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CJC-1295 and ipamorelin: what FDA and anti-doping agencies say

You might have seen them on social media or offered by a clinic. Neither is an approved medicine. These are the facts from regulators and the studies in people, both ways.

By PeptideTracker editorial team · Updated November 8, 2026 · 7 sources

[00] Short answer

  1. Neither CJC-1295 nor ipamorelin is an FDA-approved medicine. The FDA's drug database lists no product containing either2.
  2. FDA says CJC-1295 has been linked to serious side effects, including a faster heart rate and a body-wide flushing (vasodilatory) reaction, and that clinical data are limited1.
  3. In the small 2006 trials of CJC-1295 in healthy adults, the authors reported no serious adverse reactions4.
  4. For ipamorelin, FDA points to serious adverse events, including a death, when it was given into a vein to help the gut recover after surgery1.
  5. Both are banned in sport. In 2025 a triathlete got a 4-year ban for promoting them, and other peptides, on social media3.

What are CJC-1295 and ipamorelin?

CJC-1295 and ipamorelin are lab-made peptides that make the body release more growth hormone. They work in different ways, which is why they're often talked about together.

  • CJC-1295 is a long-acting version of growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH), the signal the brain uses to trigger growth hormone. In a study in healthy adults, one injection kept growth hormone raised for 6 days or more4.
  • Ipamorelin acts on the ghrelin receptor, a different route to the same result7. In healthy men it caused one burst of growth hormone that peaked about 40 minutes after it was given6.
Half-life in people, from the published studies
PeptideHalf-lifeStudied in
CJC-12955.8 to 8.1 days4Healthy adults aged 21 to 61, injected under the skin
IpamorelinAbout 2 hours6Healthy men, given into a vein

These are the long-acting form of CJC-1295 that the studies tested. We found no published half-life in people for versions sold without the long-acting part (often labeled 'no DAC').

Are CJC-1295 and ipamorelin approved?

No. There's no FDA-approved product containing CJC-1295 or ipamorelin2.

FDA also keeps a list of ingredients it has concerns about for pharmacy compounding. CJC-1295 was put forward for compounding and then withdrawn. Ipamorelin acetate has been in the category for outsourcing pharmacies that FDA says may present significant safety risks since September 29, 20231.

For both, FDA says compounded versions may cause an immune reaction (immunogenicity) for some ways of giving them1.

What did the studies in people find?

The human studies are small and few. Each study is below, including the results that cut the other way.

  • CJC-1295 in healthy adults (2006). Two placebo-controlled trials raised growth hormone 2 to 10 times and IGF-1 1.5 to 3 times. The authors reported no serious adverse reactions4. A follow-up found the body still released growth hormone in its normal pulses5.
  • Ipamorelin after bowel surgery (2014). A trial of 114 patients tested whether ipamorelin, given into a vein, helped the gut recover. It didn't make a significant difference: the median time to eating a solid meal was 25.3 hours with ipamorelin and 32.6 hours with placebo, which wasn't a significant gap. Side effects were about as common as with placebo7.
  • FDA's view of the same ipamorelin study. In its review, FDA says serious adverse events, including a death, happened when ipamorelin was given this way1.

What risks has the FDA named?

FDA lists these concerns on its compounding safety page1:

  • CJC-1295: serious adverse events including increased heart rate and a body-wide vasodilatory reaction (blood vessels widening, which can cause flushing and a drop in blood pressure). Limited clinical data.
  • Ipamorelin: serious adverse events including a death when given into a vein to help gut movement.
  • Both: a possible immune reaction to compounded versions.

Because neither is approved, there's no official label listing side effects, interactions or who shouldn't use them.

Are CJC-1295 and ipamorelin banned in sport?

Yes. USADA classes both as non-specified substances in the group “Peptide Hormones, Growth Factors, Related Substances, and Mimetics”. Using or having them carries a default 4-year ban3.

You don't have to take them to be banned. In September 2025, USADA sanctioned a triathlete and wellness coach for promoting BPC-157, TB-500, CJC-1295, ipamorelin and tesamorelin to followers on social media, some of whom were tested athletes. He accepted a 4-year ban from September 9, 2025, and lost all results from June 1, 20243.

If you're thinking about them: questions to ask a doctor

If a clinic or someone online is offering CJC-1295 or ipamorelin, these are fair questions to take to a doctor you trust:

  1. Is this approved for what I want it for? If not, what evidence is there in people?
  2. Who made this product, and how do I know what's in the vial?
  3. Do any of my health conditions or medicines make it riskier for me?
  4. What would we check before and during, and what would make us stop?
  5. If I'm tested for sport, could this affect me?

Questions

Is CJC-1295 legal?

It isn't an approved medicine in the US, and it's banned in sport. Whether buying or owning it is legal depends on where you live. We can't give legal advice.

Is ipamorelin safer than CJC-1295?

No study has compared them in people. FDA has named safety concerns for both, and neither has been tested in people for the uses it's usually promoted for.

What's the half-life of CJC-1295 and ipamorelin?

In the published studies, CJC-1295 had a half-life of 5.8 to 8.1 days and ipamorelin about 2 hours. We found no published human figure for CJC-1295 sold without the long-acting part.

Is there a calculator for CJC-1295 and ipamorelin?

The blend vial calculator does the math for a combined vial, as it does for any powder. It doesn't give a dose, and there's no tested dose in people for how these are usually used.

Sources

Checked against FDA's compounding safety-risks page (April 2026), Drugs@FDA, USADA (September 2025) and the published human studies. How we check

  1. 1FDA: Certain bulk drug substances for use in compounding that may present significant safety risks. content current as of April 22, 2026; CJC-1295 and ipamorelin acetate entries
  2. 2Drugs@FDA: FDA-approved drugs database. no product containing CJC-1295 or ipamorelin, checked November 8, 2026
  3. 3USADA: Triathlon athlete Anthony McCauley accepts sanction for anti-doping rule violations. September 17, 2025
  4. 4Teichman SL et al. Prolonged stimulation of GH and IGF-I secretion by CJC-1295, a long-acting analog of GH-releasing hormone, in healthy adults. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2006;91(3):799-805
  5. 5Ionescu M, Frohman LA. Pulsatile secretion of GH persists during continuous stimulation by CJC-1295. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2006;91(12):4792-7
  6. 6Gobburu JV et al. Pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic modeling of ipamorelin, a growth hormone releasing peptide, in human volunteers. Pharm Res. 1999;16(9):1412-6
  7. 7Beck DE et al. Prospective, randomized, controlled, proof-of-concept study of the ghrelin mimetic ipamorelin for postoperative ileus in bowel resection patients. Int J Colorectal Dis. 2014;29(12):1527-34

This guide explains what labels and published studies say. It isn't medical advice and doesn't replace your prescriber or pharmacist.

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