Limited EvidencePeptide

CJC-1295 / Ipamorelin

The GH stack

GHRH Analog + Growth Hormone Secretagogue

Last updated: August 2026

Evidence Level: Limited Evidence

Mostly animal data or anecdotal reports, theoretical basis

Regulatory Status: Neither is FDA-approved. Both were added to FDA 503A Category 2 in 2023 and removed from Category 2 in September 2024, but neither has been added to the permitted 503A list.

CJC-1295 and ipamorelin are two peptides usually sold together to raise your own growth hormone output. CJC-1295 tells the pituitary to release GH; ipamorelin amplifies the size of each pulse. Each has some human pharmacology data showing it raises GH and IGF-1. The combination itself has never been studied in a clinical trial, and neither has been tested for the outcomes people actually want.

How It Works

These two peptides push the same lever from different angles, which is the entire rationale for stacking them.

CJC-1295 is a GHRH analog. Growth hormone-releasing hormone is the signal your hypothalamus sends to your pituitary saying "release growth hormone." CJC-1295 mimics that signal but is engineered to last far longer than natural GHRH, which is cleared in minutes. It sets the overall level of GH release.

Ipamorelin is a ghrelin receptor agonist. It works on a completely separate receptor, the one ghrelin uses, and amplifies the size of each GH pulse. It is described as "selective" because unlike older secretagogues it does not meaningfully raise cortisol or prolactin.

Why stack them. Because they hit different receptors, the theory is that together they produce a larger, more natural-looking GH pulse than either alone. Your pituitary still controls the release, so the pulsatile rhythm is preserved, which is the main argument for using these instead of injecting synthetic growth hormone directly.

The naming problem you need to know about. "CJC-1295" is used for two chemically different products, and clinics are not always clear about which one they mean.

- CJC-1295 with DAC is the one studied in the published human research. The DAC, or drug affinity complex, binds it to albumin in your blood so it lasts about a week. This is the molecule with a documented half-life of roughly 6 to 8 days.
- CJC-1295 without DAC is a different molecule, more accurately called modified GRF (1-29). It lasts about 30 minutes. Most "CJC-1295 / ipamorelin" blends sold today are the no-DAC version.

That distinction matters, because the pharmacology data people cite for CJC-1295 comes from the DAC version, while the product in most vials is not that molecule. If a clinic cannot tell you which one they are dispensing, that is a meaningful red flag.

The honest gap. Both peptides have human data showing they do what they say to GH and IGF-1 levels. Neither has published human trials showing that raising GH this way produces better body composition, better sleep, better recovery, or anything else people take them for. Those are the claims, and they are the part that has not been tested.

Evidence by Outcome

Each claim below is rated using a GRADE-aligned five-tier system. Same molecule, different outcomes, different evidence.

Evidence at a glance

How we grade

HormonalModerate
OtherPreclinical

Want to see how this compares to every other peptide? Browse the full evidence matrix, where every graded claim is grouped by outcome and sorted by certainty.

HormonalModerate certainty

CJC-1295 with DAC raises growth hormone and IGF-1 levels in healthy adults.

Population: Healthy adults aged 21 to 61

Why this rating

Direct human evidence from randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind ascending-dose trials with a clear dose-response and a well-characterized pharmacokinetic profile. Downgraded from high because the sample was small, the outcome is a hormone level rather than a health outcome, and the studied molecule (with DAC) is not the one most commonly sold.

GRADE downgrade factors applied

Imprecision: Wide confidence intervals or small sample size, the estimate could be substantially different.
Indirectness: Studied population, intervention, comparator, or outcome differs from the question being answered.

Supporting studies

Prolonged stimulation of GH and IGF-I secretion by CJC-1295 in healthy adultsRandomized Controlled Trial
Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism2006
GH increased 2 to 10 fold and IGF-1 increased 1.5 to 3 fold, sustained for days after a single dose.
PubMed 16352683

Reviewed 2026-08-24· Designing Longevity EditorialHow we grade

OtherPreclinical certainty

The CJC-1295 and ipamorelin combination improves body composition, recovery, or sleep quality.

Population: No population has been studied. The combination has never been evaluated in a clinical trial.

Why this rating

There are no published human trials of the CJC-1295 and ipamorelin combination for any outcome. The reasoning behind these claims is a chain of inferences: the peptides raise GH, growth hormone therapy affects body composition, therefore the peptides should too. Each link is plausible and none has been tested for this combination at these doses. Raising a hormone is not the same as producing a benefit.

GRADE downgrade factors applied

Indirectness: Studied population, intervention, comparator, or outcome differs from the question being answered.

Supporting studies

Ipamorelin phase 2b trial for postoperative ileusRandomized Controlled Trial
International Journal of Colorectal Disease2014
The only phase 2 human efficacy trial of ipamorelin targeted gut motility, not body composition, and did not meet its primary endpoint.

Reviewed 2026-08-24· Designing Longevity EditorialHow we grade

Potential Benefits

CJC-1295 with DAC raised GH by 2 to 10 times and IGF-1 by 1.5 to 3 times in a published human study
Ipamorelin is selective, meaning it raises GH without meaningfully raising cortisol or prolactin the way older secretagogues did
Preserves your pituitary's natural pulsatile release pattern, unlike injected synthetic growth hormone
Both were reasonably well tolerated in the human studies that were conducted
Ipamorelin advanced to phase 2 trials in humans, so it has more formal safety exposure than most gray-market peptides

Risks & Considerations

The combination has never been studied. All human data is for each peptide alone
No published trials measuring the outcomes people actually want: body composition, recovery, sleep quality, or aging markers
Raising IGF-1 chronically has theoretical cancer-promotion concerns, since IGF-1 is a growth signal, and no long-term human study has addressed this
Can cause water retention, joint aches, numbness or tingling, and insulin resistance, the same effects seen with growth hormone
Most products sold as "CJC-1295" are the no-DAC version, which is a different molecule from the one in the research
Neither is on the FDA's permitted 503A compounding list, so supply is inconsistent and quality varies
Banned in tested sport. Both will trigger a positive doping test

Dosing Information

Neither peptide has an approved dose for these uses. What follows is what clinics commonly prescribe and what the research used, so you can tell the difference between the two.

•Research doses of CJC-1295 with DAC were 30 to 60 micrograms per kilogram, given as infrequently as weekly because of the long half-life
•Clinic protocols for the no-DAC blend typically use 100 to 300mcg of each peptide, injected subcutaneously at night
•Nighttime dosing is standard because GH release naturally peaks during early deep sleep
•Dosing on an empty stomach is conventional, since elevated blood sugar blunts GH release
•Cycles of 3 to 6 months with breaks are common practice, not an evidence-based schedule
•Ask your clinic in writing whether you are getting CJC-1295 with or without DAC

Need to mix this from a vial?

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Practical Tips

1Ask which CJC-1295 you are being given. If the answer is vague, that tells you something about the pharmacy
2If you want the effect that actually has outcome data behind it, tesamorelin is the GHRH analog with FDA approval and hard endpoints
3Get baseline IGF-1 tested and retest on treatment. It is the only objective marker that tells you whether anything is happening
4Watch for carpal tunnel symptoms, swelling in the hands and feet, and rising fasting glucose. These are the classic GH-excess signals
5If you have a personal or family history of cancer, discuss the IGF-1 question with an oncologist before starting, not after
6These will fail a drug test in any tested sport

Key Research

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

Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 2006

Single injections of CJC-1295 with DAC produced dose-dependent increases in mean plasma GH of 2 to 10 times for 6 days or more, and IGF-1 increases of 1.5 to 3 times for 9 to 11 days. Estimated half-life was 5.8 to 8.1 days.

View Study

Ipamorelin phase 2b trial for postoperative ileus

International Journal of Colorectal Disease, 2014

Ipamorelin showed a trend toward faster gastrointestinal recovery after bowel resection but did not meet its primary endpoint. Development for that indication was discontinued.

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Always consult a healthcare provider before starting any treatment.This treatment has limited human evidence.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between CJC-1295 with DAC and without DAC?

They are different molecules. CJC-1295 with DAC includes a drug affinity complex that binds it to albumin in your blood, giving it a half-life of roughly 6 to 8 days. Without DAC, the compound is more accurately called modified GRF (1-29) and lasts about 30 minutes. The published human research was done on the DAC version, but most blends sold today are the no-DAC version. Always ask which one you are getting.

Why are CJC-1295 and ipamorelin used together?

They work on different receptors. CJC-1295 mimics growth hormone-releasing hormone and sets the overall level of GH output. Ipamorelin activates the ghrelin receptor and amplifies the size of each pulse. The theory is that hitting both pathways produces a larger, more natural release than either alone. The theory is reasonable, but the combination has never been tested in a published clinical trial.

Do CJC-1295 and ipamorelin actually build muscle or burn fat?

No published human trial has measured this for either peptide, alone or combined. What has been shown is that they raise growth hormone and IGF-1 levels. The leap from "hormone level went up" to "body composition improved" is exactly the step that has not been tested. Growth hormone therapy itself has modest and inconsistent body-composition effects in healthy adults, which should temper expectations.

Are CJC-1295 and ipamorelin legal?

Neither is FDA-approved. Both were placed in Category 2 of the FDA's interim 503A bulk substances list in 2023, flagging safety concerns, and both were removed from Category 2 in September 2024. Removal is not approval: neither has been added to the permitted 503A list, which leaves them in a regulatory gray zone. Many clinics dispense them anyway.

What are the side effects of CJC-1295 and ipamorelin?

The reported effects are the ones you would expect from raising growth hormone: water retention, swelling in the hands and feet, joint aches, numbness or tingling (including carpal tunnel symptoms), and reduced insulin sensitivity. Injection site reactions and flushing are also common. Ipamorelin is considered more selective than older secretagogues because it does not meaningfully raise cortisol or prolactin.

Is this safer than taking growth hormone directly?

The argument is that these peptides work through your own pituitary, which preserves natural pulsatile release and keeps some feedback control, whereas injected growth hormone overrides all of that. That argument is biologically sensible. It has not been tested head-to-head, and the theoretical concern that both share, chronically elevated IGF-1 acting as a growth signal, applies either way.

How long before CJC-1295 and ipamorelin work?

IGF-1 levels typically rise within days to a couple of weeks, and that is measurable with a blood test. Whether anything else changes is not established, because no trial has measured it. Clinics commonly quote 3 to 6 months for subjective effects, which reflects protocol convention rather than trial data.

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