What is CJC-1295 + Ipamorelin? Components, Mechanism and Research Overview

CJC-1295 + Ipamorelin is a co-lyophilized blend of two peptides that act on different receptors in the same axis: CJC-1295 (No DAC), a stabilised 29-residue GHRH analogue that engages the GHRH receptor on pituitary somatotrophs, and ipamorelin, a selective pentapeptide agonist at the ghrelin receptor GHS-R1a. The pairing exists because the two receptors sit on separate signalling pathways in the same cell — Gs/cAMP for the GHRH receptor, Gq/phospholipase C for GHS-R1a — and combined GHRH-plus-secretagogue exposure has been reported to produce a larger secretory response than either compound alone in published pituitary pharmacology.

MyPeptide supplies CJC-1295 (No DAC) + Ipamorelin as a 1:1 co-lyophilized powder in 10 mg (5 mg/5 mg) and 20 mg (10 mg/10 mg) vials within the growth hormone blends range. Research use only; not for human or veterinary use.

What is in the vial

Origin and structure of the two components

CJC-1295 (No DAC) is also catalogued as Mod GRF (1-29). It is the first 29 residues of human GHRH — the shortest fragment that retains full receptor activity — carrying four substitutions chosen to defeat specific degradation routes: D-alanine at position 2 blocks dipeptidyl peptidase-4 cleavage, glutamine at 8 removes an asparagine deamidation site, alanine at 15 stabilises the helix and leucine at 27 removes a methionine oxidation site. The "No DAC" designation distinguishes it from the version carrying a drug affinity complex linker that binds serum albumin; without that linker, the peptide is short-acting by design. Full detail is in our explainer on what CJC-1295 is.

Ipamorelin is a synthetic pentapeptide developed at Novo Nordisk in the 1990s, built around the aminoisobutyric acid and D-2-naphthylalanine residues that give it stability and receptor affinity. Its defining published property is selectivity: unlike the earlier GHRP series, animal and human pharmacology work reported growth hormone release without the concurrent elevations in cortisol, ACTH and prolactin seen with GHRP-2, GHRP-6 and hexarelin. Our ipamorelin explainer covers the structure in detail.

How the combination is thought to work

The rationale is pathway complementarity within a single cell type. The GHRH receptor is Gs-coupled: agonism raises intracellular cAMP and activates protein kinase A, which in the published model both promotes secretion and supports somatotroph transcriptional activity. The ghrelin receptor is Gq-coupled: agonism drives phospholipase C, inositol trisphosphate generation and a rise in intracellular calcium. Because the two converge on secretion through different second-messenger systems, the combined response reported in pituitary preparations and in human pharmacology studies of GHRH plus a secretagogue is larger than the sum of the individual responses — the observation that gave rise to this class of blend.

A second reported contribution is functional opposition to somatostatin, the inhibitory arm of the axis. Secretagogues acting at GHS-R1a have been described as blunting somatostatin tone, which would permit a fuller GHRH-driven response. Both mechanisms remain pituitary-level pharmacology; neither describes an outcome.

Two caveats belong in any experimental design. First, GHS-R1a desensitises with continuous exposure, so the amplitude of a combined response is time-structure dependent. Second, a co-lyophilized 1:1 blend fixes the molar ratio at roughly 4.7 parts ipamorelin to 1 part CJC-1295 — because the peptides differ almost fivefold in molecular weight, equal mass is far from equal moles. A study that needs to vary the ratio must use single-component vials rather than a blend, a point our guide to peptide blends versus single vials works through.

What the research has examined

Combined GHRH and secretagogue pharmacology

The strongest evidence base is not for this specific commercial pairing but for the general principle. Human and animal studies from the 1990s onward administered GHRH together with a GHRP-class secretagogue and reported greater growth hormone release than either alone, establishing the synergy that blend products are built on.

Ipamorelin selectivity studies

Preclinical work at Novo Nordisk compared ipamorelin against GHRP-6 and other secretagogues and reported comparable growth hormone release without the associated ACTH and cortisol response. This selectivity is the reason ipamorelin, rather than an older GHRP, appears in most current blends.

GHRH analogue stability work

Separate literature characterised each of the four Mod GRF (1-29) substitutions against its specific degradation route, and compared the DAC and non-DAC versions on persistence. The distinction matters: a short-acting GHRH analogue supports pulse-structured study designs, while an albumin-binding version produces sustained exposure.

What has not been established

There are no controlled studies of this specific co-formulated product, and no published data on whether a fixed 1:1 mass ratio is optimal for any research question. Blend composition on this and every other catalogue is a formulation convention, not an evidence-based specification. Background on the wider class is in the GH secretagogue landscape explained.

Forms and sizes we supply

Both sizes are co-lyophilized into a single vial, so one reconstitution produces a solution containing both peptides at the stated ratio. The 10 mg (5 mg/5 mg) vial suits shorter series; the 20 mg (10 mg/10 mg) vial is the more economical unit where a longer study should run on one lot. Each lot carries a certificate reporting purity for each component separately, at ≥99% by HPLC. Ordering considerations are covered in our CJC-1295 + Ipamorelin buying guide; the components are also available separately as CJC-1295 (No DAC) and Ipamorelin.

Reconstitution and storage in a lab context

The blend reconstitutes as a single material. Bacteriostatic water is used where the solution will be drawn from repeatedly, sterile water where a preservative would interfere with an assay. Solvent is added down the vial wall and the vial swirled rather than shaken.

The arithmetic tracks total peptide mass unless stated otherwise. A 10 mg (5/5) vial made up with 2 mL of diluent yields 5 mg/mL total, which is 2.5 mg/mL of each component — so 0.1 mL, the 10-unit mark on a U-100 syringe, contains 250 mcg of CJC-1295 and 250 mcg of ipamorelin. The 20 mg (10/10) vial made up with 4 mL gives the same per-volume figures. Working from the total rather than the per-component figure is the most common arithmetic error with blends; the full method is in our reconstitution guide.

Sealed vials are held at −20 °C, protected from light and moisture; reconstituted solution at 2–8 °C for the study window, with aliquoting and freezing for longer work. Practice is summarised in how to store peptides.

Purity, COA and how to read a blend certificate

A blend certificate has to answer a question a single-peptide certificate does not: what is actually in the vial, and in what proportion. Three things are worth checking. Purity should be stated per component, not as a single combined figure. Mass spectrometry should show both expected masses — 3,367.93 g/mol and 711.85 g/mol — which together confirm identity far more strongly than either alone. And the ratio should be verifiable from the HPLC trace, where the two peptides give well-separated peaks whose relative areas reflect the blend proportion. A certificate that reports one purity figure and one mass for a two-component product is incomplete.

Regulatory status

Neither component has marketing authorisation as a medicine in the United States, and the blend has none. Growth hormone itself is a prescription biologic; these are secretagogues studied for their effect on its release, and they are not equivalent to it. Material supplied here is a research-use-only chemical for laboratory investigation by qualified personnel — not a supplement, not a medicine, and not for human or veterinary administration. Growth hormone secretagogues and GHRH analogues are prohibited in sport under anti-doping rules.

Related blends and further reading

The closest alternatives pair the same secretagogue with a different GHRH-side partner: Tesamorelin + Ipamorelin uses a stabilised full-length 44-residue analogue, and Sermorelin + Ipamorelin uses the native unmodified GHRH (1-29) fragment.