CJC-1295 vs Somatropin (rhGH)
It is sold as an injection to build muscle, burn fat and slow ageing. Small trials show it raises growth hormone for days, but none show it changes muscle or fat. It is lab-made growth hormone, approved for children and adults who lack it. It works for that, but anti-ageing clinics also sell it to healthy adults, and the labels do not back that.
Somatropin (rhGH) has the stronger evidence, grade A (strong human evidence) against grade B for CJC-1295. CJC-1295: Not approved. Somatropin (rhGH): FDA approved.
Evidence
BSome human evidence
AStrong human evidence
Human studies cited
Animal or cell studies cited
Why the grade
Two randomized placebo-controlled dose-ranging trials and one overnight sampling study, all in healthy adults, show CJC-1295 raises growth hormone and IGF-1 for days after a single injection. The largest enrolled a few dozen volunteers, measured hormone levels only, and lasted 49 days. No trial has measured muscle, fat, recovery or ageing outcomes, which are the uses it is sold for, so the grade is B on surrogate endpoints only.
The approved indications rest on four decades of randomized and controlled trials summarized in each product's label, including placebo-controlled trials in adult deficiency and growth velocity trials in children; the Norditropin label alone covers pediatric and adult deficiency, Turner syndrome, Noonan syndrome, Prader-Willi syndrome, small-for-gestational-age short stature and idiopathic short stature. Evidence for the uses it is sold for off-label, anti-aging and body composition in healthy adults, is a separate and much weaker question not covered by these citations.
FDA
Not approved
CJC-1295 is not approved by the FDA for any use and is sold as a research chemical. Its nominations for the compounding bulks list were withdrawn in September 2024, and in December 2024 the FDA's Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee voted against adding it, so it is not eligible for pharmacy compounding either.
FDA approved
Somatropin, recombinant human growth hormone, has been FDA-approved since Humatrope in 1987 and is sold under several brands including Norditropin, Genotropin, Omnitrope and Zomacton, for growth hormone deficiency in children and adults and for a set of specific growth disorders. Two long-standing brands have left the market: Genentech discontinued Nutropin in 2024 and Lilly is ending Humatrope distribution at the end of 2026. Use for anti-aging or athletic performance is not an approved indication.
Sold for
CJC-1295 is sold as a long-acting growth-hormone booster for muscle gain, fat loss, sleep and recovery, usually paired with ipamorelin.
Growth hormone is sold by anti-aging clinics and on the black market as the master hormone for youth, muscle and fat loss, well beyond the deficiency states it is approved to treat.
Studies say
Small trials in healthy volunteers confirm that it raises GH and IGF-1 for a week or more per injection, which is a real pharmacological effect measured on blood tests, but no study has shown it changes body composition or any health outcome.
Somatropin reliably restores growth in children who lack growth hormone and improves body composition in deficient adults, which is what it is approved for; the labels do not support use in healthy adults, and the market is shifting toward weekly long-acting versions as older daily brands exit.
Class
GHRH analog (secretagogue)
Growth hormone
Route
Injection
Injection