C tier · mixed
It has genuine published human randomised pharmacodynamic data and by far the longest half-life in this group, but no trial has ever administered it to patients with a disease, and the only phase 2 programme was terminated after a participant death.
cjc-1295 with dac
CJC-1295 with DAC is a tetrasubstituted GHRH(1-29) analogue bearing a maleimidopropionyl group that covalently binds circulating albumin, extending its half-life to roughly a week. Two randomised placebo-controlled trials in healthy adults showed sustained GH and IGF-1 elevation, but development was discontinued in 2006 after a death in a phase 2 trial and no efficacy trial in any disease has been published.
// we supply this one
available as a research reagent
≥ 99% HPLC · lyophilised powder · batch certificate published. Grade C above is our own and is not adjusted because we stock it.
the explanation
CJC-1295 with DAC is a GHRH copy with a chemical hook that latches onto albumin, a protein already circulating in blood, so one injection keeps working for about a week instead of minutes. Real randomised human studies showed it raises growth hormone and IGF-1 for days, but the company stopped development in 2006 after a patient in a trial died, and it has never been tested in anyone with an actual disease.
regulatory status
Not approved; development discontinued; rejected for compounding
Developed by ConjuChem and withdrawn from clinical trials in 2006 after a participant death in a phase 2 lipodystrophy study; FDA proposed at the 4 December 2024 PCAC meeting that all five CJC-1295 forms, including DAC free base, DAC acetate and DAC trifluoroacetate, NOT be included on the 503A Bulks List.
how it works · proposed mechanism
CJC-1295 with DAC solves the GHRH half-life problem by attaching the peptide to a protein that already circulates for weeks.
Four substitutions block degradation
The peptide backbone is GRF(1-29) with D-Ala at position 2, Gln at 8, Ala at 15 and Leu at 27. D-Ala2 in particular blocks the dipeptidyl peptidase-4 cleavage that destroys native GHRH within minutes.
The DAC binds albumin covalently
A maleimidopropionyl group on a C-terminal lysine reacts with a free thiol on circulating serum albumin, forming a covalent bond. The peptide then shares albumin's long residence time, giving a measured half-life of 5.8 to 8.1 days.
Pulsatility survives constant stimulation
Ionescu and Frohman 2006 found GH secretion remained pulsatile despite continuous GHRH-receptor stimulation. Hypothalamic somatostatin withdrawal, not GHRH availability, appears to set the pulse rhythm.
IGF-1 outlasts the GH signal
Teichman 2006 measured GH elevation of 2- to 10-fold for 6 days or more, but IGF-1 stayed 1.5- to 3-fold elevated for 9 to 11 days after a single dose. With repeated dosing IGF-1 remained elevated for up to 28 days.
what’s reported
evidence shape
5 sourcesThe composition of the cited literature by study type. This describes the shape of the evidence, not its quality — and it does not by itself set the grade.
⚠ the catch
ConjuChem terminated the phase 2 programme in July 2006 after a participant in an HIV-lipodystrophy trial died; the attending physician attributed it to asymptomatic coronary artery disease with plaque rupture and the data were never published, so the question was closed by abandonment rather than answered. FDA's 2024 review additionally noted in vitro and in vivo evidence of DNA damage in pituitary cells at tested concentrations, dose-dependent injection-site irritation, inflammation and necrosis in animals, and stated that no study has ever administered any form of CJC-1295 to subjects with a disease or condition.
key published findings
- Human RCT (Teichman, JCEM 2006, 91:799-805): two randomised placebo-controlled double-blind ascending-dose trials of 28 and 49 days in healthy adults aged 21-61 produced dose-dependent increases in mean plasma GH of 2- to 10-fold for 6 days or more and IGF-1 of 1.5- to 3-fold for 9-11 days, with an estimated half-life of 5.8-8.1 days.
- Human study (Ionescu and Frohman, JCEM 2006, 91:4792-7): pulsatile GH secretion persisted during continuous stimulation by CJC-1295 in healthy men, indicating hypothalamic somatostatin rather than GHRH availability governs pulse timing.
- Terminated trial (ConjuChem, July 2006): a phase 2 study in HIV-associated lipodystrophy reported as enrolling roughly 192 participants was halted after a subject died hours after an eleventh injection at an Argentine site; the attending physician attributed the death to asymptomatic coronary artery disease with plaque rupture and occlusion, and the data remain unpublished.
- Regulatory review (FDA PCAC briefing, December 2024): FDA identified only three published studies administering any form of CJC-1295 to humans (Ionescu 2006, Teichman 2006, Sackmann-Sala 2009), all in healthy subjects, and concluded no study has administered CJC-1295 to subjects with a disease or condition.
- Regulatory review (FDA PCAC briefing, December 2024): CJC-1295 DAC remained detectable up to 72 hours after subcutaneous injection in rats compared with native GHRH(1-29) detectable only up to 1 hour, and FDA flagged genotoxicity findings of DNA damage in pituitary cells.
limitations of the evidence
- No trial has ever enrolled patients with growth hormone deficiency, lipodystrophy or any other condition and reported an efficacy endpoint; all published human data are pharmacodynamic studies in healthy volunteers.
- The circumstances of the 2006 trial death were never independently published or adjudicated, so causality with respect to CJC-1295 is unresolved.
- Nomenclature in the literature and in commerce is inconsistent, with 'CJC-1295' used for both the DAC and non-DAC forms, making it difficult to attribute reported effects to the correct molecule.
identity
| full name | Nε30-maleimidopropionyl-[D-Ala2, Gln8, Ala15, Leu27]-GRF(1-29)-Lys30 amide, drug affinity complex form |
| category | Growth Hormone |
| modality | peptide |
| formula | C165H269N47O46 |
| molar mass | 3647.95 g/mol |
| cas | 446262-90-4 |
| half-life | ~5.8-8.1 days (Teichman 2006, healthy adults) |
| sequence | 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(Nε-maleimidopropionyl)-NH2 |
laboratory handling
| storage | Lyophilised peptide is stored desiccated at -20°C or below and protected from light for long-term laboratory storage; short-term storage at 2-8°C is used for material in active use. Reconstituted solution is held at 2-8°C and not subjected to repeated freeze-thaw cycles. |
| solubility | Reconstituted with bacteriostatic or sterile water in laboratory settings; the maleimide group is moisture- and thiol-sensitive, so solutions are prepared fresh and not stored at room temperature. |
| co-studied with | As a GHRH-receptor agonist it is the GHRH arm of the GHRH-plus-GHRP co-study design, most often paired with ipamorelin in non-clinical literature on the rationale that separate receptors and second messengers give supra-additive GH release, but no controlled trial of the combination has been published. |
Handling information describes laboratory practice for a research reagent. It is not a preparation guide for use in humans.
the receipts
5 citedU.S. Food and Drug Administration · 2024 · official
U.S. Food and Drug Administration · 2024 · official
Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism · 2006 · peer-reviewed
Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism · 2006 · peer-reviewed
aidsmap (NAM) · 2006 · review
others in Growth Hormone