
Single group dominant. Every human study comes from the developer (ConjuChem) or its academic collaborator in Chicago, who co-authored the developer's trials; so do two of the four animal and cell papers. That is five of seven pharmacology and human studies. Two independent laboratories (NIH, 2009; Cedars-Sinai, 2020) confirmed in mice that it acts on the growth hormone system (more growth hormone or IGF-1), but no independent group has studied it in people.
Safety characterisation
Partial. The FDA counted 63 healthy adults in published studies, 46 of whom had a single injection, followed for weeks; no serious adverse reactions were reported. The one longer trial in patients was stopped in 2006 (the FDA reports, after a participant died) and its safety data were never published. There are no long-term, cancer or pregnancy data in people, and the animal toxicology exists only as abstracts.

We never add these up. A compound can have a large animal literature from one laboratory and no human data at all — that is a specific situation, and a single number would hide it. How we grade evidence

In detail The molecule: amino-acid sequence and technical details
Amino-acid sequence30 amino acids

H–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-Lys*-NH2 (*maleimidopropionyl on Lys30: the DAC)

Read from the N-terminus (start) to the C-terminus (end).

Modifications
position 2: D-Ala: replaces L-Ala of human GHRH; D-alanine at this position resists cleavage by DPP-4
position 8: Gln: replaces Asn of human GHRH, to avoid asparagine rearrangement or conversion to aspartic acid
position 15: Ala: replaces Gly of human GHRH
position 27: Leu: replaces Met of human GHRH, to prevent methionine oxidation
position 30: Lys (added): its side-chain nitrogen carries a 3-maleimidopropionyl group, the drug affinity complex (DAC), which bonds covalently to a free thiol on albumin (Cys34) and other plasma proteins
D-form (mirror-image) amino acid
D-Ala (2)
Full name
CJC-1295 with drug affinity complex (DAC)
Also called
CJC-1295 DAC, DAC:GRF, CJC1295
Class
Growth-hormone axis
Body systems
Hormones, Metabolism
Formula
C165H269N47O46
Molecular mass
3,647.2 Da

What it actually is

What is CJC-1295?

A lab-made copy of part of a brain hormone. A chemical hook makes it last for days.
Two different peptides are sold as CJC-1295. Only one was ever tested in people. The original CJC-1295 'with DAC' and the peptide sold as 'CJC-1295 without DAC' or 'Mod GRF (1-29)', checked on 22 October 2026.
CJC-1295 with DAC (the original)“CJC-1295 without DAC” (Mod GRF 1-29)
The same 29-amino-acid core?Yes Part of human GHRH with four changes1,2Yes The same core, ending there1,3
An extra lysine with a chemical hook (DAC)?Yes Yes, at the end of the chain2,4No No hook1
Bonds to albumin in the blood?Yes Shown in rats4No It lacks the hook that forms the bond1
How long it lasts in people measured?Yes Half-life 5.8–8.1 days5Unknown No published measurement1
Tested in people?Yes Three small studies in healthy adults1No No published study1
Approved as a medicine?No Not in the EU, the UK or the US1,6No Not in the EU, the UK or the US1

The developer, ConjuChem in Montreal, used the name CJC-1295 for the version with DAC.4,1 Today the same name is also used for the version without it, even by the FDA, which calls the confusion “a safety risk for patients”.1 This page grades the version with DAC, because all the studies in people used it.

In detail The molecule, piece by piece

Growth hormone releasing hormone (GHRH) is a hormone of 44 amino acids made in the hypothalamus, at the base of the brain. Its first 29 amino acids are enough for full activity.1 CJC-1295 starts from those 29 and changes four of them:1,4

  • Position 2: alanine becomes its mirror image, D-alanine. Chains with D-alanine here resist DPP-4, the main blood enzyme that cuts and switches off GHRH.
  • Position 8: asparagine becomes glutamine, to stop the chain from rearranging or turning into aspartic acid.
  • Position 15: glycine becomes alanine.
  • Position 27: methionine becomes leucine, to prevent damage by oxidation.

The version with DAC then adds a 30th amino acid, a lysine. Its side chain carries a maleimide group, a small reactive ring.2,7 After injection this ring forms a permanent chemical bond (a covalent bond) with a free sulfur group on the blood protein albumin, at a spot called cysteine 34.4 It can also bond to other blood proteins that carry a free sulfur group.8,1

The full sequence is 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-Lys, with an amide at the end and the maleimide on the last lysine. Its formula is C165H269N47O46 and its mass 3647.2 Da. Without the extra lysine the formula is C152H252N44O42 and the mass 3367.9 Da.7,3,1

The developer made the version with DAC by solid-phase synthesis, adding one amino acid at a time to a chain held on resin beads; the FDA found no information on how the version without DAC is made. This kind of synthesis can leave shortened or wrongly built chains, solvents and other leftovers.1

In detail Who made it, and why development stopped

ConjuChem ran a research programme to make GHRH last longer, because natural GHRH works for only a short time.5,9 In 2005 it described three versions with a maleimide hook and picked CJC-1295 as the most promising.4,1 Studies in healthy adults followed in 2006.5,9

In December 2005 the company started a phase 2 trial in adults with HIV, with sites that included Germany; both trial registries list it as ended early, without a reason or results.10,11 According to the FDA’s 2024 review, ConjuChem withdrew CJC-1295 from clinical trials in 2006 after a participant in that trial died (see the risk profile below).1 No later trial has been registered.10

The version without DAC first appears in the scientific literature in a 2010 report. In 2009 Norwegian police and customs seized an unknown product, and a doping laboratory found a 29-amino-acid peptide in it that matched one then sold as CJC-1295.12,1 The FDA calls this the first mention of CJC-1295 without DAC in the scientific literature.1

In detail Why the name is a problem

The FDA found “at least nine different names” for five different CJC-1295 substances: two active molecules (with and without DAC), each sold as a free base or as a salt (acetate or trifluoroacetate, TFA).1 The confusion runs through every layer:

  • Requests to the FDA. Two groups asked for CJC-1295 to be allowed in pharmacy compounding. One request named the acetate salt, gave the chemistry of the free peptide without DAC and cited studies of the version with DAC. The other gave a chemical name that matched no form of CJC-1295.1
  • Databases. The FDA noted that the official substance record mixed up the names and structures of the two versions.1 In PubChem, one record of the version without DAC carries the names “CJC 1295 with DAC” and “CJC-1295-no DAC acetate” at the same time.3
  • Science. Some anti-doping researchers write “CJC-1295” for the version without DAC and “CJC-1295 with drug affinity complex” for the original.13
  • Products. Both versions are sold online for “research use”, alone and in blends with ipamorelin, GHRP-2, GHRP-6, hexarelin or tesamorelin. The listings the FDA reviewed did not say which salt they contained, and some blends did not say which version.1 Powders seized in Denmark held versions of these peptides with an extra amino acid, whose effects are unknown.14

This matters because the two are different molecules, and the evidence belongs to only one of them. The FDA warns that what is known about how the version with DAC acts “cannot be extrapolated” to the version without it.1 See product risk and what “research use only” means.

Proposed mechanism

How does it work?

It makes the pituitary gland release more growth hormone. The liver then makes more IGF-1.
CJC-1295 acts where GHRH acts: on the growth hormone cells of the pituitary.
StepWhereWhat happensShown in
1Hypothalamus (base of the brain)Releases GHRH in burstsPeople
2BloodCJC-1295 with DAC bonds to albumin and stays for daysRats (bond); people (long half-life)
3Pituitary glandCJC-1295 switches on the GHRH receptor on growth hormone cells, as GHRH doesCells in a dish
4Pituitary glandGrowth hormone comes out in pulses; the low points between pulses risePeople
5LiverMakes more IGF-1, which stays high for daysPeople
6Brain and pituitaryGrowth hormone and IGF-1 normally brake the system (negative feedback, partly through somatostatin)People (natural hormones)
7Muscle, fat, bone, healingAny effect on healthNot shown

Sources 15, 16, 4, 5, 9, 1

In healthy adults, one injection kept growth hormone higher for 6 days or more and IGF-1 higher for 9 to 11 days.5 Growth hormone still came in pulses, but the low points between pulses rose sharply.9 Whether this helps or harms health has not been tested.

In detail Step by step: the chain and what each step rests on
The proposed causal chain, step by step

Each step is labelled with how well the link from the previous step is established.

  1. Step 1 Binding In animals

    A chemical hook bonds it to albumin

    The extra lysine at the end carries a maleimide group, the drug affinity complex (DAC). In rats, CJC-1295 was found bonded to the blood protein albumin within 15 minutes and stayed in the blood beyond 72 hours. Its half-life of 5.8 to 8.1 days in people fits this bond, but the bond itself was shown in rats.

  2. Step 2 Binding In cells

    It switches on the GHRH receptor in the pituitary

    Even when bonded to albumin, CJC-1295 made rat pituitary cells in a dish release growth hormone. The GHRH receptor sits on somatotrophs, the cells in the front of the pituitary gland that make growth hormone.

  3. Step 3 Signal inside the cell In cells

    cAMP rises inside the cell

    The GHRH receptor works mainly through the messenger cAMP. In mouse pituitary cells, CJC-1295 raised cAMP and the release of growth hormone.

  4. Step 4 Cell response In humans

    More growth hormone, still in pulses

    In 12 healthy men, one injection did not change the size or number of growth hormone pulses, but the low points between pulses rose 7.5-fold and average growth hormone rose by 46%.

  5. Step 5 Tissue response In humans

    The liver makes more IGF-1

    Growth hormone tells the liver to make IGF-1. In healthy adults, IGF-1 rose 1.5- to 3-fold for 9 to 11 days after one injection, and stayed above baseline for up to 28 days after several.

  6. Step 6 Tissue response In animals

    The pituitary itself can grow

    GHRH also makes growth hormone cells multiply. In mice, CJC-1295 increased the number of these cells and made the pituitary heavier; in one study it also raised markers of DNA damage there.

  7. Step 7 Effect on the body Hypothesised

    Effects on muscle, fat, healing or ageing: not shown

    No published study measured any health outcome in people. The only trial in patients, on belly fat in people with HIV, was stopped in 2006 and never reported.

Staying in the blood

In rats, CJC-1295 appeared bonded to albumin in the blood within 15 minutes and was still there after 24 hours ; the peptide was found in the blood beyond 72 hours, whereas GHRH(1-29) given the same way was found for only about an hour.4,1 In healthy adults its half-life was 5.8 to 8.1 days .5 The idea behind the hook: the kidneys’ filter lets through only small amounts of albumin, so a small peptide tied to it is not filtered out quickly.17,4 But the FDA points out that nobody has compared the versions with and without DAC directly, and that the four amino-acid changes may also slow breakdown. How much of the long life is due to the hook is therefore not shown.1

The receptor and the signal

GHRH acts on somatotrophs, the cells in the front of the pituitary gland that make growth hormone. Its receptor works mainly through the messenger cAMP, and GHRH also makes these cells multiply.18 Bonded to albumin, CJC-1295 still made rat pituitary cells in a dish release growth hormone .4 In mouse pituitary cells it raised cAMP and growth hormone release , in an independent laboratory.19

Growth hormone and IGF-1 in people

In 12 healthy men aged 20 to 40, one injection left the size and number of growth hormone pulses unchanged, but the low points between pulses rose 7.5-fold. Average growth hormone rose by 46% and IGF-1 by 45% .9 Growth hormone levels change through the day, so IGF-1, which the liver makes mainly in response to growth hormone and which stays steadier, is the usual way to track the effect.20,19

What the chain does not show

The chain stops at hormone levels. No study followed it on to muscle, fat, bone, healing or sleep in people.1 The FDA also notes that the maleimide hook could bond to proteins other than albumin; whether that has any effect is unknown.1 For the version without DAC, the FDA found no study at all of what it does in cells, animals or people.1

In detail Why the body normally limits growth hormone

Natural growth hormone comes in bursts. GHRH from the hypothalamus drives each burst, and somatostatin, another hormone from the brain, holds it back. A burst of growth hormone then feeds back on the brain: it switches on somatostatin and damps GHRH. IGF-1 adds a slower brake.15,16

A long-acting GHRH analogue pushes on one part of this loop all the time. In the Chicago study the pulses were kept, which suggests that over that week the brakes still worked.9 But a drug that stays in the blood for about a week keeps pushing whatever the IGF-1 level , and nobody has studied what months of this do to the loop, or to the pituitary itself.5,1

What the evidence actually shows

Does it work?

It raises growth hormone and IGF-1 in healthy adults. No study tested any health benefit.

IGF-1 rose for more than a week after one injection

1.5–3×

rise in IGF-1, lasting 9 to 11 days after one injection

Who took part Teichman 2006: two small placebo-controlled trials in healthy adults aged 21–61 Source Teichman et al. (2006)5 Evidence Human trials

Growth hormone kept its pulses, with higher low points

7.5×

more growth hormone between bursts, one week after a single dose

Who took part Ionescu 2006: 12 healthy men aged 20–40, no comparison group Source Ionescu & Frohman (2006)9 Evidence Humans, limited

Very few people have had it in a study

63 people

had it in published studies. All were healthy; 46 had only one injection.

Who took part FDA count, 2024: three studies, 2006–2009; 87 in 100 were men Source FDA Briefing Document for CJC-1295-Related Bulk Drug Substances (CJC-1295 (free base), CJC-1295 acetate, CJC-1295 with drug affinity complex (DAC) (free base), CJC-1295 DAC acetate and CJC-1295 DAC trifluoroacetate), Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee meeting, 4 December 20241 Evidence Humans, limited

These are effects on hormone levels, not on health. No published study measured muscle, fat, strength, healing, sleep or ageing in people.1 The FDA found no data on effectiveness for any form of CJC-1295 in growth hormone deficiency, the use it reviewed.1

In detail Every study in one table

11 studies: 4 in humans, 5 in animals, 0 in cells, 2 reviews or other.

Studies discussed on this page
Study Species n Design Funding Research group What it found What it did not show
U.S. Food and Drug Administration 2004 1 Mixed not reported Animal experiment (controlled) Industry Originating group In rats and dogs given repeated injections for up to 14 days: bleeding, inflammation and some tissue death at the injection site, slightly fewer red blood cells and higher cholesterol; dogs also vomited. A rat pregnancy study found no malformations; a 6-month monkey study reported no immune effects. Known only from four conference abstracts by the developer, as summarised by the FDA; the form of the peptide is not stated, and the FDA called the monkey data vague. No study of cancer risk exists.
Jetté et al. 2005 4 Mixed not reported Animal experiment (controlled) Industry Originating group Bonded to albumin, CJC-1295 still made rat pituitary cells release growth hormone and resisted the enzyme DPP-4. In rats it released 4 times as much growth hormone over 2 hours as GHRH(1-29). It was still in the blood after 72 hours, and in one rat it was seen bound to albumin from 15 minutes to beyond 24 hours. The developer's own study; animal numbers not stated in the abstract; the albumin bond was shown in the blood of one rat. It does not separate the effect of the hook from that of the four amino-acid changes.
Alba et al. 2006 22 Mice not reported Animal experiment (controlled) Not disclosed Originating group Mice born without their own GHRH grew to normal weight and length with daily CJC-1295 for 5 weeks; injections every 2 or 3 days helped less. Their pituitaries made more growth hormone RNA and had more growth hormone cells. A model of deficiency, not of healthy adults; animal numbers not given in the abstract; two developer employees were co-authors.
ClinicalTrials.gov 2006 10 Humans not reported Phase II trial (controlled, blinded) Industry Originating group Planned as a 12-week randomised, placebo-controlled trial in adults with HIV and extra fat around the organs. It was stopped in 2006; the FDA, citing online reports, says a participant had a heart attack and died. No results were ever published or posted, and the registry gives no reason for stopping. What it found, good or bad, is unknown.
Ionescu & Frohman 2006 9 Humans 12 Open-label study (uncontrolled) Mixed Mixed One week after one injection, growth hormone still came in pulses of unchanged size and number, but the low points between pulses were 7.5 times higher; average growth hormone rose 46% and IGF-1 45%. 12 healthy men aged 20–40, one night of sampling before and one after, no placebo group. Heart rate rose with the dose. Drug from the developer; the senior author co-wrote the developer's trials.
Teichman et al. 2006 5 Humans 66 Phase I trial (controlled, blinded) Industry Originating group In healthy adults aged 21–61, one injection raised growth hormone 2- to 10-fold for 6 days or more and IGF-1 1.5- to 3-fold for 9–11 days, depending on the dose. Half-life was 5.8–8.1 days. After repeated injections IGF-1 stayed above baseline for up to 28 days. No serious adverse reactions were reported. Small and short (28 and 49 days), in healthy volunteers, run by the developer. It measured hormone levels, not health. Side effects were common, and only 11 people in total had placebo.
Gautam et al. 2009 23 Mice not reported Animal experiment (controlled) Government Independent group Daily CJC-1295 for 8 weeks restored normal growth, pituitary size, growth hormone and IGF-1 in young dwarf mice lacking a receptor in the brain; it also made young normal mice heavier. CJC-1295 was a lab tool to test a question about the brain; 5–8 mice per group; the peptide was a gift from the developer.
Sackmann-Sala et al. 2009 21 Humans 11 Open-label study (uncontrolled) Mixed Mixed In blood from 11 of the same young men, five blood proteins changed a week after one injection; the authors propose them as markers of growth hormone action. A search for markers, not a test of benefit or harm; no placebo; partly funded by the developer and WADA; side effects not reported.
Henninge et al. 2010 12 — not reported Product testing Not disclosed Independent group An unknown product seized by Norwegian police and customs in 2009 contained a 29-amino-acid peptide matching one then sold as CJC-1295: the version without the DAC lysine. One product; identity only, with no test of purity, amount or sterility.
Gajda et al. 2019 14 — not reported Product testing Not disclosed Independent group Powders seized by Danish customs contained growth-hormone-releasing peptides with an extra glycine added at the start of the chain, among them a modified GRF(1-29). A few forensic cases. It shows that products can hold variants no study has tested, not how often this happens.
Ben-Shlomo et al. 2020 19 Mice 31 Animal experiment (controlled) Mixed Independent group In mouse pituitary cells it raised cAMP and growth hormone. In adult mice treated for 8 weeks (16 on CJC-1295, 15 on salt water), the pituitary was 47% heavier, IGF-1 was higher, and markers of DNA damage in the pituitary rose. Mice, not people. Pituitaries were weighed in 10 treated and 9 control mice, and the comet test of DNA damage used 3 and 3. It shows a possible route to harm, not that tumours form.

The table includes two forensic analyses of seized products, because what a vial contains is part of the evidence a reader needs.12,14

In detail Studies in people, one by one

The developer’s trials in healthy adults (2006)

Teichman and colleagues ran two randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind trials with rising doses in healthy adults aged 21 to 61, lasting 28 and 49 days.5 The FDA’s summary gives 42 people in the first (35 on CJC-1295, 7 on placebo) and 24 in the second (20 and 4).1 After one injection, growth hormone rose 2- to 10-fold for 6 days or more and IGF-1 rose 1.5- to 3-fold for 9 to 11 days, more at higher doses; after two or three injections IGF-1 stayed above baseline for up to 28 days .5 IGF-1 went above the normal range for age and sex only at the highest single dose tested.1 The authors called it “safe and relatively well tolerated” and its effects cumulative.5 Side effects were common, though (see the risk profile below).

The Chicago studies (2006 and 2009)

Ionescu and Frohman sampled blood every 20 minutes through one night in 12 healthy men, before and one week after a single injection.9,1 Growth hormone pulses kept their size and frequency while the low points rose; IGF-1 rose by 45% and stayed within the normal range in every man.9,1 This mattered for the developer’s case. Its researchers argued that a long-acting GHRH would give the body a more natural pattern of growth hormone than a daily injection of growth hormone itself.1,9 A later analysis of blood from 11 of these men found five blood proteins that changed, proposed as markers of growth hormone action.21

The trial in patients that was never published

The developer’s phase 2 trial in people with HIV was the only test in patients. It was stopped in 2006, and no results were ever posted or published.10,11,1 So whether CJC-1295 reduced fat around the organs, the trial’s aim, is unknown.

Why these studies cannot show benefit

All the published studies were in healthy people, short, and measured hormones. The FDA judged that, without studies in people with growth hormone deficiency and without measures such as body composition or growth, they “do not support effectiveness”.1 A raised IGF-1 is a surrogate endpoint: a change in a blood test that may or may not lead to a change in health.

In detail Cell and animal studies

The developer’s 2005 paper is the foundation: bonded to albumin, CJC-1295 resisted DPP-4 and still released growth hormone from rat pituitary cells , and in rats it raised growth hormone 4-fold over 2 hours compared with GHRH(1-29) .4

In mice born without GHRH, which grow poorly, daily CJC-1295 for 5 weeks gave normal body weight and length and increased the number of growth hormone cells in the pituitary ; injections every 2 or 3 days worked less well. Two developer employees were co-authors.22

Two independent laboratories later used CJC-1295 as a tool. At the NIH, 8 weeks of daily CJC-1295 restored normal growth, pituitary size, growth hormone and IGF-1 in dwarf mice lacking a receptor in the brain ; the peptide was a gift from the developer.23 At Cedars-Sinai, a laboratory studying pituitary tumours treated 16 adult mice with CJC-1295 for 8 weeks and 15 with salt water. The treated mice had pituitaries 47% heavier (weighed in 10 and 9 mice), higher IGF-1 and more markers of DNA damage in the pituitary .19 That finding is discussed under the risk profile.

In detail Who paid for the evidence

ConjuChem ran its own trials in people and co-wrote two of the four animal and cell papers. Its academic collaborator, Lawrence Frohman, co-wrote those trials and the Chicago studies, which used the developer’s drug; the 2009 analysis was partly funded by the developer.5,22,21 That does not make the results wrong: the NIH and Cedars-Sinai mouse studies, with no developer authors, also found more growth hormone or IGF-1.23,19 But the questions asked were the developer’s, and the one study that could have shown benefit or harm in patients was never published.

In detail What is genuinely promising, and what the gap costs

The idea behind CJC-1295 was reasonable. A medicine that raises the body’s own growth hormone, while keeping its natural pulses and the body’s brakes, could be gentler than injecting growth hormone itself ; that was the developer’s case, and it was never tested.1 A related approved medicine shows that this route can work for a specific use: tesamorelin, another GHRH analogue, is authorised in the US to reduce excess belly fat in adults with HIV.24 The early hormone data for CJC-1295 were consistent and confirmed in independent mice.5,23

The gap has a real cost. Development stopped in 2006, the one patient trial was never published, and nobody has tested the version without DAC at all.10,1 Twenty years later, people who use CJC-1295 have hormone data from a few dozen healthy volunteers, mostly after one injection, and no answer to the questions that matter to them.

What is genuinely unknown

What is still not known?

What longer use does, how the version without DAC behaves, and what a vial really holds.
The human studies lasted seven weeks at most. Longer use has never been studied. Weeks of use or follow-up covered by the evidence. The 12-week patient trial was stopped and never reported.

  • Longest published human study (healthy adults)

    49 days; a few injections at most

  • Developer's trial in people with HIV

    Not known: planned 12 weeks; no results

  • Longest general toxicity tests (rats, dogs)

    14 days; abstracts only

  • Longer use in people

    Not known: never studied

Sources Teichman et al. (2006); ClinicalTrials.gov (2006); FDA Briefing Document for CJC-1295-Related Bulk Drug Substances (CJC-1295 (free base), CJC-1295 acetate, CJC-1295 with drug affinity complex (DAC) (free base), CJC-1295 DAC acetate and CJC-1295 DAC trifluoroacetate), Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee meeting, 4 December 20245,10,1 Checked

In detail All open questions, with their sources

As of 22 October 2026, these are specifically unknown:

  • Any benefit in people. No published study measured a health outcome, and the one trial in patients was never reported.1,10
  • The version without DAC. No published study of what it does in cells, animals or people, or of how long it lasts.1
  • Repeated use. Three in four people in the published studies had one injection; nobody was followed for longer than seven weeks.1,5
  • Cancer and the pituitary. No carcinogenicity study exists, and no published study has examined the pituitary gland in people who used CJC-1295.1
  • The 2006 death. Whether CJC-1295 played any part cannot be judged, because no data from the trial were published.1
  • Antibodies. The developer reported no “significant” antibodies, without describing the test; the FDA notes that antibodies could also react with the body’s own GHRH.1
  • Pregnancy, children and older people. No human data.1
  • Interactions with any medicine, and with the other peptides it is often blended with.1
  • What products contain. We found no published survey of the content, purity or sterility of products sold as CJC-1295.

Regulatory status

Is it legal?

It is not an approved medicine in Europe, the UK or the US. It is banned in sport.
It is not approved where we checked. US experts also voted against it. Status in the Netherlands and the EU, the US and sport, checked on 22 October 2026.
Netherlands and the EUUnited States
Approved as a medicine?No No EU or Dutch authorisation; EMA and CBG data hold no record of it.6,25No Not FDA-approved.1
Legal to sell or supply as a medicine?No Dutch law forbids supplying a medicine without a marketing authorisation, with narrow exceptions.26No Pharmacies may not compound with it unless the FDA adds it to a list by a rule; no such rule exists.1,27,28
Backed by expert advisers?Unknown No EU or Dutch body has assessed it.6No In December 2024, FDA advisers voted against pharmacy use for every form: 0–13, or 1–12 for one salt.29
Allowed in sport?No Banned at all times under section S2.30No The same worldwide rule applies.30
In detail Status in each country, and in sport
Regulatory status by jurisdiction
Jurisdiction Status Note Checked
European Union Not authorised No authorised product and no record in EMA's medicines data (checked 22 October 2026). 79,6,1
Netherlands Not authorised Not authorised; no product in the CBG database. Supplying an unauthorised medicine is prohibited (Geneesmiddelenwet art. 40). 25,34,26
Germany Not authorised Not authorised (AMG § 21). The Anti-Doping Act names CJC-1295 and mod-GRF. The 2005 phase 2 trial had a German arm, which ended early. 35,6,1,36,11
Belgium Not authorised Not authorised; the 1964 Medicines Act requires a national or EU licence, and none exists. 39,6,1
United Kingdom Not authorised Not authorised; supplying an unauthorised medicinal product is prohibited by the Human Medicines Regulations 2012. 40,1
United States Not authorised Not FDA-approved. In December 2024 FDA advisers voted 0–13 against letting pharmacies compound it (one salt form 1–12). 1,29,44,80,28
Sport (WADA) Prohibited in sport · S2, at all times Prohibited at all times under S2 (growth hormone releasing factors); named since the 2015 List and in the 2027 List. 30,31,32,33

All statuses were checked on 22 October 2026.

Sport (WADA)

CJC-1295 is named on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s Prohibited List under S2.2.4, “growth hormone releasing factors”, as an example of GHRH analogues. It is prohibited at all times, in and out of competition, and S2 substances are non-Specified Substances.30 The 2027 List, in force from 1 January 2027, keeps the same entry.31 CJC-1295 has been named since the 2015 List; WADA said then that the named examples were already prohibited under earlier Lists.32,33 S2 also covers “other substances with similar chemical structure or similar biological effect(s)”, so the version without DAC is prohibited too.30 See sport and doping.

In detail The European Union, the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and the United Kingdom

European Union

No CJC-1295 product has an EU marketing authorisation, and EMA’s medicines data, which include refused and withdrawn applications, hold no record of it. Tesamorelin, the related GHRH analogue approved in the US, appears there only as an application withdrawn in 2012.6 The FDA found no approved product containing any form of CJC-1295 in Belgium, Germany, the UK or the other countries it checked, and none in the European Pharmacopoeia.1

Netherlands

The CBG database lists no CJC-1295 product.25 A product presented as treating or preventing disease, or meant to change body functions through a drug effect, is a medicine under the Geneesmiddelenwet, and selling, supplying or importing a medicine without a marketing authorisation is prohibited, with narrow exceptions.34,26

Germany

Finished medicines need a national licence or an EU authorisation (AMG § 21); CJC-1295 has neither.35,6 The Anti-Doping Act lists GHRH and its analogues, naming CJC-1295 and mod-GRF, among the substances that may not be acquired, possessed or brought into Germany in more than a small amount for doping in sport.36,37,38 The developer’s phase 2 trial had a German arm, which the EU register lists as ended early.11

Belgium

A medicine may be placed on the market only with a national or EU marketing authorisation (Medicines Act of 25 March 1964, art. 6 § 1). CJC-1295 has neither.39,6,1

United Kingdom

Selling or supplying an unauthorised medicinal product is prohibited (Human Medicines Regulations 2012, regulation 46), and no CJC-1295 product is authorised.40,1 It is not a controlled drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act.41

In detail The United States: the December 2024 advisory vote

CJC-1295 is not FDA-approved, has no US Pharmacopeia monograph and is part of no approved medicine, so a US pharmacy could compound with it only if the FDA added it to the 503A bulks list by rulemaking.1,42,27

Two groups had nominated it for that list and then withdrew; the FDA evaluated all five CJC-1295 substances anyway, for growth hormone deficiency, and proposed not to list any of them.43,1 It gave four reasons: the substances are not well characterised, partly because of the naming confusion; little is known about their use in compounding; animal studies raise safety concerns; and there are no effectiveness data, while approved treatments for growth hormone deficiency exist.1

On 4 December 2024 the FDA’s Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee agreed. It voted 0–13 against listing CJC-1295 (free base), 1–12 against its acetate salt, and 0–13 against each of the three DAC forms. One member pointed to the lack of evidence of effectiveness.29 The committee only advises; the FDA makes the final decision after hearing it, and here the advice matched the FDA’s own proposal.1 By 22 October 2026 the Federal Register held no rule on CJC-1295.28

The FDA’s safety-risk page lists CJC-1295 among substances previously in category 2 whose nominations were withdrawn. It names immune reactions, impurities, and “serious adverse events … including increased heart rate and systemic vasodilatory reaction”.44 The FDA’s own 2024 review, by contrast, noted that the published studies reported no serious adverse events.1

CJC-1295 was not among the seven peptides that the same committee considered on 23–24 July 2026.45 That meeting is explained on the BPC-157 page. See also US law.

Risk profile

What are the risks?

Injection-site reactions, flushing and headache were common. The risks of longer use are unknown.
What people reported (first developer trial, one injection)CJC-1295 (35 people)Placebo (7 people)
Any side effect33 of 352 of 7
Reaction at the injection site (redness, hardness, pain, itching)about 70 in 100rare
Headache63 in 10014 in 100 (1 person)
Diarrhoea43 in 100none
Flushing, warmth or a short drop in blood pressure30 in 100none

Source 1

No serious side effects were reported in these short studies of healthy adults.5 But most people had one injection, and the only longer trial, in patients, was stopped and never published.1,10 What months of raised growth hormone might do is known only from growth hormone itself and from a related approved medicine (see below).

In detail Side effects in the studies, in detail

All figures below are from the FDA’s 2024 summary of the published studies.1

  • Injection site. Redness, hardness, pain or itching in about 70 in 100 people after one injection, worse and longer-lasting at higher doses, and in everyone who had repeated injections. Short-lived hives at the injection site in almost 30 in 100.
  • Flushing and blood pressure. Flushing, warmth and a short drop in blood pressure in 30 in 100 after one injection. With repeated injections, flushing came within 30 minutes and passed within 1 to 2 hours, in 40 to 100 in 100 depending on the dose. Two people had dizziness and low blood pressure after their first injection.
  • Heart rate. Heart rate rose with the dose in the Chicago study.9,1
  • Gut and head. Headache in 63 in 100 (14 in 100 on placebo); loose stools or diarrhoea, more at higher doses; nausea or stomach pain in 20 in 100 with repeated injections.
  • Nerves and muscles. One person had brief involuntary leg-muscle contractions and some loss of coordination after a second injection.

The authors found no consistent changes in blood or urine tests, glucose, liver tests or heart tracings.1 The FDA says some of these effects need further study, for example in people at risk of falls or with heart disease. The studies included only healthy adults.1

In detail The 2006 trial that was stopped

The developer’s phase 2 trial in people with HIV was registered in December 2005 and listed as terminated in 2006, without a reason.10 The FDA’s 2024 review recounts, from what it calls anecdotal reports on the internet, that 192 people had enrolled. Two hours after his 11th weekly injection, one participant had chest discomfort; a heart tracing (ECG) showed an acute heart attack, and he died about an hour later. The attending doctor’s most likely explanation was undiagnosed narrowing of the heart arteries with a sudden blockage. The trial was stopped and its data were never published.1

One death in a trial does not show that a drug caused it. Here the attending doctor’s most likely explanation was heart disease that had not been found before. But no one outside the company has seen the trial’s data, so whether CJC-1295 played any part cannot be settled. CJC-1295 raised heart rate and caused flushing with low blood pressure in healthy volunteers, and its effects in people with heart disease were never studied.1

In detail Too much growth hormone: what it does, and why

CJC-1295 has never been studied for long enough to show the effects of months of raised growth hormone. Tesamorelin, an approved medicine that also copies GHRH, has been studied for 26 to 52 weeks, and its label lists the risks below.24 The FDA found nothing to suggest that CJC-1295 would avoid the risks listed for growth hormone medicines.1

Tesamorelin works the same way. On it, more people had swelling and high blood sugar. People in 100 with each problem in the first 26 weeks: 543 adults with HIV on tesamorelin, 263 on placebo. Tesamorelin is not CJC-1295.

  • Swelling from fluid (oedema)

    6 in 100 Tesamorelin

    2 in 100 Placebo

  • Muscle pain

    6 in 100 Tesamorelin

    2 in 100 Placebo

  • Joint pain

    13 in 100 Tesamorelin

    11 in 100 Placebo

  • Long-term blood sugar in the diabetes range

    5 in 100 Tesamorelin

    1 in 100 Placebo

Each square is one person in 100. Source EGRIFTA SV (tesamorelin for injection)24 Evidence Human trials

  • Fluid retention. Raised growth hormone makes the body hold on to fluid. The tissues swell and feel tight, which can show as swollen ankles or hands, painful joints and carpal tunnel syndrome. The tesamorelin label says these effects pass, or go away when treatment stops.24 In carpal tunnel syndrome, pressure on a nerve in the wrist makes the hand and fingers tingle, go numb or hurt.46
  • Higher blood sugar. Growth hormone releases fat from fat stores, and the extra fatty acids in the blood make muscle and liver respond less to insulin (insulin resistance). Blood sugar then rises.47 On tesamorelin, long-term blood sugar (HbA1c) reached the diabetes range in 5% of patients against 1% on placebo.24
  • IGF-1 above the normal range. After 26 weeks of tesamorelin, 47% of patients had IGF-1 levels more than two standard deviations above normal; the label says the effects of long-term raised IGF-1 are unknown.24 In the short CJC-1295 studies, IGF-1 went above the normal range only at the highest single dose tested.1
  • Other risks in growth hormone labels. All US growth hormone labels warn about tumours, glucose intolerance and diabetes, raised pressure inside the skull, fluid retention, effects on the adrenal and thyroid glands, and pancreatitis.1
In detail Why a cancer risk is theorised

The worry rests on established biology plus a few animal findings with CJC-1295:

  1. Growth hormone and IGF-1 are growth signals. The tesamorelin label calls IGF-1 “a growth factor” and growth hormone “a known growth factor”, and rules out its use in people with active cancer.24 In observational studies, people with higher IGF-1 levels had somewhat more prostate and premenopausal breast cancer; the links were modest and varied by cancer type.48
  2. Too much GHRH makes the pituitary grow. In a young woman whose pancreatic tumour released GHRH, the pituitary’s growth hormone cells multiplied and she developed acromegaly; removing the tumour brought her hormones back to normal.49 Mice engineered to make human GHRH grew “enormous pituitary glands”.50 The FDA cites these mice as the reason long-term cancer studies of CJC-1295 would be needed.1
  3. CJC-1295 did this in mice. After 8 weeks of CJC-1295, mouse pituitaries were 47% heavier than in mice given salt water (weighed in 10 and 9 mice), with more signs of DNA damage . The authors link the constant cAMP signal to DNA damage in pituitary tumour cells.19 In mice born without GHRH, CJC-1295 made growth hormone cells multiply .22

So the concern is that months of CJC-1295 could enlarge the pituitary, or help an existing, perhaps undiagnosed, tumour grow. There are honest limits to it. The mouse study was short and small, DNA damage is not cancer, and we found no reported case of a tumour after CJC-1295. But no one has looked: there are no carcinogenicity studies and no long-term follow-up of people.1

In detail What the animal tests showed

The developer’s toxicology is known only from conference abstracts, as summarised by the FDA.1

  • Injection site. Bleeding, inflammation and some tissue death at the injection site in rats and dogs given repeated injections for up to 14 days; in dogs also pain, redness, swelling and thickened skin.
  • Blood. About 5 to 16% fewer red blood cells; higher cholesterol in both species.
  • Behaviour. Less food intake and activity in rats; vomiting and less activity in dogs.
  • Pregnancy. In one rat study, mothers ate more and gained more weight and the fetuses were slightly heavier; no malformations were seen.
  • Immune system. A 6-month monkey study reported no immune effects; the FDA called its data vague.

The FDA concluded that these studies “may pose safety risks” for the DAC versions, and that no toxicity data exist at all for the version without DAC.1

In detail Risks from the product itself
  • The wrong version. A vial labelled “CJC-1295” may hold the version with DAC, the version without it, a blend, or a variant whose effects are unknown.1,12,14 The two versions are different molecules, and the FDA says what is known about how one acts cannot be applied to the other.1
  • Impurities and clumps. Certificates of analysis that the FDA reviewed reported purity, but not specific impurities, clumps of peptide (aggregates) or bacterial endotoxin, which matter most for anything injected.1
  • Salt forms. The developer’s own early study used a trifluoroacetate (TFA) salt, and the FDA notes that TFA is known to be toxic and can make peptides more likely to trigger the immune system. The listings the FDA reviewed did not say which salt they sold.1
  • Immune reactions. Injected peptides can trigger antibodies, from harmless ones to severe reactions. CJC-1295 is 86% identical to the body’s own GHRH, so antibodies against it could also act against your own hormone.1

See product risk.

If someone is going to do this anyway

This section exists to reduce harm. It gives no doses, schedules or sourcing advice, and it is not a recommendation to use this compound.

How can someone lower the risk?

Check the vial and its label, get key blood tests with a doctor, and know when to stop.

If your product did not come from a pharmacy: check before you use it

These checks can show that something is wrong. None of them can show that a product is good or free of germs.51,52,53

Tick each box when you have checked it.

  • The seal and the vial are whole

    A broken cap or seal, or a cracked vial, can let germs in. Then do not use it.54,55,56

  • The label shows the name, amount, batch number and expiry date

    In the EU, a medicine must show all four, even on a small vial. If one is missing, or the date has passed, that is a warning sign. Take a photo of the label.57,54

  • For CJC-1295

    Check which version the label names. 'With DAC' and 'without DAC' (Mod GRF 1-29) are different substances. A label that only says CJC-1295 does not tell you which.1,12

  • It looks right

    A liquid, or a powder after mixing, should be clear and colourless, with no bits. Is it cloudy, has it changed colour, or do you see bits? Then do not use it.24,58

  • A lab report proves little if:

    • its batch number is not the one on your vial;
    • it does not name the lab, or has no date or signature;
    • it shows only purity (HPLC), with no test of what it is, such as mass spectrometry;
    • it has no test for germs (sterility) or for toxins from germs (endotoxin).

    Even a full report covers only one sample. A report from the seller comes from someone who gains if it looks good. It cannot show that your vial is clean.59,60,61,62,63

    What a certificate of analysis shows, and what it does not

  • It was kept as the label says

    Heat, freezing and sunlight can damage a peptide. Did it arrive warm, or was it frozen? Then do not use it. Often nobody can tell you how it was kept on the way. If you cannot know, you cannot rule out damage. When in doubt, throw it out.58,64,65,56

    When to throw a vial away

  • Clean steps, and a new sterile needle and syringe every time

    Wash your hands and wipe the rubber top with alcohol. Never share a needle, a syringe or a vial.56,66,64

    Sterile technique, step by step

  • Keep the vial, its label and any papers

    Keep them, even when the vial is empty, until you know you feel well. If you need a doctor, bring them. A lab can test what was inside.67,68

    If something goes wrong

  • Tell a doctor, and agree which checks fit you

    A doctor can help you choose blood tests that fit what you use. In the Netherlands, your doctor must keep what you say private.69,70,71

    Which checks matter, and whyTalking to your doctor

  • Know the warning signs before you start

    Spreading redness, fever, a swollen face or hard breathing need help fast. If it is severe, call your local emergency number.72,73,74

    All warning signs, and how fast to act

Talk to a doctor first

A doctor can check for the conditions where extra growth hormone matters most: cancer, diabetes or prediabetes, heart disease and pregnancy. A doctor can also measure IGF-1 and blood sugar before and during use. IGF-1 is the usual way to see how hard the growth hormone system is being pushed.24,20 See talking to your doctor and monitoring.

Sources 1, 24

Stop-now warning signs

Call your local emergency number now

  • Confusion or slurred speech, very fast breathing, or pale, blue or blotchy skin, often with fever or shivering These can be signs of sepsis: the body's reaction to an infection has started to damage its own organs.
  • Fainting and not waking up within a minute, or fainting with chest pain, a racing heart or a fit This can be a dangerous heart rhythm or a severe allergic reaction.
  • Pain at the injection spot that is much worse than it looks, or dark, purple or grey patches or blisters there This can be a rare, fast-spreading infection of the deep layers under the skin (necrotising fasciitis).
  • Swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, trouble breathing or swallowing, wheezing, a hoarse voice, or feeling faint, soon after an injection This can be a severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis), which is life-threatening and gets worse very quickly.
  • Pain, pressure or tightness in the chest, or pain that spreads to the arm, neck, jaw or back This can be a heart attack, which needs treatment in hospital straight away.
  • Sudden, severe shortness of breath: gasping, or not able to finish a sentence This can be a serious problem with the heart, the lungs or an allergic reaction.
  • A racing, pounding or irregular heartbeat that does not settle, or that comes with chest pain, breathlessness or fainting This can be a dangerous heart rhythm.
  • A sudden, severe headache with blurred vision, chest pain, confusion or vomiting Blood pressure may be dangerously high, which can damage the brain, heart, kidneys and eyes.
  • An erection that lasts more than 3 hours, or a painful erection that will not go down Blood trapped in the penis can damage it for good if it is not treated quickly.
  • Sudden weakness or numbness on one side, a drooping face, or slurred or confused speech These are signs of a stroke, which needs treatment in hospital straight away, even if the signs pass.
  • A headache that starts suddenly and is extremely painful, or a headache with a stiff neck, confusion or a fit This can be a stroke or another emergency in the brain.
  • Sudden loss of sight in one or both eyes This can be a stroke or damage to the nerve of the eye, and sight can be lost for good.
  • A fit (seizure): jerking movements, or suddenly not responding A fit can be caused by very low blood sugar or a problem in the brain, and needs checks straight away.

Get medical help today

  • Fever, shivering or feeling very ill in the days after an injection Germs from the needle, the skin or the product may have reached your blood. If you also have a fast heartbeat or fast breathing, call your local emergency number.
  • Redness, heat, swelling or pain around the injection spot that keeps growing or getting worse This can be a skin infection (cellulitis), which needs antibiotics before it spreads.
  • Red lines that run from the injection spot towards the armpit or groin The infection may be spreading along the lymph vessels, and from there into the blood. If you also have a fever with a fast heartbeat or fast breathing, call your local emergency number.
  • A painful, warm lump that fills with pus This is probably an abscess: it often needs draining by a doctor, so do not squeeze it.
  • You were pricked by a needle that someone else had used Blood on a used needle can pass on HIV and hepatitis B or C, and preventive treatment works best within hours.

Stop and contact a doctor

  • You fainted, but woke up quickly and now feel well Fainting is often harmless, but a doctor should check the cause.
  • A new mole, or a mole that changes size, shape or colour, itches or bleeds A changing mole can be skin cancer, and tanning peptides such as melanotan II have been linked to new and changing moles in case reports.
  • A lump at an injection spot that does not go away, or keeps growing A doctor should check whether it is an abscess, a reaction to the product or something else.
  • An itchy, raised rash, or puffy eyes or lips, while breathing stays normal Your body may be reacting to the product, and using it again can bring the reaction back.
  • Palpitations that keep coming back, even if they pass and you then feel well A doctor can check whether your heart rhythm is normal.
In detail Checks that make sense, and why

A doctor can help you choose which of these fit you:

  • IGF-1, before you start and during use, because it shows how much the growth hormone system is being pushed. Growth hormone itself changes too fast to measure in one blood test. The tesamorelin label asks for regular IGF-1 checks.20,24
  • Fasting blood sugar or HbA1c, because growth hormone makes the body respond less to insulin.47,24
  • Blood pressure and heart rate, because heart rate rose and blood pressure briefly dropped in the studies.1
  • Cancer screening that is due for your age, and any lump or unexplained symptom checked first, because IGF-1 and growth hormone are growth signals.24,48
  • Telling the doctor exactly what you use, including blends, so that test results are read correctly.
In detail When to stop and see a doctor (not an emergency)
  • Swollen ankles, feet or hands, or a feeling of tightness in the skin: fluid retention.24,75
  • Tingling or numbness in the fingers, or new joint or muscle pain: possible carpal tunnel syndrome or other effects of fluid retention.24
  • Feeling very thirsty, peeing a lot, or feeling unusually tired: possible high blood sugar.76
  • Hives or itching at the injection site that keep coming back: a possible immune reaction.1
  • A new lump anywhere.24
In detail Who should not use it, and who needs a doctor first

These groups should not use it:

  • Anyone with cancer now. Growth hormone and IGF-1 are growth signals. The approved GHRH analogue tesamorelin must not be used with active cancer.24
  • Anyone pregnant, breastfeeding or trying to conceive. There are no human data, and only one rat study of CJC-1295 in pregnancy, known from an abstract.1 Tesamorelin must not be used in pregnancy. In rats, tesamorelin caused fluid on the brain in the offspring.24
  • Children and teenagers, who are still growing. There are no data.1
  • Athletes who can be tested, because it is prohibited at all times.30

These groups face extra risk and need a doctor’s advice first:

  • People who have had cancer. The tesamorelin label asks for careful thought before use after past cancer.24
  • People with diabetes or prediabetes, because blood sugar can rise.47,24
  • People with heart disease. Heart rate rose and blood pressure dropped in healthy volunteers, and effects on the heart were never studied.1
In detail Possible interactions (none has been studied)
  • Diabetes medicines. If blood sugar rises, the dose of these medicines may need to change; the tesamorelin label says so.24
  • Steroid replacement for underactive adrenal glands. The tesamorelin label says the dose may need to go up.24
  • Medicines broken down by liver enzymes (such as steroids, sex hormones, some epilepsy medicines and ciclosporin). Growth hormone may change how fast the liver clears them.24
  • Blends and other products that raise growth hormone, such as ipamorelin or GHRP blends. They may add to the same effects. If something goes wrong, no one can tell which part caused it.1
In detail Clean injecting and reporting side effects

Needles and syringes are sterile single-use items, and infections have spread when this was not respected.77 Use a new sterile needle and syringe every time, and see sterile technique and injection safety. In the Netherlands, side effects of any product can be reported to Lareb.78 If something goes wrong, see what to do if something goes wrong.

Sources

Every claim on this page links to one of these sources. Scholarly sources link to their DOI; regulatory sources to the regulator's own page.

In detail All 80 sources, numbered as in the text
  1. U.S. Food and Drug Administration (2024). FDA Briefing Document for CJC-1295-Related Bulk Drug Substances (CJC-1295 (free base), CJC-1295 acetate, CJC-1295 with drug affinity complex (DAC) (free base), CJC-1295 DAC acetate and CJC-1295 DAC trifluoroacetate), Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee meeting, 4 December 2024. Regulator fda.gov — accessed 22 October 2026 ↩
  2. U.S. Food and Drug Administration / NCATS (2026). Global Substance Registration System: CJC-1295 (UNII 62RC32V9N7). GSRS. Dataset gsrs.ncats.nih.gov — accessed 22 October 2026 ↩
  3. National Center for Biotechnology Information (2026). PubChem Compound Summary for CID 56841945 (tetrasubstituted GRF(1-29) amide, the peptide sold as 'CJC-1295 without DAC'). PubChem. Dataset pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov — accessed 22 October 2026 ↩
  4. Jetté L, Léger R, Thibaudeau K, Benquet C, Robitaille M, Pellerin I, et al. (2005). Human growth hormone-releasing factor (hGRF)1-29-albumin bioconjugates activate the GRF receptor on the anterior pituitary in rats: identification of CJC-1295 as a long-lasting GRF analog. Endocrinology 146:3052-3058. Research article doi:10.1210/en.2004-1286 ↩
  5. Teichman SL, Neale A, Lawrence B, Gagnon C, Castaigne JP, Frohman LA (2006). 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. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 91:799-805. Clinical trial doi:10.1210/jc.2005-1536 ↩
  6. European Medicines Agency (2026). Medicines data download (JSON report of all EPARs: authorised, refused, withdrawn and suspended medicines). Dataset ema.europa.eu — accessed 20 October 2026 ↩
  7. National Center for Biotechnology Information (2026). PubChem Compound Summary for CID 91971820 (CJC-1295). PubChem. Dataset pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov — accessed 22 October 2026 ↩
  8. Timms M, Ganio K, Forbes G, Bailey S, Steel R (2019). An immuno polymerase chain reaction screen for the detection of CJC-1295 and other growth-hormone-releasing hormone analogs in equine plasma. Drug Testing and Analysis 11:804-812. Research article doi:10.1002/dta.2554 ↩
  9. Ionescu M, Frohman LA (2006). Pulsatile secretion of growth hormone (GH) persists during continuous stimulation by CJC-1295, a long-acting GH-releasing hormone analog. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 91:4792-4797. Clinical trial doi:10.1210/jc.2006-1702 ↩
  10. ClinicalTrials.gov (2006). NCT00267527: A multicenter, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, phase 2 study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of CJC 1295 administered for 12 weeks in HIV infected patients with HIV associated visceral obesity. Trial registration clinicaltrials.gov — accessed 22 October 2026 ↩
  11. EU Clinical Trials Register (2005). EudraCT 2005-003797-25: A multicenter, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind phase 2 study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of CJC-1295 (Germany). Trial registration clinicaltrialsregister.eu — accessed 22 October 2026 ↩
  12. Henninge J, Pepaj M, Hullstein I, Hemmersbach P (2010). Identification of CJC-1295, a growth-hormone-releasing peptide, in an unknown pharmaceutical preparation. Drug Testing and Analysis 2:647-650. Research article doi:10.1002/dta.233 ↩
  13. Memdouh S, Gavrilović I, Ng K, Cowan D, Abbate V (2021). Advances in the detection of growth hormone releasing hormone synthetic analogs. Drug Testing and Analysis 13:1871-1887. Research article doi:10.1002/dta.3183 ↩
  14. Gajda PM, Holm NB, Hoej LJ, Rasmussen BS, Dalsgaard PW, Reitzel LA, Linnet K (2019). Glycine-modified growth hormone secretagogues identified in seized doping material. Drug Testing and Analysis 11:350-354. Research article doi:10.1002/dta.2489 ↩
  15. Veldhuis JD, Anderson SM, Shah N, Bray M, Vick T, Gentili A, et al. (2001). Neurophysiological regulation and target-tissue impact of the pulsatile mode of growth hormone secretion in the human. Growth Hormone & IGF Research 11 Suppl A:S25-S37. Review doi:10.1016/s1096-6374(01)80005-8 ↩
  16. de Sousa LMM, Vicente VAN, Donato J (2025). Negative Feedback Loops and Hormonal Factors that Regulate GH Secretion. Endocrinology 166:bqaf139. Review doi:10.1210/endocr/bqaf139 ↩
  17. Haraldsson B, Nyström J, Deen WM (2008). Properties of the glomerular barrier and mechanisms of proteinuria. Physiological Reviews 88:451-487. Review doi:10.1152/physrev.00055.2006 ↩
  18. Mayo KE, Miller T, DeAlmeida V, Godfrey P, Zheng J, Cunha SR (2000). Regulation of the pituitary somatotroph cell by GHRH and its receptor. Recent Progress in Hormone Research 55:237-266. Review PMID 11036940 ↩
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