CJC-1295 research: what the published studies show

Which Molecule the Published Work Used

The published pharmacology of CJC-1295 concerns the albumin-conjugating form, sold separately as CJC-1295 with DAC. Peer-reviewed characterization of the unconjugated peptide on its own is limited, and no indexed study of it alone was retrieved for this page. Everything in the sections below is stated with the molecule named.

A 2005 study synthesized three maleimido derivatives of hGRF(1-29) and bioconjugated them to human serum albumin ex vivo.^[1] All three conjugates showed enhanced in vitro stability against dipeptidyl peptidase-IV.^[1] All three were bioactive in a GH secretion assay in cultured rat anterior pituitary cells.^[1]

The compound the authors selected and named CJC-1295 is described in that paper as a tetrasubstituted form of hGRF(1-29) carrying an added maleimidopropionamide derivative of lysine at the C terminus.^[1] The added group is the drug affinity complex.^[1] It showed a four-fold increase in GH area under the curve over two hours compared with hGRF(1-29), and was present in plasma beyond 72 hours.^[1] A western blot showed an immunoreactive species on the albumin band from 15 minutes and beyond 24 hours.^[1]

Human Data, and Which Molecule It Belongs To

A 2006 study ran two randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind ascending-dose trials in healthy adults aged 21 to 61, over 28 and 49 days.^[2] Single injections produced dose-dependent rises in mean plasma GH of two to ten-fold for six days or more.^[2] Mean plasma IGF-1 rose 1.5 to three-fold for nine to eleven days.^[2]

The estimated half-life was 5.8 to 8.1 days.^[2] After multiple doses, mean IGF-1 remained above baseline for up to 28 days.^[2] No serious adverse reactions were reported, and the authors call the compound safe and relatively well tolerated at 30 or 60 micrograms per kilogram.^[2] Every one of those figures belongs to the conjugating form.^[2] A free 29-residue peptide does not have a half-life measured in days.^[1]

The Class in Human Studies

A 2018 review of growth hormone secretagogues in human subjects states that few long-term, rigorously controlled studies have examined their efficacy and safety.^[3] It reports the class as well tolerated, with some concern for increases in blood glucose because of decreases in insulin sensitivity.^[3] It closes by saying long-term safety, including cancer incidence and mortality, still needs evaluation.^[3] The review covers GHRH analogues and ghrelin receptor agonists together, so nothing in it is specific to this compound.^[3]

State of the Evidence

Two things shape this page, and the first is a naming collision rather than a gap in the science.

The name CJC-1295 was assigned in reference 1 to the conjugating molecule.^[1] This product is that molecule's backbone without the conjugating group. Both of the compound-specific sources on this page therefore study a different molecule, and both are reported here with that stated in the sentence rather than in a footnote.

The second is what follows from that. There is no retrieved study of the unconjugated tetrasubstituted peptide's potency, duration or safety. The four amino acid substitutions and the functions the page attributes to each are chemistry, not findings, and no source on this page supports them. A customer comparing this product to the DAC version has no head-to-head data to compare, because none was retrieved.

2Teichman 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. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. 2006;91(3):799-805.PubMed PMID: 163526833Sigalos JT, Pastuszak AW. The Safety and Efficacy of Growth Hormone Secretagogues. Sexual Medicine Reviews. 2018;6(1):45-53.PubMed PMID: 28400207