CJC-1295 No DAC

Where CJC-1295 No DAC comes from.

CJC-1295 is a synthetic peptide developed by ConjuChem in the early 2000s, derived from the natural growth-hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) sequence. The native human GHRH peptide is forty-four amino acids long; the CJC family uses the first twenty-nine residues, which are the residues responsible for receptor binding. Four targeted amino-acid substitutions in this thirty-residue construct were introduced to slow the rapid degradation that the native peptide undergoes in plasma.

The "No DAC" designation is the critical distinction. The original CJC-1295 carried a Drug Affinity Complex (DAC) modification that bound covalently to circulating albumin and dramatically extended the peptide half-life. The No DAC variant omits that modification, leaving the four amino-acid stabilising substitutions but no albumin-binding tail. The published research often refers to the No DAC variant as Modified GRF (1-29) or MOD-GRF.

The peptide is built by Fmoc solid-phase peptide synthesis, purified by reversed-phase HPLC, and freeze-dried. PubMed lists roughly 60 papers mentioning CJC-1295 as of 2026, with more under MOD-GRF and Modified GRF (1-29) terminology. The research is concentrated in growth-hormone secretion studies, GHRH-receptor pharmacology, and a small number of human pilot studies on growth-hormone deficiency.

What the research looks at.

CJC-1295 No DAC research starts from the native GHRH receptor, a class B G-protein-coupled receptor expressed on anterior pituitary somatotrophs. The published literature describes the peptide as a GHRH-receptor agonist, with the four amino-acid substitutions in residues 2, 8, 15, and 27 chosen to resist degradation by dipeptidyl peptidase-4 and other plasma proteases. Studies have measured how this stabilisation affects the duration of receptor activation in animal pharmacokinetic models.

A second strand of research has compared the No DAC variant against the original DAC-conjugated CJC-1295 in head-to-head animal studies. The DAC version produces sustained plasma levels and a long duration of action; the No DAC version retains the resistance to plasma degradation but lacks the albumin tether, producing a shorter pharmacokinetic profile. The literature describes the two as substantially different research tools despite the shared name.

"The four amino-acid substitutions are the same in both variants. The DAC modification is what produces the long half-life that distinguishes the original CJC-1295 from the No DAC version."

Most published research using CJC-1295 No DAC examines pulsatile growth-hormone release from the pituitary in animal models, often paired with a separate GHSR1a agonist (the receptor class that ipamorelin and ghrelin act on) to produce additive or synergistic effects in the same study. The published papers describe what is observed in animal models; they do not describe approved clinical use.

Where the published research does not go: there are no FDA or EMA approvals for CJC-1295 No DAC in any indication. Human pilot studies are limited and small in scale. The compound is classified as a research peptide, and research is the only context in which it is supplied.