CJC-1295 and Ipamorelin: Reading the Research Separately

CJC-1295 and ipamorelin are often sold and discussed as a pair. They are different molecules that act on the growth hormone system in different ways, and their research records are separate. This profile keeps them apart and explains what was measured for each. We do not give dosing or usage guidance.

Two molecules, two mechanisms

CJC-1295 is a modified version of the first 29 amino acids of growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH), the body's own signal for releasing growth hormone. As first described by its developer, it carries an added chemical group that attaches to albumin in the blood, which kept it in circulation for days in rats ^{Source [1]}.

Ipamorelin is a synthetic five-amino-acid peptide that releases growth hormone through a different route, the growth hormone secretagogue receptor, which also responds to the hormone ghrelin. In its developer's studies it released growth hormone from rat pituitary cells, in rats and in pigs, and in pigs it did so without the rises in the stress hormones ACTH and cortisol seen with two older compounds in its class, GHRP-6 and GHRP-2 ^{Source [2]}.

"With DAC" and "without DAC"

The name CJC-1295 is used for two different things. In the developer's original paper, CJC-1295 is the version of the 29-amino-acid peptide, with four amino acids substituted, that carries the extra albumin-binding group ^{Source [1]}. A 2026 review of growth hormone-related peptides notes that this albumin-binding version, often sold as "with DAC" (drug affinity complex), is the one tested in the human trials. Products sold as "CJC-1295 without DAC", which the review equates with "Mod GRF 1-29", lack the albumin-binding group and therefore lack the feature that prolongs exposure. The review found no peer-reviewed human studies of the version without DAC ^{Source [3]}. Research on one cannot be credited to the other.

What was studied in people: CJC-1295

Two randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trials in healthy adults aged 21 to 61 measured hormone levels after the peptide was injected under the skin. Growth hormone and IGF-1, a hormone produced in response to growth hormone, rose in a dose-dependent way and stayed elevated for days after a single injection. No serious adverse reactions were reported ^{Source [4]}. A follow-up study in healthy young men found that the normal pulses of growth hormone release were preserved while baseline levels rose ^{Source [5]}.

These studies measured hormone levels, not outcomes such as body composition, strength, recovery or aging. A phase 2 trial in people with HIV-associated abdominal fat was registered in 2005 and is listed as terminated, with no results posted ^{Source [6]}.

FDA's page on compounding substances that may present significant safety risks states that FDA has identified serious adverse events associated with CJC-1295, including increased heart rate and a body-wide blood vessel dilation reaction, and that clinical data are limited ^{Source [7]}.

What was studied in people: ipamorelin

In healthy male volunteers, ipamorelin given by short intravenous infusion produced a single, short-lived episode of growth hormone release that declined to negligible levels ^{Source [8]}. That study measured drug and hormone levels only, not any health outcome.

Its main clinical development was for postoperative ileus, the slowdown of gut function after abdominal surgery. In rats after abdominal surgery, intravenous ipamorelin shortened the time to the first bowel movement ^{Source [9]}. In people, a randomized, placebo-controlled phase 2 trial in 114 analyzed patients after bowel resection found it well tolerated, but there were no significant differences from placebo in the key or secondary efficacy measures ^{Source [10]}. A larger phase 2 trial with 320 participants is listed as completed, with no results posted on the registry ^{Source [11]}.

FDA's safety-risk page also cites a published report of serious adverse events, including death, with intravenous ipamorelin given to improve gut motility, and notes that FDA lacks safety information for certain other injectable routes ^{Source [7]}.

The combination

In a PubMed search on October 18, 2026, we found no published human study that tested CJC-1295 and ipamorelin together. The 2026 review describes such pairings as part of online self-administration protocols, not clinical research, and notes that no long-term safety data are available for these peptides ^{Source [3]}. See how to read a peptide study for why an untested combination cannot borrow evidence from its parts.

Regulatory status as of October 18, 2026

Neither CJC-1295 nor ipamorelin is an FDA-approved drug. FDA's safety-risk page lists CJC-1295 and ipamorelin acetate among substances that were previously in Category 2 and whose nominations were withdrawn. Ipamorelin acetate also remains in Category 2 for outsourcing facilities under section 503B, the category FDA uses when it has identified significant safety risks ^{Source [7]}.

FDA's Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee has already voted on both. On October 29, 2024, it voted 0 in favor and 12 against, with one abstention, on placing ipamorelin on the 503A bulks list, with the same result for the free base and the acetate ^{Source [12]}. On December 4, 2024, it voted against listing every CJC-1295-related substance FDA presented. FDA reviewed them as separate ingredients, "CJC-1295" and "CJC-1295 with drug affinity complex (DAC)", each in free-base and salt forms, which is another sign that the name alone does not identify a molecule ^{Source [13]}. Neither substance was on the agenda of FDA's July 2026 Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee meeting ^{Source [14]}.

In sport, the 2026 WADA Prohibited List names CJC-1295 as a growth hormone-releasing hormone analogue and ipamorelin as a growth hormone secretagogue, both under S2.2.4 and both prohibited at all times ^{Source [15]}.

Research materials and consumer products belong to different categories. A listing, laboratory report, or research-use label does not establish suitability for personal use.

Open questions

• Do the hormone changes seen with CJC-1295 lead to any clinical benefit, and at what risk over time?
• What happens with repeated, long-term use of either molecule?
• Which version of "CJC-1295" does a given product contain, and has that version ever been studied in people?
• What was found in the larger ipamorelin trial that has not posted results?