Afamelanotide (Melanotan) skin pellets and sun protection

I recently read about trials in Australia using a skin implant called Melanotan, which gives a tan without getting sunburnt. Is this available in the UK?

Melanotan is also known as afamelanotide. On this page there is information about

The dangers of sun tanning
What afamelanotide is
Government advice on Melanotan
Possible medical uses for Melanotan
SunSmart advice – staying safe in the sun

Any change in colour of the skin (tanning) is a sign of damage. But even though tanning is bad for your skin it can be irresistible for many people, especially teenagers. People still associate having a tan with feeling healthy and looking beautiful. So the number of people who get skin cancer continues to rise in many countries, including the UK.

This regulated drug is being developed by an Australian company, Clinuvel. It is being developed as a skin implant that is given by injection. Afamelanotide is a man made (synthetic) form of a naturally occurring hormone called alpha melanocyte stimulating hormone (a-MSH). This hormone stimulates cells called melanocytes. Melanocytes lie in the deeper layers of the outer part of the skin (the epidermis). These are the cells that become cancerous in melanoma.

Melanocytes make the pigment melanin when the skin is exposed to sunlight. The melanin then moves into surrounding skin cells to help protect them against the sun's rays. Melanin makes fair skinned people tan in the sun. Melanocytes are more active in darker skinned people. So dark skinned people have more protection against skin cancer than fair skinned people.

Afamelanotide can produce darkening of the skin by stimulating the melanocytes to make more melanin. The aim of the development of afamelanotide is to produce a drug that can help to protect people with certain medical conditions. These conditions make their skin more prone to burning and damage when exposed to the sun. Although the results of early phase trials seem to show that afamelanotide may be a useful drug for people at very high risk of UV damage, the research is still at an early stage. We need results from much larger clinical trials before we know if this drug is effective and safe for medical use, and it isn’t currently licensed in the UK.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulation Agency (MHRA) makes sure that drugs work well and are safe. It is a UK government department. In 2008 the MHRA became aware that unregulated versions of Melanotan had become available through the internet, tanning salons and gyms. These unregulated versions are injections that people give themselves. The MHRA main concerns were

People may be tempted to share needles – there is a risk of passing on viruses
It is not known if these products are safe
If you have changes to your skin and need to see a specialist, using unregulated Melanotan may make it harder diagnose the problem

The MHRA issued advice that people in the UK should not use unregulated Melanotan. In 2011 the MHRA also issued a warning that some tanning salons, health clubs and the internet are illegally supplying a nasal spray version of Melanotan 2 called Ubertan. They say that none of these products have been fully tested and we don't know whether they could cause serious side effects. These products could harm people's health.

Alfamelanotide may be useful for people whose skins are very sensitive to the sun or who are more at risk of sunburn because of their genetic make up. It may also be helpful for people who are more likely to develop non melanoma skin cancer. Afamelanotide is being researched in clinical trials in several countries including Australia, the USA and the UK. So far there have been promising results, but it is not yet licensed in the UK or USA.

We won't know how successful afamelanotide really is in preventing sunburn for some time. There have been no major harmful effects in the trials that have been done. Side effects have included feeling sick and facial flushing. But we don't yet know if there are any harmful long term effects.

We advise that you don't take any drugs that have not been prescribed for you by your doctor. There could be unforeseen harmful side effects.

It is important that people still follow this sun safety advice. You need to keep out of the sun when it is at its hottest. We would advise that you never use a sunbed. Remember the SunSmart message