Sermorelin and CJC-1295 are close relatives. Sermorelin is the first 29 amino acids of growth-hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH). CJC-1295 began as an effort to make that same fragment last longer in the body [1]. One was an FDA-approved drug from 1990 until 2009 [7]. The other never got past early trials, and FDA's compounding advisers voted it down in December 2024 [2].
Two GHRH analogs, and only one was ever an approved drug
Both peptides act on the GHRH receptor in the pituitary, telling it to release the body's own growth hormone. Neither contains growth hormone, and both need a pituitary that can still respond.
The difference is staying power. GHRH therapy "is limited by its short duration of action," as the CJC-1295 trial authors put it [9]. FDA's review says CJC-1295's developer set out "to overcome the short half-life of human GHRH1-29" [1]. Its answer was DAC, a chemical add-on that binds the peptide to albumin in the blood. The result lasted days [9].
Be careful with the name. The "CJC-1295 without DAC" sold online, sometimes called mod GRF 1-29, is a different molecule from the one in the trials, and FDA counts five distinct CJC-1295 substances sold under at least nine names [1].
Side by side: a withdrawn approval against a peptide that never had one
| CJC-1295 | Sermorelin | |
|---|---|---|
| FDA status | Never approved | Approved as Geref in 1990 and 1997; withdrawn in 2009 at the maker's request, not for safety [7] |
| Route to a US patient | None: advisers voted against all five forms, December 4, 2024 [2] | Compounded drug, by prescription; 503B Category 1, under evaluation [6] |
| Former approved use | None | A pituitary test, and children with growth-hormone deficiency [7] |
| Duration | Half-life 5.8 to 8.1 days (DAC form) [9] | Short; CJC-1295 was designed to outlast it [1] |
| Human studies | 63 healthy adults in short dosing studies [1] | 110 children (open-label); 11 older men; 19 older adults on a close analog |
| Adult outcome evidence | None published | No change in IGF-1, muscle or fat over 6 weeks in 11 men [12] |
| Safety signals | Injection-site reactions, flushing, headache, faster heart rate; a trial death (FDA's account) | Reported as well tolerated in small, short studies; no current label |
| Sport | Prohibited at all times, WADA S2.2.4 [14] | Prohibited at all times, WADA S2.2.4 [14] |
Sermorelin's evidence: clear in children, thin in adults
Sermorelin's approved use was in children. In an open-label study of 110 untreated children with growth-hormone deficiency, height velocity rose from 1.6 inches (4.1 cm) a year to 3.1 inches (8.0 cm) at 6 months and 2.8 inches (7.2 cm) at 12 months, and 74% were rated good responders [11]. There was no control group.
The adult data are what telehealth patients are relying on, and they are small. In 11 healthy men aged 64 to 76, 6 weeks of sermorelin raised night-time growth hormone. IGF-1, weight, and muscle and fat on DEXA scans didn't change, though 2 of 6 strength tests improved [12]. The other study often cited used a close analog in 19 older adults [13]. Whether any of it adds up is covered in does sermorelin work.
CJC-1295's evidence: hormone levels, and one trial that was stopped
CJC-1295 raised hormones for a long time. In two small randomized trials in healthy adults, one injection lifted growth hormone 2- to 10-fold for 6 days or more and IGF-1 1.5- to 3-fold for 9 to 11 days [9]. Natural growth-hormone pulses kept their size and timing; the level between pulses rose 7.5-fold [10].
Those studies measured blood levels, not outcomes. FDA counted 63 healthy adults exposed, 73% of them to a single dose [1]. The one trial in patients, in HIV-associated lipodystrophy, was stopped after a participant died of a heart attack. FDA's account comes from press reports. The attending physician thought undiagnosed coronary disease was the likely cause, and the results were never published.
Side effects in the healthy-adult studies were common. Injection-site reactions affected about 70% in one study, headache 63% against 14% on placebo, and flushing rose with dose, from 40% to 100% [1]. Heart rate rose with dose in the other study. Sermorelin's small studies reported it well tolerated [11], but it has no current FDA label listing side effects. See is sermorelin FDA approved for what the withdrawal did and didn't mean.
CJC-1295 with ipamorelin vs sermorelin: the blend adds a second rejected peptide
Many people asking this mean the CJC-1295 and ipamorelin blend. That doesn't help the comparison. FDA's advisers voted against CJC-1295, 0 yes and 13 no on four forms and 1 yes and 12 no on the acetate [2]. They voted against ipamorelin 0 yes, 12 no, 1 abstention [3]. No published trial has tested the blend. The pair is covered on CJC-1295 and ipamorelin, and the head-to-head with sermorelin on sermorelin vs ipamorelin.
Status: sermorelin has a pharmacy route, CJC-1295 has none
CJC-1295 sat in Category 2 of FDA's 503A list from September 29, 2023 [4] until September 27, 2024, when it was removed because the nominations were withdrawn [5]. FDA put it to its advisers anyway, and on December 4, 2024 every form was voted down.
| Form | Yes | No | Abstain |
|---|---|---|---|
| CJC-1295 (free base) | 0 | 13 | 0 |
| CJC-1295 acetate | 1 | 12 | 0 |
| CJC-1295 DAC (free base) | 0 | 13 | 0 |
| CJC-1295 DAC acetate | 0 | 13 | 0 |
| CJC-1295 DAC trifluoroacetate | 0 | 13 | 0 |
A yes vote meant adding the form to the 503A bulks list. Source: FDA's summary minutes, approved February 21, 2025.
Sermorelin's story runs the other way. The maker discontinued Geref in 2008 and FDA withdrew the approvals in 2009 [8]. In 2013 FDA found they were not withdrawn for safety or effectiveness reasons [7]. Today sermorelin is prescribed off-label to adults and filled by compounding pharmacies, and FDA lists it in Category 1 of the 503B list [6].
What to ask before starting either kind of growth-hormone peptide
If a clinic offers you either peptide, the useful questions are the same, and the answers tell you which side of this table you're on:
- Has anyone tested whether I actually have low growth hormone, and what did IGF-1 show?
- Which pharmacy makes this product, and is it a 503A pharmacy or a 503B outsourcing facility?
- Is this sermorelin, or a CJC-1295 product? If CJC-1295, under what authority was it made?
- Will you recheck IGF-1 and blood sugar while I'm on it?
Related matchup: CJC-1295 vs tesamorelin. How this site weighs evidence and status is in how we check.