CJC-1295 (no DAC) + Ipamorelin
Two secretagogues on different receptors — a GHRH analogue paired with a ghrelin-receptor agonist.
Growth hormone axis · 8 min read · updated 13 Aug 2026
Research use only. The ranges below are what published studies and community protocols report. They are reference material for laboratory research, not medical advice or a recommendation for human or veterinary use.
The compound
CJC+IPA
View- Type
- Growth Hormone Secretagogue (GHS) / GHRH Analog Complex
- CAS
- 863288-34-0 (CJC-1295), 170851-70-4 (Ipamorelin)
- Formula
- C₁十五₂H₂₅₂N₄₄O₄₂ (CJC-1295), C₃₈H₄₉N₉O₅ (Ipamorelin)
- Mass
- ~3367.95 g/mol (CJC-1295), ~711.9 g/mol (Ipamorelin)
At a glance
- Class
- GHRH analogue + GHS-R1a agonist combination
- Vial contents
- CJC-1295 (no DAC) 5 mg + Ipamorelin 5 mg = 10 mg total
- CJC-1295 (no DAC)
- 29 amino acids, ~3367.95 Da, CAS 863288-34-0
- Ipamorelin
- 5 amino acids, ~711.9 Da, CAS 170851-70-4
- Half-lives
- CJC-1295 no DAC ~30 min; ipamorelin ~2 h
- Vial size stocked
- 10 mg combined
This is a two-receptor combination, and understanding why it is combined is most of the guide. CJC-1295 without DAC — also called Mod GRF (1-29) — is a modified fragment of growth hormone releasing hormone. It binds the GHRH receptor on pituitary somatotrophs and increases the amplitude of GH pulses. Ipamorelin is a pentapeptide agonist at the growth hormone secretagogue receptor GHS-R1a, the ghrelin receptor, and it both stimulates GH release and suppresses somatostatin, the brake on GH secretion.
Acting together they produce a larger GH pulse than either produces alone: one pushes the accelerator, the other releases the brake. Crucially, both work through the pituitary, so the resulting GH release stays pulsatile and remains subject to normal negative feedback. That is the structural difference from administering recombinant GH, which bypasses the pituitary entirely.
The "no DAC" qualifier matters. The original CJC-1295 carried a Drug Affinity Complex that bound serum albumin and stretched the half-life to about a week, producing a sustained "bleed" of GH rather than pulses. The no-DAC version clears in around thirty minutes, which preserves pulsatility. The two are different tools and the dosing does not transfer between them.
Why ipamorelin specifically
Ipamorelin is the most selective of the ghrelin-receptor secretagogues. Earlier compounds in the class — GHRP-6 and GHRP-2 — also raise cortisol, prolactin and appetite, because they engage the receptor less cleanly. Ipamorelin produces GH release with minimal effect on cortisol or prolactin at standard doses. That selectivity is the reason this particular pairing became the default rather than a GHRP-based one.
The saturation dose and why more is not more
Both components show a saturation dose of approximately 0.1 mg — roughly 0.001 mg per kilogram. Above that, the additional GH released rises very little because the pituitary somatotroph pool available for release in one pulse is finite. This is genuinely different from a dose-response compound: pushing 0.3 mg does not produce three times the pulse, it mostly produces three times the cost.
The productive way to increase total GH exposure is more pulses per day, not larger pulses. Reported protocols therefore run two or three administrations daily rather than one large one.
Dosing arithmetic for a blended vial — read carefully
The vial holds 5 mg of each peptide in a single lyophilised cake. They cannot be separated. So every dose delivers the two in a fixed 1:1 ratio, and the number written on a protocol has to be read carefully.
If the saturation dose is 0.1 mg of each, the dose drawn from this vial is 0.2 mg of blend. Reading "0.1 mg" from a single-peptide protocol and drawing 0.1 mg of blend delivers 0.05 mg of each — half the intended amount. This is the most common error with combination vials and it is worth writing the intended split on the vial label.
Food, insulin and somatostatin
GH release from a secretagogue is blunted by circulating somatostatin, and somatostatin rises after a meal — particularly after carbohydrate and fat. Reported protocols administer on an empty stomach with a window of roughly 20–30 minutes before eating and about two hours after the last meal. This is not a fringe detail; it is the difference between a full pulse and a partial one.
Storage
- Lyophilised: 2–8 °C, or −20 °C for long-term storage, protected from light.
- Reconstituted: 2–8 °C, used within about 28 days.
- Ipamorelin is the more fragile of the two in solution. Avoid repeated warming of the vial by leaving it out between administrations.
Cautions
- Post-administration flushing, a brief head-rush sensation and mild tingling are commonly reported and generally settle within minutes.
- Water retention and joint discomfort appear at higher total daily exposures, exactly as with GH itself.
- Ipamorelin has minimal cortisol and prolactin effect at standard doses, but selectivity is dose-dependent — it is not guaranteed at multiples of the saturation dose.
- Because GH release still passes through the pituitary, an intact hypothalamic–pituitary axis is a prerequisite for the combination to do anything at all.
References & credit
- 1Raun K et al., Eur J Endocrinol 1998 — Original characterisation of ipamorelin and its selectivity versus GHRP-class secretagogues.
- 2Teichman SL et al., J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2006 — CJC-1295 pharmacokinetics and GH/IGF-1 response — the DAC form, included for contrast.
- 3Sinha DK et al., Transl Androl Urol 2020 — Review of GH secretagogues and their pituitary mechanism.
This article was written in-house. Where a dose range reflects community practice rather than a published trial, the community references we consulted are credited above and the article says which is which.