CJC-1295
GHRH analogue · Also sold as Mod GRF 1-29 or CJC-1295 no-DAC, which is a related but shorter-acting compound
- UK status
- Unlicensed medicine
- Availability
- Research use only
- Evidence base
- No human trials supporting marketed claims
- Controlled drug
- No, but WADA prohibited
Sequence
A modified fragment of growth hormone releasing hormone. Verify the exact notation against the literature before publishing one.
CJC-1295 is the most commonly sold growth hormone peptide in the UK grey market. It does not contain growth hormone. It is designed to make your pituitary release more of your own, which is a legally and pharmacologically different proposition, and not a safer one.
01What it is
Growth hormone releasing hormone, GHRH, is the signal from the hypothalamus that tells the pituitary gland to release growth hormone. CJC-1295 is a modified analogue of that signal, engineered to resist breakdown so it lasts far longer than the natural hormone.
Two versions circulate and they are meaningfully different. The version with DAC, a drug affinity complex, binds to albumin in the blood and acts over days. The version without DAC, often sold as Mod GRF 1-29, clears within minutes to hours. Sellers frequently use the name CJC-1295 for both.
Two products under one name, with completely different durations of action, is a labelling problem before it is anything else. If a seller is not clear about which one they are shipping, that tells you something about the rest of their operation.
02UK legal and licensing status
CJC-1295 has no MHRA authorisation for any indication in any patient group. Supplying it for human use without a marketing authorisation is unlawful under the Human Medicines Regulations 2012. It is not itself scheduled under the Misuse of Drugs Act, though growth hormone, the thing it is intended to raise, is a Class C controlled drug.
It is sold as a research chemical labelled not for human consumption. That label describes the seller's legal position. It does not survive contact with the law if the product is plainly being marketed to consumers with dosing tables and physique claims alongside it.
Athletes: WADA lists GHRH and its analogues, naming CJC-1293, CJC-1295, sermorelin and tesamorelin, under S2.2.4. Prohibited at all times, in and out of competition. Detection methods for CJC-1295 have been developed and are in use by accredited laboratories. There are no therapeutic use exemptions for unapproved substances, and strict liability applies.
03How it works
It binds GHRH receptors in the pituitary, increasing growth hormone secretion. The sustained-release version raises growth hormone over days rather than in the pulses the body normally produces.
That difference from normal physiology is the part most marketing skips. Growth hormone is released in pulses, largely at night, and the clinical significance of holding it elevated continuously has not been established in humans. It is a reason for caution, not reassurance.
Downstream, growth hormone raises IGF-1, insulin-like growth factor 1, which mediates much of its effect on tissue. IGF-1 is the blood marker people use to judge whether something is happening.
04What the evidence shows
There is early human pharmacology showing that CJC-1295 raises growth hormone and IGF-1 concentrations. So the mechanism is real. What does not exist is controlled human trial evidence that this produces the outcomes it is sold for: muscle gain, fat loss, better recovery, better sleep, slower ageing.
A drug can reliably move a blood marker and still not deliver a benefit. Demonstrating that growth hormone goes up is the easy part. Demonstrating that the person is better off, and not worse off years later, requires trials that have not been run.
The FDA has classified CJC-1295 as a substance with safety concerns for compounding purposes, citing safety and regulatory risk.
Long-term human safety is unknown. Sustained elevation of growth hormone and IGF-1 raises questions about glucose metabolism and tissue growth that the existing evidence cannot answer either way, and no approved label, standardised preparation or purity standard exists.
05Reported harms
No authoritative side effect profile exists, because that comes from regulated trials and an SPC. Effects reported with growth hormone excess more generally include fluid retention, joint pain, carpal tunnel symptoms and impaired glucose tolerance, and it is reasonable to expect a compound designed to raise growth hormone to carry related risks.
The documented risks are those of unregulated supply: unverified identity, inaccurate concentration, non-sterile preparation, endotoxin contamination, and no recall route. For a blend sold with ipamorelin, every one of those questions doubles.
06Sources
Links go to the primary source. Where a source is behind a paywall or requires registration, the citation is given so you can find it yourself.
- Unlicensed medicines guidanceMHRA
- Prohibited List, S2.2.4 growth hormone releasing factorsWADA
- Regulatory status of compounded peptidesFDA bulk drug substances review
- CJC-1295 human pharmacology studiesPubMed
- Yellow Card reportingMHRA
07Change history
Every substantive change to this record is logged here with its date. Corrections are made openly, not quietly.
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