Tesamorelin vs CJC-1295

A factual side-by-side from public databases — chemical identity, literature volume, and attributed independent-test coverage. Not a recommendation; we don't rank one above the other.

Tesamorelin

Research literature describes tesamorelin as a growth hormone–releasing factor (growth hormone-releasing hormone) analogue that is FDA-approved for reducing excess abdominal fat in people with HIV-associated lipodystrophy, with clinical studies reporting effects on visceral fat and related body-composition outcomes in that indication. Orthopaedic/sports-medicine reviews note a lack of supporting orthopaedic evidence for tesamorelin and identify broader gaps in clinical evidence for “injectable peptide therapy” in musculoskeletal contexts.

CJC-1295

CJC-1295 is described as a long-acting growth-hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) analog. Clinical research in healthy adults reported sustained, dose-dependent increases in circulating growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) after subcutaneous administration, with effects persisting for days and no serious adverse reactions reported in the studied cohorts.

	Tesamorelin	CJC-1295
Family	GHRH analogs	GHRH analogs
Research goals	Metabolic & weight, GH axis support	GH axis support
Amino acids	—	—
Molecular formula	C221H366N72O67S	C165H269N47O46
Molecular weight	5136 g/mol	3647.2 g/mol
CAS number	218949-48-5	446262-90-4
Approx. half-life	—	—
Regulatory status	FDA-approved drug	Research only
WADA status	—	—
Evidence maturity	—	—
Research references	10	8
Vendors independently tested	60	16
Best test score (Finnrick)	9.0

Related reading

CJC-1295 vs Sermorelin vs IpamorelinA side-by-side look at how CJC-1295, Sermorelin, and Ipamorelin differ in mechanism, half-life, and selectivity, based on what the research literature reports.CJC-1295: a long-acting GHRH analog and what the research actually showsA synthetic growth hormone-releasing hormone analog engineered to last days instead of minutes. Here's the documented science, its abandoned drug history, and where it stands with anti-doping authorities.Tesamorelin: an FDA-approved GHRH analog and what the trials actually showThe only drug approved to shrink visceral fat in HIV-associated lipodystrophy, plus the cognition research it sparked.Tesamorelin (Egrifta): what the pivotal HIV-lipodystrophy trials actually measuredAn FDA-approved GHRH analogue, the phase-3 evidence behind it, and why the label asks doctors to watch IGF-1.