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Growth hormone axis

CJC-1295

A long-acting GHRH analogue abandoned after early human studies — it reliably raises growth hormone, but the outcomes it is sold for were never tested.

L3Early humanExperimental / researchDiscontinuedVery low confidenceLast reviewed 2026-08-23
SC injection

Also known as: modified GRF (1-29), CJC-1295 DAC, tetrasubstituted GRF

Evidence passport

Last reviewed 2026-08-23

Evidence level
L3Early human
Confidence
Very low confidence
Human efficacy
28/100
Human safety
22/100
Regulatory status
Experimental / research
Development
Discontinued
Routes
SC injection
Evidence base
Includes human data
Furthest stage
Phase I
Source curation
Source curation pending
Clinical maturity
Early human pharmacology studies only; development discontinued

Overview

Human evidence28/100
Preclinical evidence55/100
Human safety evidence22/100

Clinical maturity: Early human pharmacology studies only; development discontinued

Routes & formulations

Studied / approved routes

SC injection

Early human pharmacology studies used subcutaneous injection. No approved formulation exists; material sold online is unapproved, and the DAC variant's extended half-life is a formulation property, not evidence of benefit.

Route availability is not evidence of efficacy, and evidence from one route does not transfer to another. The Registry never provides dosing or sourcing information.

Peptide lifecycle

  1. Discovery

  2. Preclinical

  3. Phase I

    Development stopped here

  4. Phase II

  5. Phase III

  6. Approved

Discontinued

Early human pharmacology studies only; development did not continue to approval. The reason development stopped is not established in our curated record.

Why development stopped: Reason not established. The curated record does not establish why development stopped.

Last documented development: 2006 — early human pharmacology studies published; no later development programme identified in the curated record.

What it is

A modified growth-hormone-releasing hormone fragment; the 'DAC' version binds albumin to extend its half-life dramatically.

What people claim

  • Builds muscle
  • Burns fat
  • Improves sleep and recovery
  • Reverses ageing

What the evidence actually says

Early human studies established that it does what it says biochemically — it raises growth hormone and IGF-1 for an extended period. What was never established is that this translates into the body-composition, recovery or anti-ageing outcomes people buy it for. Raising a hormone level is a surrogate endpoint, not a result.

Human evidence

  • Early-phase pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic studies demonstrating sustained GH and IGF-1 elevation.
  • No controlled trials demonstrating clinical body-composition or performance outcomes.

Preclinical evidence

  • Standard GHRH-analogue animal pharmacology.

Animal and cell findings are Level 1–2 evidence.

Mechanism and pathways

  • GHRH receptor agonism increases pituitary GH release.
  • Albumin binding (DAC variant) extends half-life to days, producing sustained rather than pulsatile elevation — a physiologically unusual pattern.

Safety and unknowns

  • Flushing, injection-site reactions and water retention reported in early studies.
  • Sustained non-pulsatile GH elevation is not how the body normally does this, and long-term consequences are unstudied.
  • No modern human safety dataset for the material sold online.

Cancer relevance

Theoretical / mechanistic concern only

Same IGF-1 proliferation logic as other growth-hormone-axis compounds: mechanistically plausible concern, no human outcome data. Chronic elevation without monitoring is the specific worry, not a proven cancer link.

Regulatory status

Not an approved medicine. Development did not continue to approval. Prohibited in sport.

Evidence grade

L3Early humanVery low confidence

Small, short or uncontrolled human studies. Suggestive, not conclusive.

What would change our rating?

  • Controlled trials with clinical rather than hormonal endpoints.
  • Modern human safety data for chronic use.

References and sources

Source curation pending
  • To be curatedSources to be curated

Source hierarchy: regulatory documents and trial registries first, peer-reviewed work next, sponsor material flagged as non-independent. We never use supplier or clinic marketing as evidence, and where a verified source has not yet been curated we say so rather than inventing one.

Evidence change history

No recorded changes yet. Baseline position set on 2026-08-23.

Related claims we’ve checked

Unsupported as statedL3Early humanGrowth hormone axis

“Peptides that raise growth hormone will build muscle in healthy adults.”

Unsupported as stated — raising a hormone is a surrogate endpoint, not a result.

  • Early studies confirm GH and IGF-1 rise; that was never the hard part.
  • No controlled trials show meaningful muscle or performance gains in healthy adults from GHRH analogues or secretagogues.
  • Water retention and scale weight changes are frequently mistaken for tissue gain.
Last reviewed 2026-06-20Compound profile