Sermorelin vs CJC-1295 vs Tesamorelin: The GHRH-Analogue Family Compared

Sermorelin is the synthetic acetate salt of GHRH 1-29. It is the historical research baseline for the GHRH-analogue class: the simplest functional fragment of GHRH that retains receptor binding and GH-releasing activity, studied mainly in the diagnosis and treatment of children with growth-hormone deficiency.^[2][1]

Because sermorelin has no protease-stabilising modifications, it is short-acting, and the published literature describes it given intravenously as a diagnostic test or subcutaneously once daily in paediatric treatment studies.^[2]

Sermorelin has been used in the diagnosis and treatment of children with GH deficiency, but there is no EMA EPAR for sermorelin as an authorised medicine in Europe. In EU consumer context, sermorelin sits as a research peptide, not a medicine.^[2][9]

CJC-1295 starts from the same GHRH 1-29 scaffold as sermorelin and adds four amino-acid substitutions (positions 2, 8, 15, and 27 in the original design literature) that increase resistance to dipeptidyl peptidase-IV (DPP-IV) and other plasma proteases. The result is a GHRH analogue with longer in-vivo stability than unmodified GHRH 1-29.^[4][3]

There are two distinct CJC-1295 variants in the published literature: the 'No-DAC' form (sometimes called modified GRF 1-29), which is the substitution-only version, and the 'DAC' form, which adds a maleimidopropionic acid linker that covalently binds endogenous albumin in plasma. Albumin binding effectively turns the peptide into a depot, and early pharmacokinetic work in normal adults has reported a plasma half-life of approximately 5-8 days for the DAC variant.^[3][4]

Neither variant of CJC-1295 has an EMA EPAR. The published clinical-pharmacology dataset is small relative to authorised medicines — pharmacokinetic and proof-of-mechanism work in healthy adults — and there is no large, long-duration randomised trial validating CJC-1295 as a therapy for any consumer-relevant endpoint.^[3][9]

Tesamorelin is a stabilised analogue of full-length GHRH (1-44). The N-terminal trans-3-hexenoyl modification protects the molecule against rapid degradation in plasma and was the design strategy that enabled tesamorelin to reach a registrational clinical-development programme.^[5][7]

Tesamorelin (brand: Egrifta, manufactured by Theratechnologies) is approved by the US FDA to reduce excess abdominal fat (visceral adiposity) in HIV-infected adults with lipodystrophy. In the EU, the marketing-authorisation application was withdrawn in 2012, so it is not an EU-authorised medicine. The pivotal clinical-trial programme demonstrated reduction in visceral adipose tissue versus placebo, measured by CT imaging, in this specific HIV population.^[7][8][5][6]

The crucial regulatory point: tesamorelin's approval is narrow. The FDA indication is limited to excess abdominal fat in HIV-infected adults with lipodystrophy, and there is no EU authorisation at all. It is not approved as a general anti-aging therapy, a body-composition product for the wellness market, or an over-the-counter GH-axis stimulant.^[7][8]

The table below summarises what the published preclinical, clinical-pharmacology, and regulatory literature describes for each molecule. It is a research-context map, not a dosing protocol or a treatment recommendation.^[2][3][7][5]

| Attribute | Sermorelin | CJC-1295 (No-DAC) | CJC-1295 (DAC) | Tesamorelin | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Sequence | GHRH 1-29 (29 amino acids) | Modified GHRH 1-29 with 4 substitutions | Modified GHRH 1-29 + DAC linker (albumin-binding) | Stabilised GHRH 1-44 with N-terminal trans-3-hexenoyl group | | Receptor target | GHRH receptor (anterior pituitary) | GHRH receptor | GHRH receptor | GHRH receptor | | Reported plasma half-life | Short-acting; no protease-stabilising modifications | Not established in published human studies | Approximately 5-8 days in normal adults (albumin depot) | Approximately ~25-40 min (parenteral, daily injection in trial design) | | EMA / EU regulatory status | No EMA EPAR; not an authorised medicine | No EMA EPAR; not an authorised medicine | No EMA EPAR; not an authorised medicine | Not EU-authorised (EU application withdrawn in 2012); FDA-approved as Egrifta | | Typical published research framing | Paediatric GH-deficiency diagnosis and treatment; short-acting GHRH agonist | Research peptide; the published CJC-1295 human studies used the DAC form | Long-acting GHRH stimulation studies | Phase III pivotal trials in HIV-associated lipodystrophy (visceral fat by CT) | | Dose ranges in the published literature | Subcutaneous, reported in microgram-per-kilogram schedules in paediatric GHD work | Not characterised in published human studies (those used the DAC form) | Single-injection multi-day exposure in early pharmacokinetic studies | Subcutaneous 2 mg once daily was the registrational regimen in HIV-lipodystrophy trials | | Approved indication | None (in EU) | None | None | HIV-associated lipodystrophy in adults (FDA); none in the EU | | Who would prescribe it | Not prescribed as a medicine in EU | Not prescribed as a medicine in EU | Not prescribed as a medicine in EU | HIV specialist clinician (US) |^{[2][3][4][5][7][8][9]}

Read the dose-range column as research-context history, not as a personal-use schedule. The published numbers come from controlled clinical-pharmacology or registrational trial settings, not from open-market consumer use.^[13][10]

The regulatory map of this family is short and clear. None of the three has an EMA marketing authorisation: the EU application for tesamorelin (Egrifta) was withdrawn in 2012, and neither sermorelin nor CJC-1295 (in either variant) has an EMA EPAR. EMA-authorised GH replacement in Europe uses growth hormone itself, such as recombinant somatropin, prescribed by a specialist once testing has confirmed GH deficiency.^[7][9][10]

That asymmetry is the single most important fact a buyer should hold when reading any sermorelin-vs-CJC-1295-vs-tesamorelin content. The molecules are not three flavours of the same product. They are three regulatory categories: a research peptide (sermorelin), a research peptide with two design variants (CJC-1295 No-DAC and DAC), and a medicine with a narrow FDA indication and no EU authorisation (tesamorelin).^[7][9]

Anti-doping context is also relevant for athletes: GHRH analogues fall under the WADA Prohibited List's hormone and growth factor category (S2), and use outside a permitted therapeutic-use exemption is prohibited in competitive sport.^[12]