Compare · Melanocortin
Afamelanotide vs Setmelanotide
Both are melanocortin compounds. Here's how they line up on the evidence — graded the same way.
| Afamelanotide | Setmelanotide | |
|---|---|---|
| Evidence | Preliminary human | Strong human |
| Class | Melanocortin | Melanocortin |
| Summary | Afamelanotide is an FDA- and EMA-approved implant for a rare light-sensitivity disease. The trial evidence is real but modest, and it is not the gray-market tanning drug. | An FDA-approved peptide for a handful of rare genetic and acquired forms of severe obesity, with no credible evidence for general weight loss. |
| Full profile → | Full profile → |
Afamelanotide
Afamelanotide is one of the few compounds in the broad "melanotan" family that is an actual approved medicine rather than a gray-market product. Sold as Scenesse, it is a clinician-implanted drug for a rare inherited light-sensitivity disease. That distinction matters: most of what people read…
Setmelanotide
Setmelanotide, sold as Imcivree, is a prescription peptide for a handful of rare, well-defined forms of severe obesity. Within those narrow conditions the evidence is genuinely strong. Outside them — for general weight loss, fat loss, or "metabolism" boosting in people without these disorders —…