PT-141
Approved medicineGet notified when the evidence changes.
The FDA has approved a version of this as a medicine, so it has been through large studies in people.
Compiled and reviewed by the PeptideSearch Editorial Team · Status checked 2026-06-05
Also called Bremelanotide / Vyleesi / Melanocortin agonist
A medicine acting on brain signals linked to sexual desire, approved for low desire in premenopausal women.
The basics
- What is it?
- An approved medicine that acts on brain signals tied to sexual desire.
- What do we know?
- In studies in women with low sexual desire, some reported improvement. It is approved for that use.
- What do we still not know?
- How large the benefit really is day to day, and how well it works for anyone else.
Official status: Pharmacies may compound it · Checked 2026-06-05
Can a doctor prescribe this?
- Small pharmacy (503A)
- Never put forward to FDA
- Large outsourcing facility (503B)
- Never put forward to FDA
FDA approved as bremelanotide for hypoactive sexual desire disorder in premenopausal women.
Why both lines above can be true: this compound is the active ingredient of a drug the FDA has already approved, and a pharmacy may compound with a bulk substance that is “a component of a drug approved by the Secretary” — a separate route in the law from the list of substances put forward for review. So it never had to be nominated for that list. The wording is in section 503A(b)(1)(A)(i)(II) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 353a). The substance must also be made by an FDA-registered establishment and come with a certificate of analysis for each lot.
503A is a pharmacy making a single prescription for one patient. 503B is a facility making batches. They are governed by separate lists. Where a category is shown, it is a position on the FDA's list of substances that have been put forward and are still being worked through — not the final list, which is set by rulemaking. Category 1 means the FDA does not plan to act against a pharmacy that makes it while the review runs.
Lab suppliers we list: 14
Doses used in research
Taken word for word from the studies and trials listed on this page. This is not a recommendation and not a dose for anyone to take.
- Study in peopleSafety Profile of Bremelanotide Across the Clinical Development Program.
Journal of women's health (2002) · 2022
- Study in peoplePrespecified and Integrated Subgroup Analyses from the RECONNECT Phase 3 Studies of Bremelanotide.
Journal of women's health (2002) · 2022
- Study in peopleThe Patient Experience of Premenopausal Women Treated with Bremelanotide for Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder: RECONNECT Exit Study Results.
Journal of women's health (2002) · 2021
- Study in peopleBremelanotide for the Treatment of Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder: Two Randomized Phase 3 Trials.
Obstetrics and gynecology · 2019
- Study in peoplePhase I Randomized Placebo-controlled, Double-blind Study of the Safety and Tolerability of Bremelanotide Coadministered With Ethanol in Healthy Male and Female Participants.
Clinical therapeutics · 2017
- Study in peopleUsefulness of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring to assess the melanocortin receptor agonist bremelanotide.
Journal of hypertension · 2017
- Study in peopleBremelanotide for female sexual dysfunctions in premenopausal women: a randomized, placebo-controlled dose-finding trial.
Women's health (London, England) · 2016
- Study in peopleSalvage of sildenafil failures with bremelanotide: a randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled study.
The Journal of urology · 2008
- Study in peopleAn effect on the subjective sexual response in premenopausal women with sexual arousal disorder by bremelanotide (PT-141), a melanocortin receptor agonist.
The journal of sexual medicine · 2006
- Study in peopleEvaluation of the safety, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamic effects of subcutaneously administered PT-141, a melanocortin receptor agonist, in healthy male subjects and in patients with an inadequate response to Viagra.
International journal of impotence research · 2004
- Study in peopleDouble-blind, placebo-controlled evaluation of the safety, pharmacokinetic properties and pharmacodynamic effects of intranasal PT-141, a melanocortin receptor agonist, in healthy males and patients with mild-to-moderate erectile dysfunction.
International journal of impotence research · 2004
- Animal study, rats or miceFemale Syrian hamster analyses of bremelanotide, a US FDA approved drug for the treatment of female hypoactive sexual desire disorder.
Neuropharmacology · 2025
- Animal study, rats or micePT-141: a melanocortin agonist for the treatment of sexual dysfunction.
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · 2003
- Lab dish studyA biodegradable suction patch for sustainable transbuccal peptide delivery.
Journal of controlled release : official journal of the Controlled Release Society · 2025
- Lab dish studyMelanocortin Receptor Agonist Bremelanotide Induces Cell Death and Growth Inhibition in Glioblastoma Cells <i>via</i> Suppression of Survivin Expression.
Anticancer research · 2024
- Testing of products for sale, not a health studyEvaluation of Research Grade Peptides Marketed Directly to Consumers Reveals Extensive Variability in Purity and Measured Abundance
2026
- Lab test method, not a health studyComprehensive characterization of bremelanotide acetate and its degradants by LC-HRMS/MS and predicting epimerization through computational modelling.
Analytical methods : advancing methods and applications · 2026
- Lab test method, not a health studyUltra-sensitive quantification of the therapeutic cyclic peptide bremelanotide utilizing UHPLC-MS/MS for evaluation of its oral plasma pharmacokinetics.
Journal of pharmaceutical and biomedical analysis · 2020
- Hypothesis, not a tested studyPT-141 Palatin.
Current opinion in investigational drugs (London, England : 2000) · 2004
- Drug information page, not a studyBremelanotide
2006
- Structural insights into ligand recognition and activation of the melanocortin-4 receptor
Cryo-EM structures of the MC4R with bremelanotide bound; mechanism, not a health study.
2021
- No abstract available, not yet classifiedShould Bremelanotide Be Considered for the Treatment of Sexual Arousal and Desire Disorders in Men?
Journal of clinical psychopharmacology · 2026
- Goldilocks-Inspired Design of Mid-Size Macrocycles for Selective Targeting of Human Melanocortin Receptors.
Journal of medicinal chemistry · 2026
- Strategies for Treating Sexual Health Concerns After Breast and Gynecologic Cancer.
Journal of minimally invasive gynecology · 2026
- Bremelanotide and flibanserin for low sexual desire in women: the fallacy of regulatory precedent.
Drug and therapeutics bulletin · 2021
- Bremelanotide: New Drug Approved for Treating Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder.
The Annals of pharmacotherapy · 2020
- No abstract available, not yet classifiedBremelanotide (Vyleesi) for hypoactive sexual desire disorder.
The Medical letter on drugs and therapeutics · 2019
- Responder Analyses from a Phase 2b Dose-Ranging Study of Bremelanotide.
The journal of sexual medicine · 2019
- Bremelanotide: First Approval.
Drugs · 2019
- Co-administration of low doses of intranasal PT-141, a melanocortin receptor agonist, and sildenafil to men with erectile dysfunction results in an enhanced erectile response.
Urology · 2005
- Gateways to clinical trials.
Methods and findings in experimental and clinical pharmacology · 2004
- Review of earlier workTherapeutic peptides in gerontology: mechanisms and applications for healthy aging.
Frontiers in aging · 2026
- Review of earlier workFemale Sexual Desire, Arousal, and Orgasmic Dysfunctions: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Treatment Options.
Journal of minimally invasive gynecology · 2026
- Review of earlier workClinical trial evidence on emerging pharmacological therapies for hypoactive sexual desire disorder in women: a systematic review and analysis of completed studies registered on ClinicalTrials.gov.
Frontiers in medicine · 2026
- Review of earlier workQuantification of "Mercy Sex" in Heterosexual Women.
Journal of sex & marital therapy · 2026
- Review of earlier workFDA-Approved Drugs Containing D-Amino Acids: A Historical and Developmental Perspective.
Drug development research · 2026
- Review of earlier workPractical considerations and emerging approaches for the management of vasomotor and sexual symptoms in breast cancer patients on endocrine therapies.
Expert review of clinical pharmacology · 2025
- Review of earlier workPharmacotherapy of Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder in Premenopausal Women.
The Annals of pharmacotherapy · 2025
- Review of earlier work2024 SOGC, 2024 NCCN, 2022 ESO-ESMO, and 2018 ASCO: a comparison of female cancer survivorship guidelines for the management of sexual health concerns.
Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2025
- Review of earlier workNovel Pharmacologic Treatments of Female Sexual Dysfunction.
Clinical obstetrics and gynecology · 2025
- Review of earlier workFDA-approved drugs as potential covalent inhibitors of key SARS-CoV-2 proteins: an in silico approach.
Turkish journal of biology = Turk biyoloji dergisi · 2025
- Review of earlier workWhat Women Want? The State of the Art regarding the Treatment of Young Women with Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder.
Pharmacology · 2024
- Review of earlier workAn evaluation of bremelanotide injection for the treatment of hypoactive sexual desire disorder.
Expert opinion on pharmacotherapy · 2023
- Review of earlier workUnderstanding Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (HSDD) in Women: Etiology, Diagnosis, and Treatment.
Cureus · 2023
- Review of earlier workLigands for Melanocortin Receptors: Beyond Melanocyte-Stimulating Hormones and Adrenocorticotropin.
Biomolecules · 2022
- Retracted or withdrawn, not evidenceRETRACTED: Evaluation of the safety and efficacy of bremelanotide, a melanocortin receptor agonist, in female subjects with arousal disorder: a double-blind placebo-controlled, fixed dose, randomized study.
The journal of sexual medicine · 2008
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