Known brand names include Scenesse.
An implant placed under the skin every 2 months for adults with erythropoietic protoporphyria, a rare inherited disorder in which sunlight causes burning skin pain. It darkens the skin by boosting the body's own pigment, which lets people spend more time in daylight without pain.
Sources: [1]
The label does not describe a narrow therapeutic index or direct dosing by measured blood levels of the drug.
Sources: [1]
No specific antidote, and the label has no overdosage section. For a serious hypersensitivity reaction, treat it and remove the implant if needed; the drug should not be given again.
Doses come from the FDA label. Study tool, not for clinical decisions.
Unknown. The effect of renal impairment on afamelanotide pharmacokinetics has not been studied.
Sources: [1]
A synthetic 13-amino-acid analog of alpha-MSH and a melanocortin receptor agonist that binds mainly MC1-R. It increases eumelanin production in the skin independently of UV exposure. The apparent half-life is about 15 hours from the controlled-release implant, and metabolism has not been fully characterized.