Afamelanotide

A melanocortin-1 receptor agonist approved to increase pain-free light exposure in adults with erythropoietic protoporphyria, a rare photosensitivity disorder. It is delivered as a controlled-release implant. Its approved use is photoprotection, not weight, performance or sexual function. It is also referred to as Scenesse, Melanotan-1, Melanotan I. It is listed here under Sexual / Hormonal as educational reference, which is not a recommendation to use it.

FDA approved. The FDA has approved at least one product containing this substance for a specific medical use, which means it has been through the agency review process and carries an approved label. Approval is always for named indications in named populations, so it is not a statement that any other use has been evaluated.

~15 h, controlled-release subcutaneous implant. A half-life is an educational pharmacology figure describing how long the body takes to clear half of a substance. It is not a schedule and does not imply one.

Supplied as a bioresorbable implant inserted by a health professional; refrigerated per its label. Storage conditions come from a manufacturer's own label where one exists, and a compound with no approved label has no agency-reviewed handling instructions at all.

Commonly listed vial strengths are 16 mg. A vial strength is a market fact about how a product is packaged. It is not a dose, and it says nothing about how much of anything belongs in any person.