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Research Memos

Sermorelin vs CJC-1295 with DAC

Sermorelin is the amidated first twenty-nine residues of growth hormone-releasing hormone. Its studies include growth in children with diagnosed growth hormone deficiency. CJC-1295 with a drug affinity complex (DAC) is a modified albumin-binding analogue whose healthy-adult trials measured prolonged hormone increases. Their different molecular forms, populations and outcomes do not establish which improves adult strength, recovery or aging.

Research reviewed October 15, 2026. Educational information only.

The molecular modification determines which CJC-1295 evidence applies

Sermorelin is growth hormone-releasing hormone residues 1–29 with an amidated end, written GHRH(1–29)-NH2. It acts through the receptor for growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) on pituitary cells that release growth hormone. CJC-1295 with DAC modifies the GHRH fragment and adds a drug affinity complex, which allows attachment to albumin, an abundant blood protein. The attachment prolongs exposure.

The long-acting CJC-1295 human findings concern that albumin-binding preparation. Modified GRF(1–29), often marketed using a “CJC-1295 no DAC” name, is a separate preparation. Neither its absence of albumin binding nor a shared receptor lets it inherit the DAC trials’ half-life or hormone results. The three preparations have different sequences or albumin-binding properties, with separate exposure evidence.

The main differences

Which molecular forms belong in this comparison?

Both signal through the growth hormone-releasing hormone receptor, but the albumin-binding drug affinity complex changes exposure. The DAC qualifier is part of the identity.

Sermorelin

Sermorelin is the natural first twenty-nine residues of growth hormone-releasing hormone with an amidated end, GHRH(1–29)-NH2. It differs from singly substituted or multiply modified analogues.

Sources

CJC-1295 with DAC

The cited long-acting trials used CJC-1295 with DAC, which attaches to albumin, a blood protein. The modified DAC-free fragment often sold under a no-DAC name is a separate preparation and does not inherit those exposure results.

Sources

What did the main human studies physically measure?

The populations and outcomes differ: children with diagnosed growth hormone deficiency grew taller, whereas healthy adults in CJC-1295 trials had blood hormones measured. These are separate research questions.

Sermorelin

In an uncontrolled study, 86 of 110 treated children were eligible for efficacy analysis. Mean growth speed rose from 4.1 cm/year before treatment to 8.0 at six months and 7.2 at twelve months. There was no concurrent placebo group or final-height finding.

Sources

CJC-1295 with DAC

Two placebo-controlled healthy-adult trials found mean growth hormone increases of two- to tenfold for at least six days and increases of 1.5- to threefold in insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), a growth-related protein, for nine to eleven days. They did not establish improved physical performance or recovery.

Sources

Does a larger or more sustained hormone response establish better treatment?

Hormone exposure and a clinical outcome are different measurements. The cited studies did not compare these compounds directly for adult strength, recovery or longevity.

Sermorelin

In a randomized sixty-child trial, two groups receiving continuous infusions of the growth hormone-releasing hormone fragment grew 9.2 and 9.3 cm/year versus 14.6 with direct growth hormone treatment (P<0.01). This concerns childhood deficiency and cannot rank sermorelin against CJC-1295 in adults.

Sources

CJC-1295 with DAC

In the overnight study, growth hormone pulses persisted while between-pulse concentrations rose 7.5-fold and mean growth hormone rose 46%. Persistent pulses do not demonstrate unchanged total exposure, improved function or longer life.

Sources

What do the human half-life measurements show?

The natural fragment was infused intravenously, while long-acting CJC-1295 was administered under the skin. These studies measured disappearance of the administered peptide, with different routes and preparations.

Sermorelin

In ten healthy men, the infused natural amidated GHRH fragment had a disappearance half-time of 4.3 ± 1.4 minutes (mean ± standard error). A separate D-Ala2 analogue lasted 6.7 ± 0.5 minutes; that modified value is not sermorelin’s value.

Sources

CJC-1295 with DAC

The estimated CJC-1295 with DAC peptide half-life was 5.8–8.1 days after subcutaneous administration. This applies to the albumin-binding preparation and cannot be transferred to a no-DAC product or treated as a duration of clinical benefit.

Sources

What can approval history and short-term safety observations establish?

Historical product approval, discontinuation and a current compounded preparation are different regulatory situations. There is no cited long-term head-to-head safety trial.

Sermorelin

Geref, the historical sermorelin acetate product, had its approvals withdrawn after marketing ceased; FDA later determined that withdrawal was not for safety or effectiveness reasons. That history does not establish FDA approval of current compounded sermorelin or an anti-aging indication.

Sources

CJC-1295 with DAC

FDA describes limited CJC-1295 clinical data, reported increased heart rate and widened blood vessels, and possible immune reactions associated with product quality. Its 2024 assessment identifies no FDA-approved drug containing the reviewed forms. FDA also recounts an unpublished, 192-person HIV fat-distribution trial halted after a heart-attack death. The attending physician favored underlying coronary disease; the drug’s contribution remains unresolved.

Sources

Sermorelin studies measured children growing taller

Thorner and colleagues (1996) conducted an open-label multicenter study that treated 110 previously untreated prepubertal children with growth hormone deficiency using GHRH(1–29). Eighty-six were eligible for efficacy analysis. Their average growth speed rose from 4.1 ± 0.9 cm per year before treatment to 8.0 ± 1.5 at six months and 7.2 ± 1.3 at twelve months. These are measurements of height gained per year in children with diagnosed deficiency. The study had no concurrent placebo group and did not establish final adult height.

Chen and colleagues (1993) conducted a separate randomized six-month comparison that enrolled sixty children with growth hormone deficiency. Forty received the GHRH fragment by continuous subcutaneous infusion in two exposure groups, while twenty received growth hormone itself. Mean growth speeds were 9.2 and 9.3 cm per year with the fragment versus 14.6 with growth hormone (P<0.01). The fragment stimulated growth, but growth hormone produced the greater response in this study. These pediatric findings do not establish an adult anti-aging or muscle-building effect.

CJC-1295 with DAC studies measured sustained hormone exposure

Teichman and colleagues (2006) conducted two randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trials in healthy adults aged 21–61. Follow-up lasted twenty-eight or forty-nine days. After subcutaneous CJC-1295 with DAC, mean growth hormone rose two- to tenfold for at least six days, and IGF-1 rose 1.5- to threefold for nine to eleven days. IGF-1 is a growth-related protein whose production responds to growth hormone. These trials measured circulating hormones and peptide exposure, without establishing improved strength, recovery or lifespan.

Ionescu and Frohman (2006) sampled healthy men overnight in a separate study before and one week after CJC-1295 with DAC. FDA’s source-specific review identifies twelve men. Growth hormone pulses remained detectable, but concentrations between pulses rose 7.5-fold (P<0.0001); mean growth hormone rose 46% and IGF-1 rose 45%. Pulse frequency and magnitude were not established as changed. Preserved pulses therefore coexisted with greater hormone exposure and cannot by themselves establish a normal or safer overall hormone pattern.

A short-lived fragment and an albumin-binding analogue have different exposure

In ten healthy men, Soule and colleagues (1994) infused the natural amidated GHRH fragment and a distinct D-Ala2 analogue intravenously, then measured disappearance of the infused peptides. The natural fragment’s disappearance half-time was 4.3 ± 1.4 minutes, while the singly substituted analogue’s was 6.7 ± 0.5 minutes (means ± standard errors). The longer disappearance time belongs to the D-Ala2 molecule; the natural amidated fragment is the sermorelin sequence.

The CJC-1295 with DAC trials estimated a peptide half-life of 5.8–8.1 days after subcutaneous administration. The contrast is consistent with albumin binding prolonging exposure, but it is not a same-route direct trial against sermorelin. A peptide’s disappearance time also differs from the duration of released growth hormone, IGF-1 or any functional effect. Longer exposure does not itself demonstrate greater clinical benefit.

Historical approval and contemporary safety questions need separate explanations

Geref, the historical sermorelin acetate product, had pediatric treatment and diagnostic indications. FDA’s 2013 notice states that marketing ceased and approvals were withdrawn in 2009 at the manufacturer’s request; the agency determined that the products were not withdrawn for safety or effectiveness reasons. This history does not turn a current compounded sermorelin product into an FDA-approved drug or establish an approved anti-aging indication.

Safety observations also depend on the preparation and route. In the sixty-child continuous-infusion comparison, 39 of 40 fragment recipients developed GHRH antibodies. Their levels did not correlate with height gain, and three children reported mild injection-site irritation; no serious side effects were reported. This finding does not predict the antibody rate with every current formulation, and the absence of serious events in that sample does not establish long-term adult safety.

The original healthy-adult CJC-1295 trial abstract reported no serious adverse reactions during its limited follow-up. FDA’s later assessment describes limited clinical data, reported increased heart rate and systemic vasodilation, a widening of blood vessels, and possible immune reactions associated with peptide impurities or aggregation. Its 2024 assessment states that the CJC-1295 substances reviewed were not components of FDA-approved drugs. Neither molecular similarity nor short-term tolerability supplies a direct long-term safety comparison.

FDA also describes anecdotal accounts of an unpublished, 192-participant CJC-1295 trial in people with HIV-related abnormal fat distribution. The trial stopped after one participant died following a heart attack; the attending physician favored previously unrecognized coronary artery disease with plaque rupture and blockage as the explanation. With no published trial data or adequate safety information for the other participants, this account cannot establish whether CJC-1295 caused the death.

Shared hormone biology does not make the trials interchangeable

Sermorelin’s pediatric studies asked whether children with deficient signaling grew taller. CJC-1295 with DAC’s healthy-adult studies asked how long peptide exposure and hormone stimulation persisted. Those results cannot rank the compounds for adult muscle growth, body-fat reduction, recovery or lifespan, and they do not validate combining GHRH-receptor stimulants.

Read the sermorelin profile for the childhood and adult disease-specific reports, the CJC-1295 with DAC profile for the albumin-binding preparation, and modified GRF(1–29) for the separate DAC-free molecule.

Frequently asked questions

Does “CJC-1295” always mean the long-acting form?

No. The long-acting human trials used the albumin-binding DAC preparation. A no-DAC name often refers to modified GRF(1–29), which is a separate molecule.

Was Geref withdrawn because it was unsafe?

FDA’s 2013 determination states that the discontinued Geref products were not withdrawn for safety or effectiveness reasons. Their approvals had been withdrawn in 2009 at the manufacturer’s request after marketing stopped. This does not establish approval of current compounded products.

Do sermorelin’s growth results prove an anti-aging effect?

The principal growth reports involved children with diagnosed growth hormone deficiency. Increased childhood height velocity does not establish better adult strength, function or lifespan.

Do preserved hormone pulses establish normal exposure with CJC-1295?

The overnight experiment found continued pulses alongside a 7.5-fold rise in concentrations between pulses and a 46% rise in mean growth hormone. Pulse timing alone does not describe total hormone exposure or establish safety.

Sermorelin — full profile · Selected studies

CJC-1295 with DAC — full profile · Selected studies

Compare other compounds · Explore the guide previews

References

  1. Thorner M, Rochiccioli P, Colle M, Lanes R, Grunt J, Galazka A, Landy H, Eengrand P, Shah S. Once daily subcutaneous growth hormone-releasing hormone therapy accelerates growth in growth hormone-deficient children during the first year of therapy. Geref International Study Group. The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism. 1996;81(3):1189–1196. doi:10.1210/jcem.81.3.8772599. PMID:8772599.

    An open-label study treated 110 prepubertal children with GH deficiency; 86 were eligible for efficacy analysis. Mean growth speed rose from 4.1 cm/year before treatment to 8.0 at six months and 7.2 at twelve months, without a concurrent placebo group.

  2. Chen RG, Shen YN, Yei J, Wang CF, Xie DH, Wang XH, Zhou JD, Chen CY, Wu YL, Gunnarsson R. A comparative study of growth hormone (GH) and GH-releasing hormone(1-29)-NH2 for stimulation of growth in children with GH deficiency. Acta paediatrica (Oslo, Norway : 1992). Supplement. 1993;388:32–36. doi:10.1111/j.1651-2227.1993.tb12834.x. PMID:8329830.

    In a six-month randomized study, 60 children with growth-hormone deficiency received either the natural amidated growth hormone-releasing hormone fragment GHRH(1–29)-NH2 by continuous infusion under the skin, in two separate groups, or growth hormone itself. Each group had 20 children. Mean height growth was 9.2 and 9.3 cm/year in the fragment groups versus 14.6 cm/year with growth hormone (P<0.01).

  3. Soule S, King JA, Millar RP. Incorporation of D-Ala2 in growth hormone-releasing hormone-(1-29)-NH2 increases the half-life and decreases metabolic clearance in normal men. The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism. 1994;79(4):1208–1211. doi:10.1210/jcem.79.4.7962295. PMID:7962295.

    Ten men received the natural amidated GHRH fragment and a singly substituted D-Ala2 analogue intravenously. Their disappearance half-times were 4.3 ± 1.4 and 6.7 ± 0.5 minutes, respectively; these are two different preparations.

  4. Teichman SL, Neale A, Lawrence B, Gagnon C, Castaigne JP, Frohman LA. 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. The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism. 2006;91(3):799–805. doi:10.1210/jc.2005-1536. PMID:16352683.

    Two placebo-controlled healthy-adult trials found sustained increases in growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), a growth-related protein, after albumin-binding CJC-1295. The estimated peptide half-life was 5.8–8.1 days; the trials measured hormone concentrations rather than recovery or physical performance.

  5. Ionescu M, Frohman LA. Pulsatile secretion of growth hormone (GH) persists during continuous stimulation by CJC-1295, a long-acting GH-releasing hormone analog. The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism. 2006;91(12):4792–4797. doi:10.1210/jc.2006-1702. PMID:17018654.

    Overnight sampling in healthy men found that growth hormone pulses persisted one week after CJC-1295. Concentrations between pulses rose 7.5-fold, mean growth hormone rose 46% and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), a growth-related protein, rose 45%. Pulse frequency and magnitude were not established as changed.

  6. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. December 4, 2024 Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee Meeting. CJC-1295-related bulk drug substances briefing document.

    The agency separates CJC-1295 forms with and without DAC, reconstructs the small healthy-adult studies and explains why hormone increases have not established effectiveness for growth-hormone deficiency. Its safety review also describes anecdotal accounts of an unpublished, 192-participant trial in people with HIV-related abnormal fat distribution. The trial stopped after a participant died following a heart attack; the attending physician favored coronary plaque rupture and blockage as the explanation. The unpublished account leaves CJC-1295’s causal contribution unresolved.

  7. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Determination That GEREF (Sermorelin Acetate) Injection, 0.5 Milligrams Base/Vial and 1.0 Milligrams Base/Vial, and GEREF (Sermorelin Acetate) Injection, 0.05 Milligrams Base/Amp, Were Not Withdrawn From Sale for Reasons of Safety or Effectiveness. Federal Register. 2013;78:14095–14096.

    FDA describes Geref’s historical pediatric treatment and diagnostic indications, its discontinued marketing and withdrawal of approvals in 2009. The agency determined in 2013 that the products were not withdrawn for safety or effectiveness reasons.

  8. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Certain Bulk Drug Substances for Use in Compounding that May Present Significant Safety Risks. Agency assessment; accessed October 15, 2026.

    FDA identifies limited CJC-1295 clinical data, possible immune reactions and peptide-quality concerns. Reported effects include increased heart rate and systemic vasodilation, a widening of blood vessels.

  9. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Understanding the Risks of Compounded Drugs. Accessed October 15, 2026.

    FDA explains that compounded drugs are not FDA approved and are not reviewed before marketing for safety, effectiveness and quality in the same way as approved products.