Protocol
Growth hormone secretagogues: CJC-1295 and ipamorelin
CJC-1295 · ipamorelin · CJC-1295/ipamorelin stack · GHRP · GH secretagogue · GH releasing peptide · CJC-1295 with DAC · modified GRF (1-29)
There is genuine human pharmacodynamic data, but it stops well short of healthspan evidence. Teichman et al. (2006, Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism) ran randomised placebo-controlled trials in healthy adults showing CJC-1295 raised mean plasma GH 2 to 10 fold and IGF-1 1.5 to 3 fold, with a half-life of 5.8 to 8.1 days. That is a biomarker result: it shows the drug does what it is designed to do biochemically. It does NOT show any effect on body composition, muscle strength, bone density, sleep quality, recovery, disease incidence, or lifespan. Ipamorelin is weaker still, with human pharmacokinetic modelling but no completed positive human efficacy trial for any longevity-relevant endpoint; its most advanced clinical programme, for postoperative ileus, did not meet its efficacy endpoints and was discontinued. There is no published randomised trial of the CJC-1295 plus ipamorelin combination for any healthspan outcome, so the specific product being sold has essentially no direct clinical evidence base. Raising IGF-1 chronically also cuts against a substantial body of biogerontology in which lower GH/IGF-1 signalling associates with longevity, so the mechanism is not unambiguously pro-longevity even in theory. The TGA additionally reports real-world harms from unapproved peptides, including liver damage, anaphylaxis requiring hospitalisation and systemic inflammatory response syndrome. Marketing volume for this stack vastly exceeds the evidence.
At a glance
- Evidence
- Mechanism
- Singapore (HSA)
- No HSA position on file
- Australia (TGA)
- Not approved. Neither CJC-1295 nor ipamorelin is included on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods, so neither has been evaluated by the TGA for safety, quality or effectiveness. The TGA names CJC-1295 explicitly as an example of an unapproved peptide product in both its 13 April 2026 safety advisory and its 19 June 2026 joint statement with the Chief Medical Officer, and has made unapproved peptide products a priority compliance focus area, warning that it may take regulatory action where serious non-compliance is found. Access in practice is via a doctor's prescription dispensed through an Australian compounding pharmacy: a compounded good is generally exempt from ARTG inclusion only where it is extemporaneously compounded for a particular named person, and the prescriber, compounder and pharmacist must meet Therapeutic Goods Act, Ahpra and Pharmacy Board obligations. Advertising unapproved peptide products to the public is likely unlawful. Personal importation is tightly constrained and poorly labelled or "research use only" product will not be released. CAVEAT requiring re-verification before publication: GH releasing hormones, GH secretagogues and GH releasing peptides are also reported to be captured as a class in Schedule 4 and Appendix D of the Poisons Standard, with individual entries for CJC-1295 and ipamorelin from 2015. I could not open a TGA or Federal Register of Legislation page confirming that scheduling wording within this session, so treat the Schedule 4 and Appendix D detail as unverified.
- Offered at
- No clinic on file
Singapore
Health Sciences Authority
- HSA status
- No position on file
- In our SG set
- Not tracked in Singapore
- SG clinics
- None on file
Australia
Therapeutic Goods Administration
- TGA status
- Not approved. Neither CJC-1295 nor ipamorelin is included on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods, so neither has been evaluated by the TGA for safety, quality or effectiveness. The TGA names CJC-1295 explicitly as an example of an unapproved peptide product in both its 13 April 2026 safety advisory and its 19 June 2026 joint statement with the Chief Medical Officer, and has made unapproved peptide products a priority compliance focus area, warning that it may take regulatory action where serious non-compliance is found. Access in practice is via a doctor's prescription dispensed through an Australian compounding pharmacy: a compounded good is generally exempt from ARTG inclusion only where it is extemporaneously compounded for a particular named person, and the prescriber, compounder and pharmacist must meet Therapeutic Goods Act, Ahpra and Pharmacy Board obligations. Advertising unapproved peptide products to the public is likely unlawful. Personal importation is tightly constrained and poorly labelled or "research use only" product will not be released. CAVEAT requiring re-verification before publication: GH releasing hormones, GH secretagogues and GH releasing peptides are also reported to be captured as a class in Schedule 4 and Appendix D of the Poisons Standard, with individual entries for CJC-1295 and ipamorelin from 2015. I could not open a TGA or Federal Register of Legislation page confirming that scheduling wording within this session, so treat the Schedule 4 and Appendix D detail as unverified.
- In our AU set
- Tracked in Australia
- AU clinics
- None on file
Evidence is not approvalAn evidence grade describes how strong the science is. A regulatory status describes whether a body has approved the intervention for an indication. They are different questions, answered separately above.
What it is
Plain-language explainer
CJC-1295 is a synthetic long-acting analogue of growth hormone releasing hormone (GHRH), and ipamorelin is a selective ghrelin receptor agonist. They are commonly compounded and sold together as an injectable "stack" on the rationale that acting on two complementary pituitary pathways raises endogenous growth hormone and IGF-1 more than either alone. Longevity and aesthetic clinics market the combination for body composition, sleep, recovery and anti-ageing, none of which is a TGA or HSA approved indication.
Categories
Protocol
Keep reading
Related coverage from the newsroom.
Sources
What this profile is built on
- Understanding your responsibilities when importing, compounding and supplying unapproved peptide products (NOTE: surfaced via search summary; direct fetch failed, re-verify before publishing) · Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), Australia
- Concerns regarding the public health risks associated with unapproved peptide products, joint TGA and Chief Medical Officer statement (19 June 2026) · Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA)
- 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 Adults (Teichman et al., 2006) · The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism
- Peptide therapy Sydney - references TB-500 alongside BPC-157 · Folium Health (Sydney)
- Peptides available for consultation and prescription, listing Thymosin Alpha-1 and Thymosin Beta-4; notes non-ARTG substances require individual prescription and compounding · GL Vitality Drips (AU)
Every entity profile on variis is sourced. Not medical advice.