DAC vs no DAC, benefits, side effects, human trials, FDA status, ipamorelin claims, prices, and global verification

CJC-1295 with DAC has human biomarker studies. No-DAC listings cannot borrow them.

The CJC-1295 name hides two active moieties, five FDA-reviewed bulk-substance forms, three small healthy-adult papers, one terminated Phase 2 trial, and two separate research-price boards. This guide keeps every record in the right lane.

FDA-reviewed forms05Two active moieties
Healthy-adult papers03Biomarker-led evidence
Terminated Phase 2 trials01No posted results
FDA-approved products00Exact-name search
Direct answer

Human endocrine activity is real. The popular outcome claims remain unproven.

Controlled studies reported sustained GH and IGF-I changes after an intervention that FDA says appears to have used the CJC-1295 DAC active moiety, although the exact free-base or salt form was unclear.

Those studies did not prove muscle gain, fat loss, sleep improvement, recovery, anti-aging, or treatment of growth hormone deficiency. The only registered disease-population trial was terminated, and its outcomes were not published.

Evidence summary

Read the CJC-1295 record in four fields.

This is a sourced status snapshot, not a safety score, treatment recommendation, or seller certification. Each field links back to the detailed record below.

01 Strongest human record

3 healthy-adult papers

Short studies measured pharmacokinetics, GH, IGF-I, pulsatility, or serum proteins for the likely DAC moiety.

Inspect the human evidence
02 What it establishes

Biomarker activity only

No current human record proves muscle, fat-loss, sleep, recovery, anti-aging, or disease benefit.

Audit the popular claims
03 United States FDA status

No FDA-approved product

Five reviewed bulk-substance forms and a non-binding committee vote do not equal drug approval.

Check status and destination routes
Best primary source to open firstFDA CJC-1295 identity and evidence reviewU.S. Food and Drug Administration
Open the primary record
Identity resolver

Four CJC-1295 labels, four different evidence-transfer decisions.

FDA says the two active moieties are not interchangeable and that free base, acetate, and TFA are distinct chemical entities.

RecordWhat it includesWhat cannot transfer

No DAC active moietyCJC-1295 free base and CJC-1295 acetate

FDA describes a synthetic 29-amino-acid GHRH analogue without the C-terminal MPA-Lys drug-affinity-complex unit.

FDA did not identify clinical safety or effectiveness studies for these non-DAC forms. Modified GRF 1-29 is common seller language, not proof that a paper studied the listed vial.

DAC active moietyCJC-1295 DAC free base, acetate, and TFA

The DAC modification enables albumin bioconjugation. FDA says the available human papers appear to involve this active moiety, although the exact salt was not specified.

A DAC study does not validate every DAC salt, manufacturing process, formulation, seller vial, or certificate, and it cannot be transferred to a no-DAC board.

Published human interventionCJC-1295 DAC active moiety, exact form unclear

Three healthy-adult papers measured pharmacokinetics, GH or IGF-I, pulsatility, or serum proteins. The two principal experiments were short and biomarker-led.

The papers did not prove treatment of growth hormone deficiency, muscle gain, fat loss, sleep improvement, recovery, anti-aging, or the quality of an online product.

Combination or blendCJC-1295 plus ipamorelin or other ingredients

FDA found marketed combination products and noted that sources often did not state whether the CJC component had DAC or which salt or free-base form was present.

Separate evidence for CJC-1295 and ipamorelin does not establish the identity, dose-response, benefit, safety, or product quality of a mixture.

Six evidence lanes

Identity, biomarkers, outcomes, safety, products, and destinations answer different questions.

A useful answer preserves the active moiety, chemical form, formulation, population, endpoint, study duration, source, and destination.

01Identity

CJC-1295 is a family of records, not one interchangeable ingredient.

FDA evaluated five bulk-substance forms across two active moieties: no DAC and DAC. Free base, acetate, and TFA are distinct chemical entities, while the DAC modification changes albumin binding and duration. A shorthand label cannot resolve the form by itself.

02Human pharmacology

The strongest published signal is sustained GH and IGF-I activity in healthy adults.

Two randomized ascending-dose studies and a 12-man physiology paper measured pharmacokinetics and endocrine biomarkers. Those findings support biological activity for the studied DAC active moiety, not a clinical benefit for a disease, physique goal, sleep, recovery, or longevity.

03Phase 2 outcome gap

The only registered disease-population trial was terminated without posted results.

NCT00267527 enrolled 192 people with HIV-associated visceral obesity. FDA reports that the study ended after a participant died following the eleventh weekly dose, while the attending physician attributed the event to pre-existing coronary disease. The primary outcomes were not published, so causality and efficacy cannot be reconstructed from public summaries.

04Claim transfer

A biomarker change cannot be converted into muscle, fat-loss, sleep, or recovery proof.

GH, IGF-I, pulsatility, and serum-protein measurements answer mechanism questions. They do not establish net clinical benefit, durable body-composition change, physical performance, injury recovery, sleep quality, anti-aging, or a favorable long-term benefit-risk balance.

05Safety and regulation

Short studies, adverse events, product quality, and long-term risk are separate layers.

FDA reports injection-site reactions, systemic vasodilatory reactions, headache, gastrointestinal symptoms, dizziness, hypotension, increased heart rate, characterization gaps, and possible immunogenicity. The advisory committee voted against adding all five reviewed forms to the 503A list, but committee advice is not itself a final FDA rule or drug approval decision.

06Market and destination

Two price boards solve a catalog problem, not a medical or legal one.

Peptide Local keeps 5 mg DAC and 5 mg no-DAC research listings separate and links official destination checks. Price, stock, shipping language, and document access do not prove composition, sterility, clinical benefit, seller authority, import permission, or lawful human use.

Claim check

What the CJC-1295 record shows, and where each popular claim breaks.

The claim column is not a list of benefits. It is an audit of the inference needed to move from a real record to a marketing statement.

Popular claimActual recordEvidence limit

CJC-1295 with DAC and no DAC are the same

FDA describes two different active moieties and five distinct bulk-substance forms.

They are not interchangeable. Different form, salt, albumin-binding behavior, pharmacokinetics, formulation, and manufacturing can change the relevant evidence and risk.

CJC-1295 increases GH and IGF-I

Short healthy-adult studies reported sustained GH and IGF-I changes after the studied DAC active moiety.

A hormone biomarker response does not establish treatment benefit, an optimal target, long-term safety, or that a no-DAC or seller-labelled product produces the same exposure.

CJC-1295 builds muscle

GH and IGF-I biology creates a plausible research hypothesis, and online marketing frequently makes body-composition claims.

The published CJC-1295 papers did not demonstrate clinically meaningful muscle gain, strength, performance, or durable body-composition benefit.

CJC-1295 burns fat

A Phase 2 trial enrolled people with HIV-associated visceral obesity.

The trial was terminated and its outcomes were not published. Enrollment for a fat-related condition is not evidence that fat loss occurred.

CJC-1295 improves sleep or recovery

These are common seller and wellness claims linked loosely to the GH axis.

The identified human papers did not establish better sleep, injury recovery, exercise recovery, energy, well-being, or daily function.

CJC-1295 plus ipamorelin is proven better

The two compounds act through different receptor pathways and are marketed together.

The current primary-source record does not establish a replicated human combination trial, superior outcomes, a safe protocol, or equivalence among commercial blends.

CJC-1295 has few side effects

The principal healthy-adult paper reported no serious adverse reactions in its short study window.

FDA's detailed review reports frequent adverse events, increased heart rate, systemic vasodilatory reactions, unresolved immunogenicity, form ambiguity, and unknown long-term safety.

A research vial is the same product used in the papers

A seller may display the CJC-1295 name, nominal milligrams, a chromatogram, or a certificate route.

None of those fields proves the exact active moiety, salt, sequence, concentration, impurities, aggregation, sterility, chain of custody, or equivalence to a study intervention.

Human evidence ledger

Three healthy-adult papers and one terminated disease-population trial.

Participant counts can overlap across studies and sample re-analyses. Each row preserves design and endpoint instead of summing them into an inflated efficacy total.

PMID 16352683Randomized human pharmacology

Two placebo-controlled ascending-dose studies

Identity
CJC-1295 DAC active moiety appears most likely; exact free-base or salt form was not specified
Design
Double-blind pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic studies lasting 28 and 49 days
Participants
Study 1: 42 total, including 35 active and 7 placebo; Study 2: 24 total

The paper reported sustained GH and IGF-I increases and an estimated 5.8 to 8.1 day half-life. FDA notes that adverse events were reported by 94% of active recipients versus 29% of placebo participants in Study 1, with injection-site and systemic reactions among the reported events.

PMID 17018654Human surrogate endpoint

GH pulsatility one week after one administration

Identity
CJC-1295 DAC active moiety appears most likely; exact form was not specified
Design
Before-and-after 12-hour overnight blood-sampling physiology study
Participants
12 healthy men, ages 20 to 40

The study found preserved pulse frequency and magnitude with higher trough and mean GH and higher IGF-I. It did not measure muscle gain, fat loss, sleep quality, recovery, growth hormone deficiency treatment, or long-term safety.

PMID 19386527Exploratory human biomarker

Serum protein profile changes after CJC-1295

Identity
CJC-1295 DAC active moiety appears most likely; exact form was not specified
Design
Proteomic comparison of serum before and one week after the intervention
Participants
11 healthy young adult men

Several serum protein spots changed and were explored as possible GH or IGF-I biomarkers. The study was not a treatment trial and did not establish a benefit for physique, metabolism, sleep, recovery, disease, or daily function.

NCT00267527Terminated Phase 2

HIV-associated visceral obesity trial

Identity
Registry form not specified; FDA reports DAC:GRF and an EU record identifies a TFA salt
Design
Multicenter randomized placebo-controlled double-blind 12-week study with no posted results
Participants
192 enrolled and randomized

FDA reports that the study was terminated after a participant experienced an acute myocardial infarction and died following the eleventh weekly dose. The attending physician attributed the event to previously asymptomatic coronary disease. The unpublished outcome and event record cannot establish efficacy or resolve causality.

Evidence timeline

Biomarker activity never became an approved treatment program.

The timeline separates publication, registry, and advisory records. A later date does not automatically mean stronger evidence.

012006

Healthy-adult PK and PD

Randomized studies reported sustained GH and IGF-I activity for the likely DAC active moiety.

Biomarker response, not treatment benefit.
022006

Healthy-men pulsatility study

Twelve men showed higher trough and mean GH with preserved pulse frequency and magnitude.

Short surrogate-endpoint study.
032006

Phase 2 terminated

NCT00267527 enrolled 192 people with HIV-associated visceral obesity and ended without posted results.

No public efficacy result and incomplete event record.
042009

Exploratory proteomics

Serum from 11 healthy men was analyzed for protein-profile changes one week after intervention.

Mechanism research, not a clinical outcome.
052024

FDA and advisory review

FDA's committee voted against adding all five reviewed forms to the 503A Bulks List.

Non-binding committee advice, not drug approval or a final rule by itself.
Two-board market split

DAC and no DAC stay separate before price is compared.

These are dated US research-listing observations. They are not approved medicine prices, prescriptions, product authentication, effect rankings, or evidence that one form is better.

No DAC / Modified GRF 1-29

3 rows · 2 confirmed in stock

Confirmed-stock list prices run from $46.00 to $74.79 for seller-labelled 5 mg no-DAC material. This board cannot borrow the published DAC half-life or biomarker record.

Open the no-DAC source rows →
CJC-1295 with DAC

3 rows · 2 confirmed in stock

The current confirmed-stock 5 mg list price is $46.00. Two additional rows show prices without a current confirmed stock signal, so they do not set the available market range.

Open the DAC source rows →
Exact comparison

Same size, different identity

Both boards use a 5 mg nominal size, which makes raw price comparison possible. It does not make the active moieties, exposure, human evidence, benefit, safety, or seller products equivalent.

Compare every matched field →
Current status map

Approval, 503A advice, safety listing, and country marketing status are separate records.

The December 2024 committee votes were non-binding. FDA's current safety page and exact product database remain the dated checks for the federal record.

United States approval

No FDA-approved CJC-1295 product found

The exact-name Drugs@FDA review identified no approved finished-product record. A research listing, prescription, clinic page, bulk-substance nomination, or certificate does not substitute for approval.

Repeat the Drugs@FDA search →
503A advisory record

Committee voted against all five forms

Four votes were 13 to 0 against inclusion, while CJC-1295 acetate was 12 to 1 against. FDA states that advisory recommendations are non-binding and should not be mislabeled as a final rule.

Inspect the official minutes →
Current FDA safety entry

Limited clinical data and identified safety concerns

FDA names increased heart rate and systemic vasodilatory reactions and flags immunogenicity, peptide impurities, and API-characterization complexity for compounded products.

Read the current FDA entry →
Worldwide answer

CJC-1295 status depends on the exact form, product, seller, and destination.

South Africa has a compound-specific public warning. The US has five-form compounding records and no identified approved product. Other destinations require separate medicine, pharmacy, prescriber, import, advertising, and seller checks. An absent compound-specific finding is not proof of approval, legality, or availability.

Direct evidence answers

Fifteen CJC-1295 questions, answered without collapsing the forms.

This is educational reporting, not medical advice, a prescription, an administration protocol, or a product recommendation.

01

What is CJC-1295?

CJC-1295 is a synthetic 29-amino-acid analogue of growth hormone-releasing hormone. The name is used for more than one active moiety and several chemical forms. FDA evaluated CJC-1295 free base, CJC-1295 acetate, CJC-1295 DAC free base, CJC-1295 DAC acetate, and CJC-1295 DAC TFA. Those identities are not interchangeable, and a seller shorthand does not prove which material is present.

02

What is the difference between CJC-1295 with DAC and no DAC?

The DAC form has a C-terminal drug-affinity-complex modification designed to bind endogenous albumin and extend exposure. The no-DAC active moiety lacks that modification and is often sold under Modified GRF 1-29 language. FDA treats the two as different active moieties. The published healthy-adult papers appear to involve the DAC active moiety, so their duration, biomarker, and safety findings cannot be transferred to a no-DAC listing.

03

What CJC-1295 benefits are proven in humans?

The strongest published human evidence shows pharmacokinetic and endocrine biomarker effects in healthy adults, including sustained increases in GH and IGF-I for the likely DAC active moiety. Those are biological responses, not proof of a patient-centered benefit. The record does not establish treatment of growth hormone deficiency, durable muscle gain, fat loss, sleep improvement, injury recovery, athletic performance, anti-aging, or better daily function.

04

Does CJC-1295 increase growth hormone and IGF-I?

Short controlled studies reported increased GH and IGF-I after the studied CJC-1295 intervention, which FDA says appears to have involved the DAC active moiety although the exact free-base or salt form was unclear. That result supports a pharmacologic signal in the study setting. It does not establish an optimal target, clinical benefit, long-term safety, or equivalent exposure from a no-DAC product, blend, compounded preparation, or research vial.

05

Does CJC-1295 build muscle?

The published CJC-1295 human papers did not demonstrate a clinically meaningful increase in muscle mass, strength, exercise performance, or physical function. GH and IGF-I changes may make a muscle claim sound biologically plausible, but a mechanism is not an outcome. The terminated Phase 2 study did not publish its body-composition results, and a seller testimonial or before-and-after image cannot fill that evidence gap.

06

Does CJC-1295 burn fat or cause weight loss?

A registered Phase 2 study evaluated CJC-1295 in 192 people with HIV-associated visceral obesity, but the study was terminated and no results were posted. Its enrollment criterion does not prove that visceral fat, body weight, or another body-composition endpoint improved. The healthy-adult papers measured pharmacokinetics and biomarkers, not sustained weight loss. Current evidence therefore does not establish CJC-1295 as a proven fat-loss treatment.

07

Does CJC-1295 improve sleep or recovery?

The primary human studies identified in this review did not establish improved sleep quality, sleep duration, injury healing, soreness, exercise recovery, energy, or well-being. They measured hormone patterns, pharmacokinetics, and exploratory serum proteins. Online claims may extrapolate from growth-hormone physiology, but an upstream biomarker cannot substitute for a validated sleep, recovery, performance, or functional outcome.

08

What are CJC-1295 side effects?

FDA's detailed review reports injection-site reactions, transient urticarial rashes, headache, diarrhea, flushing, warmth, hypotension, nausea or abdominal pain, dizziness, increased heart rate, and occasional involuntary leg contractions or coordination effects in the short healthy-adult studies. FDA also identifies unresolved immunogenicity, impurity, aggregation, characterization, and long-term safety concerns. A short study cannot establish rates for every form or product.

09

How long is the CJC-1295 half-life?

The often-repeated 5.8 to 8.1 day estimate comes from a controlled healthy-adult study of the intervention FDA says appears to involve the DAC active moiety. It should not be presented as the half-life of no-DAC CJC-1295, every salt, every blend, or every seller product. Form, conjugation, formulation, route, manufacturing, assay, and product quality can change exposure, and a pharmacokinetic estimate is not a dosing recommendation.

10

Is CJC-1295 FDA approved?

No FDA-approved CJC-1295 finished-product record was identified in the dated Drugs@FDA exact-name review. FDA has reviewed CJC-1295-related bulk substances for compounding and publishes safety concerns, but a nomination, advisory meeting, pharmacy listing, research label, prescription, or certificate is not drug approval. Approval belongs to a specific finished product, application, indication, presentation, manufacturing record, and label.

11

What did the FDA advisory committee decide about CJC-1295?

At the December 4, 2024 meeting, the Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee voted against placing each of the five reviewed CJC-1295-related bulk drug substances on the section 503A Bulks List. The vote was 13 to 0 against inclusion for four forms and 12 to 1 against inclusion for CJC-1295 acetate. FDA explains that advisory committee recommendations are non-binding, so the vote should not be mislabeled as an approval decision or final rule by itself.

12

Why was the CJC-1295 Phase 2 trial terminated?

FDA reports that NCT00267527 enrolled and randomized 192 people with HIV-associated visceral obesity. A participant developed an acute myocardial infarction and died after the eleventh weekly dose. The attending physician attributed the event to previously asymptomatic coronary artery disease with plaque rupture. The study ended, results were not published, and the incomplete public record cannot independently establish causality, exonerate the intervention, or show efficacy.

13

Is CJC-1295 plus ipamorelin a proven combination?

No replicated human combination-outcome evidence was identified in the primary-source review. CJC-1295 and ipamorelin have different molecular identities, receptor pathways, individual evidence records, and safety questions. FDA found marketed mixtures in which even the CJC-1295 DAC and salt identity was often unclear. Separate studies of each ingredient cannot establish the identity, benefit, risk, interaction, or product quality of a blend.

14

Can I buy CJC-1295 online?

Peptide Local records separate dated US 5 mg research-market boards for CJC-1295 DAC and no DAC so readers can compare list price, stated stock, shipping language, document access, and source freshness. That does not authenticate a vial, authorize human use, establish a prescription pathway, or prove legality in a destination. Match the exact form, product category, seller, country, and transaction to official records before relying on an online listing.

15

Is CJC-1295 legal where I live?

A single global yes or no would be misleading. FDA approval, section 503A eligibility, research-material sale, pharmacy compounding, prescription, import, administration, advertising, anti-doping rules, and professional practice are different questions. South Africa specifically names CJC-1295 in an unregistered-peptide warning. For another destination, use the exact product and form with the linked medicine, pharmacy, seller, customs, and professional-authority records.

Critical boundary

A study name does not identify a vial or create a regimen.

CJC-1295 free base, acetate, DAC free base, DAC acetate, DAC TFA, Modified GRF 1-29, a study intervention, compounded preparation, research vial, and combination with ipamorelin can differ in active moiety, composition, concentration, impurities, aggregation, formulation, exposure, quality, and risk.

This guide does not provide dosing, reconstitution, injection, cycling, stacking, hormone optimization, bodybuilding, fat-loss, anti-aging, sleep, or recovery instructions. Do not delay or replace licensed care based on an online listing or this educational record.

Primary referencesCJC-1295 compound record, PubChem CID 132595997CJC-1295 without the drug-affinity-complex modification, molecular formula C152H252N44O42, identifiers, structure, and the boundary from the DAC formNational Library of Medicine, PubChemCJC-1295 DAC compound record, PubChem CID 91971820CJC-1295 with the drug-affinity-complex modification, molecular formula C165H269N47O46, identifiers, structure, and the boundary from the no-DAC formNational Library of Medicine, PubChemFDA briefing document for CJC-1295-related bulk drug substancesFive distinct bulk-substance forms, two non-interchangeable active moieties, human-study identity limits, the terminated Phase 2 record, adverse events, missing effectiveness evidence, and FDA's 503A evaluationU.S. Food and Drug AdministrationFDA presentation for the December 2024 CJC-1295 reviewStudy-level participant counts, adverse-event proportions, Phase 2 enrollment and termination facts, long-term safety gaps, and the distinction between DAC and non-DAC substancesU.S. Food and Drug AdministrationDecember 4, 2024 Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee minutesNon-binding committee votes against adding each of the five reviewed CJC-1295-related bulk drug substances to the section 503A Bulks ListU.S. Food and Drug AdministrationBulk substances that may present significant safety risksCurrent CJC-1295 compounding safety entry, immunogenicity and characterization concerns, limited clinical data, increased heart rate, and systemic vasodilatory reactionsU.S. Food and Drug AdministrationDrugs@FDA approved drug databaseDated exact-name approval search route used to check whether an FDA-approved CJC-1295 finished-product record existsU.S. Food and Drug AdministrationNCT00267527, CJC-1295 in HIV-associated visceral obesityTerminated Phase 2 study identity, randomized placebo-controlled design, HIV-associated visceral-obesity population, registry status, and absence of posted resultsClinicalTrials.gov, National Library of MedicineCJC-1295 pharmacokinetics and GH or IGF-I response in healthy adultsTwo randomized placebo-controlled healthy-adult studies, sustained GH and IGF-I biomarker changes, estimated 5.8 to 8.1 day half-life for the studied DAC active moiety, and reported adverse-event limitsPubMed, National Library of MedicineCJC-1295 and pulsatile GH secretion in healthy menTwelve healthy men, preserved pulse frequency and magnitude, higher trough and mean GH and IGF-I, and the boundary between endocrine biomarkers and patient benefitPubMed, National Library of MedicineCJC-1295 serum protein profile studyEleven healthy men, one-week proteomic changes, exploratory serum biomarkers, and the absence of a clinical muscle, fat-loss, sleep, recovery, or disease outcomePubMed, National Library of MedicineDecember 4, 2024 Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee meetingOfficial meeting context, five forms reviewed for growth hormone deficiency, source-document links, and FDA's explanation that advisory recommendations are non-bindingU.S. Food and Drug AdministrationPeptide products public informationCurrent South African warning that names CJC-1295 among illegally marketed unregistered peptide products and provides a destination-specific regulatory boundarySouth African Health Products Regulatory Authority