Source comparison
CJC-1295 DAC vs No-DAC: Price and Performance Differences
CJC-1295 without DAC costs $45–$60 per 2mg vial in 2026, while CJC-1295 with DAC (also marketed as 'modified GRF 1-29 with DAC') ranges from $65–$85 per vial. A 30–40% price premium driven entirely by the albumin-binding modification that extends plasma half-l
This comparison does not assign a generated winner or score.
- CJC-1295 without DAC costs $45–$60 per 2mg vial in 2026, while CJC-1295 with DAC (also marketed as 'modified GRF 1-29 with DAC') ranges from $65–$85 per vial. A 30–40% price premium driven entirely by the albumin-binding modification that extends plasma half-life from 30 minutes to 6–8 days. The DAC modification works by covalently attaching a maleimidoproprionic acid linker to lysine residues, allowing the peptide to bind serum albumin and resist enzymatic degradation by dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4), the enzyme responsible for rapid GHRH (growth hormone-releasing hormone) breakdown. This is not a trivial synthesis step. It requires an additional conjugation reaction and purification cycle that increases manufacturing time by 40–60% and introduces new failure points where the conjugation can misfire or produce inactive variants.
- Dosing frequency explains why some researchers accept the higher upfront cost. CJC-1295 without DAC requires twice-daily dosing to maintain therapeutic plasma levels due to its sub-hour half-life, translating to 60mg monthly at 1mg per dose twice daily. CJC-1295 with DAC requires only twice-weekly dosing at 1–2mg per administration due to sustained release, totaling 16mg monthly. At mid-tier pricing ($52 for no-DAC, $75 for DAC), the monthly cost is $780 for no-DAC (15 vials) versus $300 for DAC (4 vials). The extended-release version costs less per month despite higher per-vial pricing because dosing frequency drops by 75%.
- Performance differences matter beyond convenience. CJC-1295 without DAC produces acute GH pulses that peak 30–45 minutes post-administration and return to baseline within 2 hours, mimicking the body's natural pulsatile secretion pattern. CJC-1295 with DAC creates sustained elevation of baseline GH levels without pronounced peaks, which some research protocols prefer for studying chronic exposure effects rather than acute signaling cascades. The choice isn't about 'better' or 'worse'. It's about matching peptide kinetics to research objectives. Studies examining pulsatile GH receptor activation require the no-DAC version; studies modeling chronic GH elevation require DAC. Buying the wrong formulation because it's cheaper is not cost savings. It's protocol failure.