MT1
Melanotan I
A 13-amino-acid linear analogue of alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone with two substitutions: norleucine at position 4 and D-phenylalanine at position 7. Both changes resist enzymatic cleavage. It is an agonist at melanocortin receptors, principally MC1R. Under the name afamelanotide it is the only compound in this category with an approved product.
Melanotan I has 23 registered human studies on ClinicalTrials.gov, reaching phase 3, covering 999 planned or enrolled participants across the 22 studies that published a figure. An FDA-approved product contains Melanotan I — SCENESSE (NDA210797). 78 papers naming it were published in the last ten years.
Collected 2026-08-02 from ClinicalTrials.gov and Drugs@FDA. Counts include only trials whose registered intervention names Melanotan I; the registry search is fuzzy, so every match is re-checked. None of this says whether Melanotan I works or is safe.
FDA status
Approved
Human studies
23
Furthest phase
Phase 3
Papers, 10 yr
78
Readership
1,781
monthly average, Feb–Jul 2026
Tracking since 2026-07-29 · About this data
What has actually been tested in humans
An approved product exists
23
Registered human studies
Phase 3
Furthest phase reached
999
Planned or enrolled participants, across 22 studies that published a figure
Approved
FDA-approved product — SCENESSE
Registered means registered — not that the study finished, and not that it found anything. The grade is mechanical: it is computed from the registry and the FDA record alone, and it grades how much is known, never whether a compound is good or safe. Collected 2026-08-02 from ClinicalTrials.gov and Drugs@FDA. Check the query.
What Melanotan I is, and what it has been studied for
Melanotan I is classified by ChEMBL as a protein, and appears in trial registrations under CUV-1647 and CUV1647. Its FDA substance identifier is QW68W3J66U.
Across 23 registered trials, it has been studied in Erythropoietic Protoporphyria, Vitiligo, Xeroderma Pigmentosum and Afamelanotide Evaluated as Skin DNA Repair Therapy in Healthy Volunteers. A condition here is what a sponsor registered the trial under — it records what was investigated, not what was shown.
The trials were run by Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals Limited and Clinuvel Europe Limited among others. A named commercial sponsor means a compound is in formal development; its absence does not mean the opposite, only that no company has registered a trial under its own name.
How far it got
Melanotan I reached Phase 3 across 23 registered trials.
An FDA-approved product contains Melanotan I. Approval covers a specific product for a specific use — it is not a verdict on the molecule.
Is anyone studying Melanotan I?
Papers published each year that name Melanotan I in the title or abstract, with the clinical trials that started in the same year marked beneath. Ten calendar years.
| Year | Publications | Trials started | Complete year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 7 | 0 | Yes |
| 2018 | 2 | 0 | Yes |
| 2019 | 4 | 0 | Yes |
| 2020 | 9 | 0 | Yes |
| 2021 | 9 | 2 | Yes |
| 2022 | 5 | 3 | Yes |
| 2023 | 16 | 2 | Yes |
| 2024 | 13 | 1 | Yes |
| 2025 | 12 | 0 | Yes |
| 2026 | 8 | 0 | No |
78 papers and 8 registered trials between 2017 and 2026. A paper counts when “afamelanotide” appears in its title or abstract — phrase-matched, so a paper mentioning the words separately is not counted. The total is a single query over the whole window, which is why it does not equal the bars added together: PubMed files a paper under both its electronic and its print publication date, so one paper can appear in two years. Publication volume measures scientific attention, not whether a compound works: a well-studied compound can be well-studied and ineffective. Sources: PubMed and ClinicalTrials.gov · collected 2026-08-02.
Published research on Melanotan I
78 indexed papers name Melanotan I in their title or abstract. These are the 7 PubMed ranks most relevant. Listing a paper is not a judgement about it, and none of these is summarised here — follow the link and read what it says.
- Vitiligo: Pathogenesis and New and Emerging Treatments
- Afamelanotide
- Vitiligo, from Pathogenesis to Therapeutic Advances: State of the Art
- From pathogenesis of acne vulgaris to anti-acne agents
- Treatment Advances in Vitiligo: An Updated Review
- Afamelanotide in protoporphyria and other skin diseases: a review
- Afamelanotide for prevention of phototoxicity in erythropoietic protoporphyria
Collected 2026-08-02from PubMed, phrase-matched on “afamelanotide” in title and abstract. Run the same search.
About Melanotan I
A 13-amino-acid linear analogue of alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone with two substitutions: norleucine at position 4 and D-phenylalanine at position 7. Both changes resist enzymatic cleavage. It is an agonist at melanocortin receptors, principally MC1R. Under the name afamelanotide it is the only compound in this category with an approved product.
- Also known as
- Afamelanotide · NDP-MSH · NDP-alpha-MSH · CUV1647
Structure and mechanism only. Nothing above describes what this compound is for, and no dose appears anywhere on this page.
Reading on this compound
All articles →PepRack articles that reference this compound. This is not a news feed — we syndicate nothing and publish no datelines.
Vendor listings are not affiliate links and PepRack earns nothing from them. A listing records a price we observed on a date. It is not a recommendation of a product, dose, or treatment, and PepRack does not verify what any vendor ships.