# CJC-1295: The Long-Acting GHRH Analog and the GH/IGF-1 Axis > CJC-1295 is a long-acting GHRH analog that raised growth hormone and IGF-1 for days from a single subcutaneous dose. A curated, cited reading of the published record. A curated board of the published CJC-1295 record — the kinetics, the studies, and the honest gaps — with every quantitative claim cited to its source. ## What the CJC-1295 record shows CJC-1295 is a long-acting analog of growth-hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH). In healthy adults, single subcutaneous doses of 30 or 60 micrograms per kilogram raised mean plasma growth hormone (GH) 2- to 10-fold for six days or more and raised insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) 1.5- to 3-fold for nine to eleven days; after multiple doses, IGF-1 stayed above baseline for up to 28 days [1]. The estimated half-life of CJC-1295 in those volunteers was 5.8 to 8.1 days [1]. That duration is the whole point of the molecule. Native GHRH is cleared in minutes. CJC-1295 carries four amino-acid substitutions that block enzymatic breakdown, and — in its DAC variant — a chemical handle that binds covalently to circulating serum albumin, stretching its plasma residence toward that of albumin itself [2]. A single dose therefore behaves like a slow, sustained release of GHRH signal rather than a brief pulse. The published literature is small and early. It is dominated by a handful of pharmacokinetic (PK) studies in healthy volunteers and rodents from the mid-2000s [1][2][3][4]. There is no large efficacy trial and no long-term safety trial in healthy adults, and CJC-1295 is not approved for human use anywhere. This site reads that record as it stands — the measured findings on [the GH/IGF-1 axis research](/research), the [CJC-1295 half-life](/dosage), and the [DAC vs no-DAC (Modified GRF 1-29)](/cjc-1295-dac) distinction — and marks where the data stop. Nothing here is a dosing recommendation, and nothing here is for sale. ## CJC-1295 as a Research Peptide: What It Is CJC-1295 is a research peptide built on hGRF(1-29), the first 29 amino acids of human growth-hormone-releasing factor — the minimal sequence that retains full GH-releasing activity [2]. Onto that backbone it adds four protease-resistant substitutions (D-Ala at position 2, Gln at 8, Ala at 15, Leu at 27) that stabilize the helix and block dipeptidylpeptidase-IV cleavage, deamidation, and oxidation [2]. It is a peptide, not a steroid and not growth hormone itself. It works one step upstream: it tells the pituitary to release the body's own GH, which then drives hepatic IGF-1 [1]. Its molecular weight is roughly 3,368 Da before albumin conjugation, with CAS number 863288-34-0 commonly attributed to the DAC variant. Oral bioavailability is negligible, so subcutaneous injection is the route studied [1][3]. Two forms circulate under the same name, and they are pharmacokinetically very different. The DAC variant is the multi-day, long-acting species. The no-DAC form — usually sold as "Modified GRF 1-29" — keeps the four substitutions but lacks the albumin-binding moiety and is short-acting. Most online confusion about CJC-1295 traces back to conflating the two, which is why [the DAC vs no-DAC (Modified GRF 1-29)](/cjc-1295-dac) distinction gets its own page [2]. ## What is CJC-1295? A synthetic GHRH analog built on hGRF(1-29) with four protease-resistant substitutions; the DAC variant adds covalent serum-albumin conjugation for a multi-day half-life, while the no-DAC form (Modified GRF 1-29) is short-acting [2]. It is a single research peptide that exists in two pharmacokinetically distinct forms under one name, which is the source of most confusion about it. ## What does CJC-1295 do? It is a long-acting GHRH analog that binds the pituitary GHRH receptor to stimulate growth-hormone release and, downstream, raise IGF-1. In healthy adults, single doses elevated GH and IGF-1 for days, with a half-life of 5.8 to 8.1 days [1]. Its defining feature is duration: a single dose acts like a slow, sustained GHRH signal rather than a brief one. ## The two-receptor pairing with ipamorelin The most-searched pairing for CJC-1295 is with ipamorelin, a selective GH secretagogue. The two compounds act through distinct receptors: CJC-1295 binds the GHRH receptor, while ipamorelin acts on the ghrelin/GH-secretagogue receptor. Ghrelin and GH secretagogues potentiate GHRH-induced GH release, which is the mechanistic basis for combining a GHRH analog with a GHRP [5]. The rationale is real; the controlled human efficacy data for the specific pairing are not. No published randomized trial establishes a CJC-1295/ipamorelin dose or outcome in healthy adults. The combination is studied because the two pathways are separable and their GH-release effects can be supra-additive — not because a clinical trial proved a result. See [CJC-1295 and ipamorelin](/research) for the mechanism and the limits of the evidence. ## How this digest is organized The pages here are a reading surface, not a storefront. [The GH/IGF-1 axis research](/research) walks through the four landmark studies — Teichman 2006, Ionescu 2006, Jette 2005, and Alba 2006 — and the mechanism beneath them. The [dosing context in studies](/dosage) covers the routes and doses that were actually administered to volunteers and animals, plus the [CJC-1295 half-life](/dosage). The [CJC-1295 DAC](/cjc-1295-dac) page draws the line between the long-acting DAC form and short-acting Modified GRF 1-29, and [CJC-1295 vs sermorelin](/cjc-1295-vs-sermorelin) sets it beside its closest within-class comparators. The FAQ answers the questions readers actually ask — including [is CJC-1295 FDA approved](/faq) and what the safety record does and does not contain. Every numbered marker resolves to the [full reference list](/references), where each study carries its PMID and DOI so any figure can be checked at source. --- A curated night-board of the CJC-1295 record — each study, kinetic figure, and honest gap lit in its own tile and weighed by what the literature can actually carry, with no clinic behind the board and nothing here dispensed or sold.