Tesamorelin vs CJC-1295 No DAC Price Comparison
A breakdown of how tesamorelin and CJC-1295 no DAC vial listings are priced, including per-milligram math, reconstitution concentration, and COA factors.
Reviewed by Robert Stern, PharmD, RPh, pharmacist and pharmaceutical researcher ·
Robert Stern, PharmD, RPh is a registered pharmacist with a research background in peptide hormones and GHRH analog formulation, with experience spanning hospital pharmacy and pharmaceutical research environments.
- tesamorelin
- cjc-1295
- pricing
- comparison
A tesamorelin vs CJC-1295 no DAC price comparison is not as simple as reading two sticker prices side by side. The two peptides are usually sold in different vial sizes, at different milligram counts, and sometimes with different diluent recommendations, so a listing that looks cheaper at first glance can end up costing more per milligram once the math is done. Understanding how vial size, concentration, and documentation interact is the only way to compare listings on equal footing.
Why the Two Peptides Get Compared
Tesamorelin and CJC-1295 no DAC are both classified as growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) analogs, meaning they share a structural relationship to the native GHRH molecule even though their sequences and stability profiles differ. GHRH neurons and their regulatory role in growth hormone signaling are an active area of physiology research, which is part of why GHRH analogs as a class draw ongoing scientific interest. Because both compounds fall under the same broad mechanism-of-action category, buyers researching one often end up comparing listings for the other, which is exactly where a tesamorelin vs CJC-1295 no dac price comparison becomes useful.
It matters that “no DAC” is part of the name. CJC-1295 is sometimes sold with Drug Affinity Complex (DAC), a modification intended to extend the molecule’s stability in solution, and sometimes without it. A listing that simply says “CJC-1295” without specifying DAC status is missing a detail that affects both the chemistry and the price, so any comparison should confirm which variant is actually being quoted.
Tesamorelin itself has a formal clinical development history under the designation TH9507, the identifier used in registered clinical trial records before the peptide carried its current name. Recognizing that a listing, a study record, and a molecule name can all refer to the same compound is part of reading pricing pages accurately.
Vial Size Is the First Variable, Not the Price Tag
Suppliers rarely sell tesamorelin and CJC-1295 no DAC in matching vial sizes. Tesamorelin is frequently listed in 5 mg or 10 mg vials, while CJC-1295 no DAC listings often appear in smaller 2 mg or 5 mg vials. Comparing a $70 tesamorelin listing to a $40 CJC-1295 no DAC listing without adjusting for milligram count tells you almost nothing about which is the better value per unit of peptide.
The correction is straightforward: divide the listed price by the vial’s milligram count to get a price-per-milligram figure. That single number is what should anchor any comparison, not the headline price.
A Worked Example
The table below uses illustrative, hypothetical listing figures — not prices pulled from any specific vendor — to show how the math works.
| Metric | Tesamorelin (example) | CJC-1295 No DAC (example) |
|---|---|---|
| Vial size | 5 mg | 2 mg |
| Listed price | $70 | $40 |
| Price per mg | $14.00/mg | $20.00/mg |
| Bacteriostatic water added | 2 mL | 2 mL |
| Resulting concentration | 2.5 mg/mL (2,500 mcg/mL) | 1 mg/mL (1,000 mcg/mL) |
| Mcg per U-100 syringe unit | 25 mcg/unit | 10 mcg/unit |
Working through the tesamorelin column: a 5 mg vial priced at $70 comes to $70 ÷ 5 mg = $14.00 per milligram. Reconstituting that vial with 2 mL of bacteriostatic water gives a concentration of 5 mg ÷ 2 mL = 2.5 mg/mL, which converts to 2,500 mcg/mL since 1 mg equals 1,000 mcg. On a U-100 insulin syringe, where 1 mL equals 100 units, that concentration works out to 2,500 mcg ÷ 100 units = 25 mcg per unit marked on the syringe.
The CJC-1295 no DAC column follows the same steps: $40 ÷ 2 mg = $20.00 per milligram, a higher per-milligram cost than the tesamorelin example despite the lower sticker price. Reconstituted with the same 2 mL, the concentration is 2 mg ÷ 2 mL = 1 mg/mL, or 1,000 mcg/mL, which is 1,000 mcg ÷ 100 units = 10 mcg per syringe unit. Recomputing both sets of figures confirms the arithmetic is internally consistent: the lower-priced listing in this example is actually the more expensive one on a per-milligram basis. Readers working through their own reconstitution figures can cross-check the arithmetic with an independent tool such as peptcalc.com rather than relying on a single calculation.
Concentration Math Does Not Change Total Cost
A common point of confusion is assuming that adding more or less bacteriostatic water changes how much peptide is in the vial. It does not. Diluent volume only changes concentration — milligrams of peptide divided by milliliters of liquid — and therefore how many mcg correspond to each syringe unit. The total amount of peptide purchased, and its total price, stays fixed once the vial is bought. A vial reconstituted with 1 mL instead of 2 mL will show double the concentration and half the volume needed to reach the same mcg amount, but the underlying cost of that vial is unchanged.
What the Price Is Actually Paying For
Price-per-milligram is only meaningful if the two listings represent comparable documentation. A certificate of analysis (COA) that shows third-party mass spectrometry and HPLC purity testing represents a different level of verification than a listing with no COA at all, even if the peptide names and stated milligram amounts match. When a tesamorelin listing and a CJC-1295 no DAC listing are compared, it is worth checking whether both suppliers provide a batch-specific COA or only a generic specification sheet, since a lower price paired with no independent testing documentation is not a like-for-like comparison to a higher price that includes one.
Researchers building out a reference library on tesamorelin’s structure and formulation details sometimes cross-reference dedicated peer tesamorelin listing catalogs alongside pricing pages, since sequence and formulation context is separate information from cost.
Reading Past the Headline Number
Before treating any tesamorelin vs CJC-1295 no dac price comparison as final, confirm four things on each listing: the exact milligram count per vial, whether the CJC-1295 variant is specified as no DAC, whether a batch-specific COA is provided, and the recommended reconstitution volume if one is stated. Two listings that look identical in sticker price can diverge sharply once these details are accounted for, and two listings with different sticker prices can turn out to be nearly identical once normalized to price per milligram.
Summary
Comparing tesamorelin and CJC-1295 no DAC on price alone overlooks the variables that actually determine value: vial size, reconstitution volume, and documentation quality. Normalizing every listing to a price-per-milligram figure, and checking that figure against what COA and purity information is actually provided, turns a surface-level price comparison into one that reflects what is actually being purchased.
Sources: research on GHRH neuron regulation and growth hormone signaling, the original characterization of ipamorelin as a selective growth hormone secretagogue, and the registered clinical trial record for TH9507 (tesamorelin) in subjects with type 2 diabetes.