Compare
CJC-1295 No DAC vs CJC-1295 DAC
The two forms share an identical GHRH(1-29) backbone with the same four amino acid substitutions. The Drug Affinity Complex (DAC) — a single maleimidopropionic acid linker that covalently binds serum albumin — is the only chemical difference. Every downstream pharmacologic property flows from that one addition. This page reads out those differences precisely.
Last reviewed 2026-07-12
Chemical difference
CJC-1295 (No DAC)
Modified GRF(1-29): D-Ala², Gln⁸, Ala¹⁵, Leu²⁷. No C-terminal linker.
CJC-1295 DAC
Same Modified GRF(1-29) backbone + a maleimidopropionic acid (MPA) linker at the C-terminus that covalently binds serum albumin's cysteine-34 residue.
1 citation in this row
Plasma half-life
CJC-1295 (No DAC)
~30 minutes
CJC-1295 DAC
~5.8 to 8.1 days (Teichman JCEM 2006) — a >300-fold extension attributable to albumin conjugation
1 citation in this row
Pharmacologic signal shape
CJC-1295 (No DAC)
Physiologic pulse: circulating drug concentration falls fast enough between doses for the pituitary to reset. GH pulse pattern resembles the endogenous rhythm.
CJC-1295 DAC
Sustained plateau: circulating drug concentration remains elevated across the dosing interval. Somatotroph-intrinsic pulses of GH still occur (Ionescu 2006), but they ride on top of a raised baseline.
1 citation in this row
Dosing frequency
CJC-1295 (No DAC)
Once daily to 3× daily in research contexts, aligning with the natural nocturnal GH pulse.
CJC-1295 DAC
Once weekly, or every other week at higher doses. Daily dosing accumulates supraphysiologically within a week.
1 citation in this row
IGF-1 elevation profile
CJC-1295 (No DAC)
IGF-1 elevations track the GH pulses — transient and modest. Chronic IGF-1 accumulation is less pronounced than with sustained-exposure forms.
CJC-1295 DAC
IGF-1 stays elevated across the ~1-week dosing interval. Sustained elevation is the mechanistic driver of the DAC form's characteristic side effects.
1 citation in this row
Tolerability profile
CJC-1295 (No DAC)
Injection-site reactions, mild flushing, modest water retention with sustained daily use.
CJC-1295 DAC
More pronounced water retention, joint pain, and paresthesia (carpal-tunnel-like symptoms) attributable to sustained IGF-1 exposure across the dosing interval.
1 citation in this row
Human evidence base
CJC-1295 (No DAC)
Limited modern controlled human data. Alba 2006 in GHRH-knockout mice supports receptor-level mechanism. The 'famous' CJC-1295 human papers (Teichman, Ionescu 2006) are not about this form.
CJC-1295 DAC
This is where Teichman JCEM 2006 and Ionescu JCEM 2006 belong. Dose-ranging phase-1 data in healthy adults; the pulsatile-under-continuous-stimulation finding; the ~8-day half-life figure that general sources attribute to 'CJC-1295' broadly.
3 citations in this row
Commercial history
CJC-1295 (No DAC)
Intermediate in ConjuChem's development program, not the target product. Never advanced under this identity.
CJC-1295 DAC
The intended commercial product. Taken through phase-1 by ConjuChem; phase-2 was planned but not substantially advanced. ConjuChem went into bankruptcy protection in 2011 and no subsequent sponsor has picked up development.
The most useful way to think about the two forms of CJC-1295 is not as 'short-acting' and 'long-acting' versions of the same drug, but as two different drugs that happen to share a peptide backbone. One MPA linker changes what the receptor is signalling. The dosing frequency, the IGF-1 profile, the tolerability trade-offs, and even the commercial trajectory all trace back to that single chemistry difference. Neither compound is a substitute for a clinical decision informed by an individual's medical history.
References
- 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· Teichman SL, Neale A, Lawrence B, et al. · 2006
- Pulsatile secretion of growth hormone (GH) persists during continuous stimulation by CJC-1295, a long-acting GH-releasing hormone analog· Ionescu M, Frohman LA · 2006
- Once-daily administration of CJC-1295, a long-acting growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) analog, normalizes growth in the GHRH knockout mouse· Alba M, Fintini D, Sagazio A, et al. · 2006
Continue exploring
Editorial paths through the library. Pick one and follow the trail.
Compare
Semaglutide vs Tirzepatide
Two of the most extensively studied incretin-based therapies — approved and marketed in the same therapeutic areas, but with different receptor profiles, different phase-3 programs, and different published outcomes. This page compares what the peer-reviewed literature and regulatory documentation currently support for each.
→
Compare
Tirzepatide vs Retatrutide
Two incretin-based peptides in the same broad family, but at very different stages of development. This page compares what the peer-reviewed literature currently supports on each — regulatory status, receptor targets, evidence tier, and headline efficacy from published phase-3 trials.
→
Compare
BPC-157 vs TB-500
These two peptides are the most-discussed pair in the tissue-repair conversation, and they are also the most-conflated. In practice they share none of what usually justifies grouping compounds: their origins are unrelated, their mechanisms are unrelated, and the shape of the evidence supporting each is structurally different. This page walks through those distinctions.
→
Compare
KPV vs GHK-Cu
Two small, endogenously-derived peptides that get grouped in discussions about anti-inflammatory and skin peptides. They share molecular scale — both are tripeptides — and their mechanisms are both proposed to be intracellular rather than classical receptor-mediated. Everything else about their evidence structures, use cases, and regulatory status differs, in ways that are worth reading precisely.
→
Compare
Tesamorelin vs Sermorelin
Two GHRH analogues built for the same fundamental job — stimulating the pituitary's own pulsatile release of growth hormone — but at very different points in structure, half-life, and regulatory history. This page compares what the peer-reviewed literature and regulatory documentation currently support for each.
→
Compare
CJC-1295 (No DAC) vs Sermorelin
Two GHRH(1-29)-based signals. Sermorelin is the native sequence; CJC-1295 No DAC is the same sequence with four amino acid substitutions that resist enzymatic degradation. This page compares what the peer-reviewed literature currently supports on each.
→
Compare
AOD-9604 vs Semaglutide
Two compounds pursued as pharmacological approaches to weight loss, from opposite starting points and with opposite clinical results. AOD-9604 was designed as a lipolytic fragment of human growth hormone; its 2007 phase 2b did not meet its primary endpoint and its pharmaceutical program was discontinued. Semaglutide came from the incretin research tradition, obtained FDA approval for chronic weight management in 2021, and produced a large clinical evidence base. This page presents the two side by side to make each visible in the other's context.
→
Categories
Fat Loss & Metabolism
Compounds studied for body-composition, glycaemic control, and metabolic health.
→
Categories
Repair & Regeneration
Compounds studied for wound healing, tissue repair, and musculoskeletal recovery.
→