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Prescription medicine

Afamelanotide

Official FDA data, not advice

Everything here comes from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA): the drug label, the NDC Directory, Drugs@FDA, recall reports and the drug shortage list. Each fact shows its source and date.

This page is not medical advice. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist before you start, stop or change any medicine.

In an emergency, call 911. If someone may have taken too much of a medicine, call Poison Help: 1‑800‑222‑1222.

Quick answers

What is Afamelanotide used for?
The FDA-approved label (Scenesse, Clinuvel Inc., May 11, 2026) says: “SCENESSE ® is indicated to increase pain free light exposure in adult patients with a history of phototoxic reactions from erythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP). SCENESSE is a melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1-R) agonist indicated to increase pain free light exposure in adult patients with a history of phototoxic reactions from erythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP)” This page is not medical advice. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist before you start, stop or change any medicine.
Does Afamelanotide have a boxed warning?
No. None of the 1 FDA labels we found for this medicine has a boxed warning.
Is there a shortage of Afamelanotide?
No current shortage is listed by the FDA for the products of this medicine (FDA data from October 30, 2026).
Has Afamelanotide been recalled?
No recall linked to the products of this medicine appears in the FDA enforcement reports we use.
Who makes Afamelanotide?
1 company lists prescription products of Afamelanotide in the FDA NDC Directory, including Clinuvel Inc..

What Afamelanotide is used for

Quoted from the “Indications and Usage” section of the FDA-approved label.

SCENESSE ® is indicated to increase pain free light exposure in adult patients with a history of phototoxic reactions from erythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP). SCENESSE is a melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1-R) agonist indicated to increase pain free light exposure in adult patients with a history of phototoxic reactions from erythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP)

— FDA label: Scenesse, Clinuvel Inc., effective May 11, 2026. Read the full label on DailyMed →

This page is not medical advice. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist before you start, stop or change any medicine.

Boxed warning

A boxed warning (“black box”) is the FDA’s strongest warning on a drug label, for serious or life-threatening risks.

The label quoted above has no boxed warning.

Forms and how it is given

Dosage formsImplant
RouteSubcutaneous
Prescription products1 in the FDA NDC Directory
Brand namesScenesse

Companies that list this medicine

Labelers in the FDA NDC Directory: the company named on the package (maker or distributor), with the number of prescription products.

FDA approval history

  • NDA: New Drug Application: how a new (usually brand-name) medicine is approved.
Brand and biologic applications
ApplicationSponsorApprovedLater changes approved
NDA210797
SCENESSE
Clivunel IncOctober 8, 2019 1, latest August 12, 2024
2024: Labeling

Shortage status

The FDA drug shortage list does not show these products.

FDA Drug Shortages database →

Recalls

No recall linked to these products (by their NDC code) appears in the FDA enforcement reports.

Official identifiers

RxCUI (RxNorm)2262254, 2262259
SPL set ID of the quoted label94f53286-11dd-7fbb-e053-2a95a90a7c48
FDA labels (SPL)1
FDA applicationsNDA210797
Active ingredients (FDA)AFAMELANOTIDE

Sources

  1. FDA-approved label on DailyMed (National Library of Medicine) — Scenesse, Clinuvel Inc., effective May 11, 2026; via openFDA, FDA data exported October 30, 2026, retrieved October 31, 2026
  2. NDC Directory (openFDA) — U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), FDA data exported October 30, 2026, retrieved October 31, 2026
  3. Drugs@FDA (openFDA) — U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), FDA data exported October 30, 2026, retrieved October 31, 2026
  4. Drug recall enforcement reports (openFDA) — U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), FDA data exported October 27, 2026, retrieved October 31, 2026
  5. Drug shortages (openFDA) — U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), FDA data exported October 30, 2026, retrieved October 31, 2026

openFDA data is provided by the FDA as is; it may be incomplete. Always rely on the label that comes with your medicine. FDA Enforcement Report search →

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