Registered implant trials
- Reported quantity
- 16 mg controlled-release subcutaneous implant
- Frequency
- Every 2 months
- Study duration
- Up to 180 days per trial period, repeated seasonally
Pain-free sunlight exposure time was the primary endpoint.
Protocols · Cosmetic
Melanotan I: literature-reported ranges
Melanotan I as afamelanotide completed a full registered development programme for erythropoietic protoporphyria and is an approved medicine in the EU and US. It is the only compound in this cosmetic group with a proper regulatory dossier.
Read this first
Every figure on this page is a range reported in published literature or in a publicly documented study protocol. It is a record of what researchers used, not a recommendation, a therapeutic protocol, or advice. Peptide Intel Hub is an independent publication, sells nothing, and describes these compounds as in-vitro research reagents only.
Compound at a glance
- Class
- Linear α-MSH analogue, selective MC1R agonist
- Reported half-life
- Around 1 hour for the peptide; the implant formulation releases over days
- Routes used in the literature
- Subcutaneous implant in the registered product; subcutaneous injection in earlier studies
- Also written as
- Afamelanotide, Melanotan 1
What the published studies reported
Each row below describes one body of work. The model and population are part of the figure — a rodent per-kilogram quantity and a human trial quantity are not comparable.
Earlier injectable dose-ranging
- Reported quantity
- 0.16 mg/kg per administration
- Frequency
- Daily for short courses
- Study duration
- 3–10 days
These earlier figures predate the implant formulation that became the registered product.
Mixed with 3 ml of bacteriostatic water
The same arithmetic for every vial size Melanotan I is supplied in, using a fixed 3 ml of bacteriostatic water. One unit on a U-100 insulin syringe is 0.01 ml, so the unit column below is simply the volume that carries the reported amount. Educational arithmetic only — not instructions, and not medical advice.
Melanotan I · 3 ml bacteriostatic water
| Vial size | Concentration | Per 1 unit |
|---|---|---|
| 10 mg | 3.33 mg/ml | 33 mcg |
No single reported amount applies to this compound, so only the concentration and the value of one unit are shown. Only the vial sizes this compound is actually supplied in are shown, and every figure assumes exactly 3 ml of bacteriostatic water. For any other volume, use the reconstitution calculator.
Reconstitution maths
Research powder is typically 10 mg per vial; in 2 mL that gives 5 mg/mL. The registered product is an implant and cannot be replicated from powder.
Open the reconstitution calculatorHow to read these figures
- MC1R selectivity is why it lacks the broader melanocortin effects of Melanotan II.
- Skin monitoring featured in the registered programme because of pigmentation changes.
- An approved implant and a research powder are different products with different evidence.
Sources and citations
These are the published records the figures on this page are drawn from. Each one describes what researchers administered, in which model or population, and over what period. Quantities reported in a study are specific to that study's design and are not transferable guidance.
- [1]Afamelanotide for Erythropoietic Protoporphyria
Langendonk JG, Balwani M, Anderson KE, et al. · N Engl J Med · 2015 · DOI 10.1056/NEJMoa1411481
Patients with erythropoietic protoporphyria received subcutaneous implants of afamelanotide (16 mg, an analog of alpha-MSH known as Melanotan-I) every 60 days for up to 6 months.
View the record - [2]An α-Melanocyte-Stimulating Hormone Analogue in Erythropoietic Protoporphyria
Fabrikant J, Touloei K, Brown SM. · N Engl J Med · 2009 · DOI 10.1056/NEJMc0805682
Correspondence describing subcutaneous administration of an alpha-MSH analogue (afamelanotide/Melanotan-I) implant to protoporphyria patients.
View the record
Search the databases yourself
Read the Melanotan I research briefOther cosmetic compounds
AHK-CuCopper-binding tripeptide (Ala-His-Lys)Melanotan IICyclic α-MSH analoguePT-141Selective MC4R agonistSnap-8SNAP-25 mimetic octapeptide
All research protocolsPeptide Intel Hub is an independent publication and has no affiliation, ownership or commercial relationship with the suppliers listed. We sell nothing and take no payments — links are editorial references only.