Other Compounds
Melanotan-1
Also published as Afamelanotide, Scenesse, MT-1, NDP-MSH
A synthetic analogue of alpha melanocyte stimulating hormone, selective for the MC1 receptor on melanocytes. Unlike almost everything else in this trade, it is an approved medicine in both the EU and the US.
Where it came from
Developed from alpha-MSH analogue work at the University of Arizona, and brought to market by Clinuvel as an implant for erythropoietic protoporphyria.
What the literature examines
- MC1R signalling and eumelanin synthesis
- Erythropoietic protoporphyria, in randomised controlled trials
- Photoprotection and phototoxicity thresholds
- Polymorphic light eruption and other photodermatoses
State of the evidence
Approved by the EMA in 2014 and the FDA in 2019 for erythropoietic protoporphyria, as a controlled release subcutaneous implant.
What a buyer should know
The approved product is a slow release implant administered under specialist supervision for a rare metabolic disorder, and the approval says nothing about lyophilised powder used any other way. Melanotan-1 and Melanotan-2 are routinely conflated and they are not the same molecule or the same safety profile.
Handling and stability
Lyophilised, water soluble, light sensitive, cold chain.
Read it yourself
We do not publish a curated citation list, because a hand picked list of papers is a sales tool. These links run a live query against the public databases, so you see everything, including the results that do not suit us.
Supplied for laboratory research use only. Nothing on this page is a dose, a protocol or a claim of effect in humans, and nothing here is medical advice. Read our research use policy.