CJC-1295 with DAC is the long-acting half of the most popular growth-hormone peptide stack. It gets paired with ipamorelin everywhere. The “with DAC” part matters a lot, because it is a different molecule in practice from the “without DAC” version people also call CJC-1295. We will keep those two straight, because the gray market constantly blurs them.
Thin, and older than you would expect. There is essentially one peer-reviewed human study, from 2006, showing it raises growth hormone and IGF-1 for days after a dose and was tolerated short-term. There are no long-term human efficacy or safety trials. The company that developed it stopped its program almost 20 years ago. So this is a compound with a clear short-term pharmacology signal and almost nothing on the long run.
CJC-1295 is a synthetic, long-acting version of growth-hormone-releasing hormone, or GHRH. It is built on the active fragment of GHRH with four tweaks that resist breakdown. That modified backbone on its own is what people call “CJC-1295 without DAC,” or Mod GRF 1-29, and it is short-acting.
The “DAC” is the key addition. It is a chemical group that, after injection, latches onto albumin in your blood. That anchor keeps the peptide circulating for roughly six to eight days, turning a short signal into a sustained one. So the with-DAC version is the long-acting one, dosed weekly. The without-DAC version lasts about 30 minutes and is dosed far more often.
It was developed by a Canadian company, ConjuChem, in the early 2000s, using their albumin-binding platform. They tested it for growth-hormone deficiency and for the fat redistribution some people get with HIV. It reached Phase 2. The program was halted in 2006, and it has never been an approved drug. There is an important and often-garbled detail about why it stopped, which we cover honestly in the safety section.
CJC-1295 binds the GHRH receptor on the pituitary and tells it to make and release growth hormone, which then raises IGF-1 from the liver. It works upstream, amplifying your own output rather than supplying growth hormone directly.
The DAC changes the shape of that signal. Instead of a brief pulse, the pituitary gets a steady, days-long nudge, which raises the baseline level of growth hormone and IGF-1. One nuance worth getting right: the 2006 data suggested the natural pulses were largely preserved even as the baseline rose. So it is more accurate to say it lifts the tonic level and softens the peak-to-trough swing than to say it flattens pulses entirely.
The evidence is essentially that one 2006 study, by Teichman and colleagues. In healthy adults, a single injection raised average growth hormone two to ten times for six days or more, and IGF-1 one and a half to three times for nine to eleven days. It was well tolerated over the short trial, with mild injection-site reactions the main complaint and no rise in prolactin or cortisol.
That is the anchor. Everything else, the body-composition and recovery claims, rests on that IGF-1 rise plus anecdote, not on long-term human trials, which do not exist for this compound.
The community uses it for the convenience of weekly dosing and a sustained IGF-1 lift aimed at recovery, body composition, sleep, and skin. It is almost always stacked with ipamorelin.
The concerns are the classic growth-hormone ones: fluid retention, joint pain, carpal-tunnel-type symptoms, and a real theoretical worry about insulin resistance, since a sustained (rather than pulsing) rise in growth hormone can work against insulin. There is no long-term human safety data, and chronically raised IGF-1 carries the same theoretical cancer caution as other growth-hormone peptides.
Now the detail that circulates online in a distorted form. ConjuChem’s Phase 2 program was halted in 2006 after a trial participant died. It is worth stating this accurately: the attending physician judged the most likely cause to be underlying coronary artery disease, and a link to CJC-1295 was never established. The program was stopped as a precaution. So it is wrong to say “CJC-1295 killed someone.” What is true is that a death during the trial led the sponsor to stop, and no causal connection to the drug was shown.
And, as always, gray-market purity is its own risk, made worse here by how often the with-DAC and without-DAC versions are mislabeled.
Reporting, not a recommendation, and there is no approved dose. Community sources describe the with-DAC version at roughly one to two milligrams once or twice a week, taking advantage of the long half-life, often as a weekly “background” with ipamorelin dosed more frequently on top. It comes as a powder that has to be reconstituted. We do not give mixing or injection steps.
Not FDA-approved, and not currently compoundable. The FDA placed it in Category 2 in 2023, then removed it in 2024 after the nominations were withdrawn, and an advisory committee later voted against adding it to the approved compounding list. So it sits in a gap with no legal compounding basis. One point to get right: CJC-1295 was not part of the favorable July 2026 peptide vote. It is on a separate, earlier, and less favorable track. It is also banned in sport by WADA.
This is the distinction that matters most. With DAC lasts six to eight days and gives a sustained rise, dosed weekly. Without DAC (Mod GRF 1-29) lasts about 30 minutes and gives a short pulse, dosed multiple times a day. Same core peptide, very different behavior. When someone shares a “CJC-1295 protocol,” the first question is always which one they mean.
What is the difference between CJC-1295 with and without DAC? With DAC binds albumin and lasts about a week, giving a sustained rise and weekly dosing. Without DAC lasts about 30 minutes and gives a short pulse.
Is it FDA-approved? No, and it currently has no legal compounding pathway.
Is there real human evidence? One 2006 Phase 1 study showed growth hormone and IGF-1 rose for one to two weeks after a dose. There are no long-term human trials.
Did someone die in a CJC-1295 trial? A participant died during the 2006 program and it was halted as a precaution. The death was attributed to likely underlying heart disease, and a link to the drug was never established.
Why only once or twice a week? The DAC extends the half-life to about six to eight days.
Why stack it with ipamorelin? They hit two different receptors and produce more growth hormone together, with CJC-1295 as the sustained background.
Is it banned in sport? Yes, WADA-prohibited at all times, and detectable.
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