CJC-1295 with ipamorelin and retatrutide turn up in the same searches because both are sold in research vials and both are discussed for body composition. They are not two strengths of one idea. The blend pushes the pituitary to release growth hormone; retatrutide works on the hormones that set appetite and blood sugar. Their records differ even more than their mechanisms: one has never been tested as a blend, the other has a published phase 2 trial. This page sets the two side by side and converts each into syringe units.
The blend's full record is on CJC-1295 + ipamorelin dosage, and retatrutide's on retatrutide dosage. Retatrutide set against tesamorelin, another growth-hormone-releasing hormone analogue, is on tesamorelin vs retatrutide.
Side by side
| CJC-1295 + ipamorelin | Retatrutide | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Two peptides in one vial, usually 5 mg + 5 mg | One peptide |
| Target | GHRH receptor (CJC-1295) and ghrelin receptor (ipamorelin) → growth hormone | GIP, GLP-1 and glucagon receptors |
| Registry records (ClinicalTrials.gov, 2026-11-10) | CJC-1295 1 (DAC form, terminated); ipamorelin 3; blend 0 | 33 |
| Human studies of the product as sold | None | Phase 1b and phase 2 published |
| Half-life | Ipamorelin about 2 h; CJC-1295 with DAC 5.8–8.1 days; no-DAC form not published | About 6 days |
| Weight outcome measured in people | None | Yes, up to −24.2% at 48 weeks |
| Label anywhere | None | None |
What each record measured
The CJC-1295 record is two ascending-dose trials in healthy adults, aged 21 to 61, lasting 28 and 49 days. Single injections of the DAC form raised mean growth hormone 2- to 10-fold for six days or more and mean IGF-1 1.5- to 3-fold for 9 to 11 days; after repeated doses IGF-1 stayed above baseline for up to 28 days (Teichman et al., 2006). The form sold in most blends is CJC-1295 without DAC, also called Mod GRF 1-29, which those trials did not test.
The ipamorelin record is pharmacokinetic work and one phase 2 trial. The 1999 study measured a half-life of about 2 hours after intravenous dosing. The 2014 trial gave 0.03 mg/kg as intravenous infusions twice daily, from the day after small- or large-bowel surgery for up to seven days; median time to the first tolerated meal was 25.3 hours with ipamorelin against 32.6 hours with placebo, which was not a significant difference (Beck et al., 2014). The authors describe ipamorelin as well tolerated in that setting.
Neither study measured body weight or fat. The blend itself, and ipamorelin under the skin, have no trial at all.
The retatrutide record measures exactly that. The phase 2 obesity trial gave 338 adults once-weekly injections for 48 weeks and reported mean weight changes of −8.7%, −17.1%, −22.8% and −24.2% at 1, 4, 8 and 12 mg, against −2.1% on placebo, with dose-related gastrointestinal events as the most common adverse events (Jastreboff et al., 2023).
Weekly totals and injection counts
| Pattern | Source | Per injection | Injections a week | Milligrams a week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blend, 100 mcg of each twice daily | Vendor and clinic pages, 2026-09-18 | 200 mcg | 14 | 2.8 |
| Blend, 100–300 mcg of each, once to three times daily | Same pages | 200–600 mcg | 7–21 | 1.4–12.6 |
| Retatrutide, starting step | Trial protocols | 2 mg | 1 | 2 |
| Retatrutide, highest phase 2 arm | Jastreboff 2023 | 12 mg | 1 | 12 |
The milligram columns overlap, which is why the two are sometimes set against each other on forums. The overlap means nothing pharmacologically: the molecules differ in target and potency, and a weekly milligram total of a growth-hormone secretagogue says nothing about its effect relative to an incretin agonist. The column that does differ is the injection count: one a week against up to three a day, set by half-lives of about 6 days against about 2 hours. The dosing frequency page sets out why half-life decides the interval.
Both in syringe units
On a U-100 syringe, units = mg ÷ mg/mL × 100. Blend amounts are the total of both peptides in a 1:1 vial.
| Amount | 2.5 mg/mL (5 mg + 2 mL) | 5 mg/mL (10 mg + 2 mL) | 10 mg/mL (10 mg + 1 mL) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blend 200 mcg (100 + 100) | 8 | 4 | 2 |
| Blend 400 mcg (200 + 200) | 16 | 8 | 4 |
| Blend 600 mcg (300 + 300) | 24 | 12 | 6 |
| Retatrutide 2 mg | 80 | 40 | 20 |
| Retatrutide 4 mg | 160 (>1 syringe) | 80 | 40 |
| Retatrutide 12 mg | 480 (>1 syringe) | 240 (>1 syringe) | 120 (>1 syringe) |
Blend readings at the stronger concentrations fall to 2–6 units, where a one-unit misreading is a large share of the amount. Water volumes per vial are on reconstituting CJC-1295 + ipamorelin and reconstituting retatrutide.
What is not established
The blend has no human study as sold, no measured effect on weight, and no published half-life for its no-DAC component. No study has combined any growth-hormone secretagogue with retatrutide. Retatrutide's trial figures apply to Eli Lilly's molecule in screened, monitored participants, not to research vials. Nothing on this page is a dose or a suggestion to use either.
Sources and dates
Opened 2026-11-10: the ClinicalTrials.gov v2 API searches for CJC-1295 (1), ipamorelin (3) and retatrutide as an intervention (33); the PubMed abstracts of Teichman et al., JCEM 2006 (PMID 16352683), Beck et al., Int J Colorectal Dis 2014 (PMID 25331030), Gobburu et al., Pharm Res 1999 (PMID 10496658) and Jastreboff et al., NEJM 2023 (PMID 37366315); the retatrutide half-life as reported by Urva et al., Lancet 2022 (PMID 36354040). The blend figures are the vendor and clinic figures recorded on this site's CJC-1295 + ipamorelin page on 2026-09-18. Weekly totals and units are arithmetic by this site. Corrections go to the contact page.