CJC-1295 With or Without DAC: Why It Matters
Hormonal, Growth Hormone & Body Composition Research
There are two versions of CJC-1295, they behave completely differently, and most listings do not tell you which one is in the vial. Getting this wrong is the most common sourcing error in this part of the catalogue — and it is invisible until the material is already in front of you.
DAC and no-DAC
DAC stands for Drug Affinity Complex. It is an addition to the molecule that lets it bind to serum albumin, and the consequence is a dramatic difference in how long the compound persists:
- CJC-1295 with DAC — albumin binding extends the half-life to the order of days. The signalling profile is long and flat.
- CJC-1295 without DAC — no albumin binding, a half-life measured in minutes, and a brief pulse-like profile. Also sold as Mod GRF 1-29.
Same name on the label, fundamentally different experimental tool. A protocol designed around one is not transferable to the other, and results generated with the wrong form are not comparable to the literature.
If a listing says only “CJC-1295”, that is an incomplete specification. Ask which form before ordering — and expect a straight answer.
Why it is blended with ipamorelin
CJC-1295 is a GHRH analogue: it acts at the growth hormone releasing hormone receptor. Ipamorelin is a secretagogue acting at the ghrelin receptor — a different receptor on a different pathway.
Pairing them is not about stacking two similar things. It is about engaging two separate signalling routes simultaneously, which allows researchers to examine interactions that are simply not observable when either compound is studied alone.
Ipamorelin earns its place in the pairing through selectivity. Earlier secretagogues acted broadly; ipamorelin is studied specifically because it acts narrowly, which makes the resulting data easier to attribute.
What Vistara Labs supplies
The CJC-1295 + Ipamorelin blend in this catalogue is the no-DAC form, stated on the product page rather than left ambiguous. It is supplied as a lyophilised powder in a sealed vial.
Verifying it
Because the two forms are visually identical as powders, documentation is the only practical check. A certificate of analysis records identity and purity, established analytically. Vistara Labs material is third-party tested with COAs available on request.
Reconstitution in a laboratory setting is typically performed with bacteriostatic water, with vials refrigerated and shielded from light thereafter.
Buying in Canada
Vistara Labs ships domestically across Canada with free shipping over $150 — no customs step, and less time in transit for a temperature-sensitive product. Current pricing is on the product page.
The other half of the comparison
Researchers examining GHRH-receptor activity frequently also work with tesamorelin, a GHRH analogue modified to resist enzymatic breakdown.
All products supplied by Vistara Labs are intended for laboratory research use only. They are not drugs, are not approved for human or veterinary use, and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any condition. Nothing on this page constitutes medical advice or guidance for use in humans.
References
The published human CJC-1295 trial used the long-acting DAC analogue, not the no-DAC form. Ipamorelin has its own human pharmacokinetic study. No trial of the two combined was identified.
- Prolonged stimulation of growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor I secretion by CJC-1295, a long-acting analog of GH-releasing hormone, in healthy adultsRandomised placebo-controlled trial in healthy adults — of the LONG-ACTING (DAC) CJC-1295 analogue, not the no-DAC form.
- Pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic modeling of ipamorelin, a growth hormone releasing peptide, in human volunteersHuman pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic study; five escalating infusion levels, eight healthy male subjects per level.
Links open the study record on PubMed so the source can be checked directly. Listing a study is not a claim that its findings apply to any other use, product or route of administration. Research use only.
