CJC-1295 + Ipamorelin

What it is

CJC-1295 is a lab-made version of growth-hormone-releasing hormone, developed by ConjuChem. The name hides an important split:

• CJC-1295 with DAC (Drug Affinity Complex) binds to albumin in the blood and has a half-life of roughly 6–8 days, producing sustained growth-hormone release.
• CJC-1295 without DAC, also called Modified GRF 1-29, lasts roughly half an hour and produces a short pulse.

Those are pharmacologically different compounds wearing the same shorthand. Consumer material labeled "CJC-1295" is often the short-acting no-DAC form even when the claim attached to it comes from long-acting DAC data. (Wikipedia — CJC-1295, with sourcing)

Ipamorelin is a five-amino-acid peptide that triggers growth-hormone release through the ghrelin receptor. Novo Nordisk developed it as NNC 26-0161 and later abandoned the drug program. One popular claim does survive contact with the data: ipamorelin raises growth hormone without meaningfully raising prolactin, ACTH, or cortisol in the primary characterization work. (Wikipedia — Ipamorelin, with sourcing)

What humans actually show

• CJC-1295 with DAC—human: The main human study was a placebo-controlled dose-ranging trial in healthy adults. Growth hormone rose 2- to 10-fold for 6 days or more. IGF-1 rose 1.5- to 3-fold for 9–11 days. The drug was reported as safe and relatively well tolerated in that study. What did the trial measure? Hormone levels—not body composition, strength, or aging. (Teichman et al., JCEM 2006)
• Ipamorelin—human: The completed human program targeted postoperative ileus, meaning sluggish bowel after surgery, not physique. In a proof-of-concept trial of roughly 114 people, it missed its primary endpoint, time to first tolerated meal (p≈0.15), and development stopped. (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00672074)
• Animal: Ipamorelin raises GH, promotes body-weight gain, and induced longitudinal bone growth in rodents. That's where the growth effects are actually demonstrated.
• The stack (CJC-1295 + ipamorelin together): No human trial of the combination exists. Every claim about the pair's effect on muscle or fat is extrapolated from general GH research and clinical observation, not from a study of the stack.

The measured part is hormone release. The desired outcomes—leaner, stronger, younger—are the extrapolation. No human trial closes that gap for the stack.

FDA and U.S. status

• Neither is FDA-approved for any use.
• Compounding: CJC-1295 and ipamorelin were removed from Category 2 in September 2024 after nominators withdrew nominations, then referred to PCAC — which voted against recommending them for the 503A bulks list at its October and December 2024 meetings. Category 2 status has effectively prohibited their compounding. (FDA Law Blog, April 2026)
• Not on the July 2026 agenda: unlike BPC-157 and TB-500, neither CJC-1295 nor ipamorelin is among the seven peptides under review July 23–24, 2026.
• WADA / sport: Prohibited at all times under S2.2 (growth-hormone-releasing factors and secretagogues). Modified CJC-1295 can be detectable for 28+ days. (WADA 2026 Prohibited List)

Risks and warning limits

• Commonly reported: Water retention and numbness or tingling (paresthesias), consistent with growth-hormone-axis stimulation. These are mostly clinic- and user-level reports, not controlled-trial results.
• IGF-1 elevation → theoretical cancer concern: IGF-1 is a mitogen (it promotes cell division); sustained elevation is a recognized theoretical proliferation/cancer-growth concern. No human data establishes or excludes this risk for these peptides.
• Ipamorelin selectivity: genuinely supported — it doesn't meaningfully raise prolactin or cortisol, unlike some older GH-releasing peptides.
• On the "CJC-1295 killed someone" rumor: there is one documented trial death — in ConjuChem's 2006 Phase 2 program in HIV-related fat redistribution — which the attending physician attributed to pre-existing coronary artery disease, "unrelated to treatment." The trial was halted as a precaution. The popular claim that a DAC impurity caused deaths is not supported by what we could find; we don't repeat it as fact. (aidsmap, 2006)
• No long-term human safety data for the stack.

What people are hearing

• Clinic framing: Anti-aging and wellness clinics market the pair as a compounded "GH peptide" stack. That is a market description, not evidence of a studied combination.
• Common misconceptions: "Natural HGH without the risks" (growth hormone rises, but "without the risks" is unsupported); "builds muscle while you sleep" (no human outcome trial; muscle and bone effects are shown in rodents); "CJC-1295 lasts all week" (true only of the with-DAC form, while much consumer material uses the roughly 30-minute no-DAC form).
• Product reality: Compounded and research material circulates under names that may not make the DAC distinction clear.

What would change this answer

• Whether either peptide is ever re-nominated for 503A after the 2024 rejection.
• Any human outcome trial (fat, muscle, function) of either agent or the combination — none exists today.
• Enforcement against clinics compounding the stack post-Category-2.

Sources and records

• Teichman et al., JCEM 2006 — CJC-1295 human PK/safety (hormone levels only)
• ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00672074 — ipamorelin postoperative ileus (failed)
• FDA Law Blog, April 2026 — PCAC voted against CJC-1295 / ipamorelin
• WADA 2026 Prohibited List (S2)
• aidsmap, 2006 — the ConjuChem trial death, attributed to coronary disease

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