{"slug":"melanotan-ii","seoKey":"melanotan2","displayName":"Melanotan II","codes":["MT-II","MT-2","MTII"],"synonyms":["Melanotan-2","cyclic alpha-MSH analogue","Ac-Nle-cyclo[Asp-His-D-Phe-Arg-Trp-Lys]-NH2","acetyl-(Nle4,Asp5,D-Phe7,Lys10)-cyclo-alpha-MSH (4-10) amide"],"legalClass":"research_chemical","identifiers":{"cas":"121062-08-6","pubchemCid":92432,"unii":"UPF5CJ93X7","inchikey":"JDKLPDJLXHXHNV-MFVUMRCOSA-N","chemblId":"CHEMBL430239","wikidataQid":"Q423855","formula":"C50H69N15O9","molecularWeight":1024.2,"sequence":"Ac-Nle-cyclo[Asp-His-D-Phe-Arg-Trp-Lys]-NH2"},"approvals":[{"market":"US","status":"not_approved","note":"Not approved in any indication or dosage form. The regulator issued a warning letter in 2007 against marketing the substance as a tanning agent and as a preventative against skin cancer.","source":"https://www.fda.gov/drugs/human-drug-compounding/certain-bulk-drug-substances-use-compounding-may-present-significant-safety-risks"},{"market":"EU","status":"not_approved","note":"No centralised marketing authorisation and no assessment report. A different, related substance is authorised in the EU; that authorisation says nothing about this one. No entry found on 2026-09-06.","source":"https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/medicines?search_api_fulltext=melanotan"},{"market":"DE","status":"not_approved","note":"No marketing authorisation and no food supplement status; an unapproved medicinal product under the German Medicines Act. The federal institute publicly advised against use of melanotan-containing products in 2010, citing cardiovascular, gastrointestinal and pigmentation risks.","source":"https://www.bfarm.de/SharedDocs/Pressemitteilungen/DE/2010/pm14-2010.html"},{"market":"UK","status":"not_approved","note":"No marketing authorisation; treated as an unlicensed medicine, and selling it is unlawful. The regulator issued public warnings in 2008 and 2013 and has shut down distributing websites.","source":"https://products.mhra.gov.uk/search/?search=melanotan"},{"market":"AU","status":"scheduled","note":"Named in the Poisons Standard as Schedule 4, prescription only, while no registered product exists. Not listed in Appendix D, so possession without authority is not covered in the same way as for some other grey-market peptides. The regulator has issued consumer warnings and infringement notices over supply.","source":"https://www.legislation.gov.au/F2026L00633/asmade"},{"market":"CA","status":"not_approved","note":"No marketing authorisation and no drug identification number. No entry found on 2026-09-06.","source":"https://health-products.canada.ca/api/drug/activeingredient/?ingredientname=melanotan"},{"market":"CH","status":"not_approved","note":"No marketing authorisation. No entry found in the Swiss medicinal product information on 2026-09-06.","source":"https://www.swissmedicinfo.ch/"}],"devStage":"discontinued","strongestEvidence":"rct_phase1","wada":{"status":"prohibited","section":"S0","listYear":2026,"source":"https://www.wada-ama.org/en/prohibited-list"},"trials":[],"sameAs":["https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q423855","https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/92432","https://www.ebi.ac.uk/chembl/compound_report_card/CHEMBL430239/"],"lastVerified":"2026-09-06","version":"1.0","published":true,"locale":"en","title":"Melanotan II: what the studies show, status and safety","summary":"Melanotan II is a lab-made peptide designed in the 1980s at the University of Arizona, and no country has ever approved it. Its clinical development stopped after four small studies in fewer than 25 men, all published between 1996 and 2000 by a single research group. The FDA points to published case reports of melanoma, brain swelling, a stimulant-like poisoning and painful prolonged erection. Two laboratories that measured products sold online found far less peptide than the label promised in one case, and a spread of more than double between identically labelled bottles in the other.","updated":"2026-09-06","url":"https://mypep.app/peptides/melanotan-ii"}