Compound hub
Melanotan II
Melanotan II is a lab-made peptide, a short chain of amino acids. It is built as a ring-shaped, modified copy of alpha-MSH, the skin hormone that switches on pigment. The TGA, Australia's medicines regulator, says no Melanotan II product is on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods. This hub answers the questions people ask about Melanotan II from published studies, trial registries and regulator records. Where a fact has not been established, it says so plainly.
Record card
| Common name | Melanotan II |
|---|---|
| Also written | MT-II, MT2 |
| Class | Synthetic melanocortin peptide; cyclic heptapeptide analogue of alpha-MSH (Dorr et al., Life Sciences, 1996) |
| Receptor activity | Non-selective melanocortin receptor agonist (Wessells et al., International Journal of Impotence Research, 2000) |
| First human study found | Pilot phase I study in 3 healthy men, 1996 |
| Registered trial, checked 16 October 2026 | NCT07437560 lists Phase 2 vitiligo research as recruiting without results; summary calls it an example record, active study unverified |
| Approved product in Australia | None; no Melanotan II product on the ARTG (TGA, 17 August 2026) |
| Poisons Standard, October 2026 | Individual Schedule 4 entry (F2026L01327, checked 16 October 2026) |
| WADA 2026 Prohibited List | Not named in a text search; section S0 may reach unapproved substances |
| Half-life in people | Not established in the sources searched |
Questions answered here
05- How does Melanotan II work? Melanocortin receptors explainedHow Melanotan II acts on melanocortin receptors, why a molecule built for skin pigment also reaches other systems, and what the research has and has not shown about its mechanism.Updated 2026-10-16
- Is Melanotan II legal in Australia? Poisons Standard, TGA and WADA recordsWhat the October 2026 Poisons Standard, the TGA and WADA record about Melanotan II, with the date each record was checked and what each record does not say. Records only; this is not legal advice.Updated 2026-10-16
- Melanotan II side effects: what regulators and studies reportThe side effects and safety concerns reported for Melanotan II by the TGA, the FDA, a human trial record and a published review, with the size and limits of each source.Updated 2026-10-16
- Melanotan II study findings: what human research has and has not shownWhat published human studies of Melanotan II measured, in how many people, and what regulators say about case reports. A plain record of the evidence and its limits.Updated 2026-10-16
- What is Melanotan II? The synthetic melanocortin peptide explainedWhat Melanotan II is: a synthetic peptide built on the skin hormone alpha-MSH, how it differs from Melanotan I and from PT-141, and what the TGA says about its approval status in Australia.Updated 2026-10-16
Form Laboratories supplies research-use-only reference material. Everything in this hub is an educational summary of published third-party literature. It is not medical advice, not a use instruction, and research material is not for human or animal use.