Research digest · The sources

PT-141 references: the cited bremelanotide literature.

Every quantitative claim on this site maps to one of these sources — PubMed, ClinicalTrials.gov, the FDA label, and the NIH LiverTox monograph.

About these PT-141 references

These PT-141 references are the published sources behind every cited figure in this digest. The human evidence centers on the two RECONNECT Phase 3 trials and their 52-week extension, the mechanistic fMRI study, and the FDA prescribing information; the preclinical and mechanistic context comes from the alpha-MSH-analogue pharmacology and the female-rat solicitation work. Each entry carries a DOI or a PubMed/ClinicalTrials.gov/NIH URL so the claim can be checked at the source. The full list is numbered below and corresponds to the inline [N] markers used across the site.

  1. Molinoff PB, Shadiack AM, Earle D, Diamond LE, Quon CY. PT-141: a melanocortin agonist for the treatment of sexual dysfunction. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2003;994:96-102.
  2. Pfaus J, Shadiack A, Van Soest T, Tse M, Molinoff P. Selective facilitation of sexual solicitation in the female rat by a melanocortin receptor agonist. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2004;101:10201-10204.
  3. Kingsberg SA, Clayton AH, Portman D, Williams LA, Krop J, Jordan R, Lucas J, Simon JA. Bremelanotide for the Treatment of Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder: Two Randomized Phase 3 Trials. Obstet Gynecol. 2019;134(5):899-908.
  4. Simon JA, Kingsberg SA, Portman D, Williams LA, Krop J, Jordan R, Lucas J, Clayton AH. Long-Term Safety and Efficacy of Bremelanotide for Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder. Obstet Gynecol. 2019;134(5):909-917.
  5. Thurston L, Hunjan T, Mills EG, Wall MB, Ertl N, Phylactou M, et al. Melanocortin 4 receptor agonism enhances sexual brain processing in women with hypoactive sexual desire disorder. J Clin Invest. 2022;132(19):e152341.
  6. U.S. Food and Drug Administration / DailyMed. Bremelanotide Injection — US Prescribing Information. 2019.
  7. Diamond LE, Earle DC, Heiman JR, Rosen RC, Perelman MA, Harning R. An Effect on the Subjective Sexual Response in Premenopausal Women with Sexual Arousal Disorder by Bremelanotide (PT-141), a Melanocortin Receptor Agonist. J Sex Med. 2006;3(4):628-638.
  8. Pfaus J, Giuliano F, Gelez H. Bremelanotide: An Overview of Preclinical CNS Effects on Female Sexual Function. J Sex Med. 2007;4(Suppl 4):269-279.
  9. Shadiack AM, Sharma SD, Earle DC, Spana C, Hallam TJ. Melanocortins in the Treatment of Male and Female Sexual Dysfunction. Curr Top Med Chem. 2007;7(11):1137-1144.
  10. Clayton AH, Althof SE, Kingsberg S, DeRogatis LR, Kroll R, Goldstein I, et al. Bremelanotide for Female Sexual Dysfunctions in Premenopausal Women: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Dose-Finding Trial. Womens Health (Lond). 2016;12(3):325-337.
  11. Althof S, Derogatis LR, Greenberg S, Clayton AH, Jordan R, Lucas J, Spana C. Responder Analyses from a Phase 2b Dose-Ranging Study of Bremelanotide. J Sex Med. 2019;16(8):1226-1235.
  12. Borland JM, Kohut-Jackson AL, Peyla AC, Hall MA, Mermelstein PG, Meisel RL. Female Syrian hamster analyses of bremelanotide, a US FDA approved drug for the treatment of female hypoactive sexual desire disorder. Neuropharmacology. 2025;110299.
  13. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Bremelanotide — LiverTox: Clinical and Research Information on Drug-Induced Liver Injury. 2021.