PT-141 (Bremelanotide): What It Is and How It Works

Key facts

• PT-141 is the research name for bremelanotide, a synthetic peptide of seven amino acids.
• The FDA-approved bremelanotide product is Vyleesi®, an injection for premenopausal women with acquired, generalized hypoactive sexual desire disorder.
• The Vyleesi® label says it is not indicated for postmenopausal women or men, and not to enhance sexual performance.
• Compounded PT-141 is not FDA-approved, and no PT-141 product is FDA-approved for men.
• The evidence in men is limited: older studies, mostly small, and none of them tested a tablet.
• Your provider sets any dose, and the pharmacy's written instructions ship with your order.

What is PT-141?

PT-141 is the research name for bremelanotide. It is a peptide: the Vyleesi® label describes bremelanotide as a synthetic, cyclic peptide of seven amino acids. A review in the journal Drugs calls it a synthetic analogue of alpha melanocyte-stimulating hormone, a natural hormone.

The FDA-approved bremelanotide product is Vyleesi®, an injection given under the skin with an autoinjector. Compounded PT-141 is a separate thing. A pharmacy prepares it for one patient from a prescription, sometimes in another form such as a nasal spray or a tablet. It is not FDA-approved, and no nasal or under-the-tongue form of bremelanotide has FDA review behind it. The FDA status page explains what that means, and this comparison covers nasal sprays and injections.

How does PT-141 work?

Bremelanotide activates melanocortin receptors. The Vyleesi® label says two of them matter most at approved doses: MC4R, carried by neurons in many areas of the central nervous system, and MC1R, found on the skin cells that make pigment.

The same label says the way Vyleesi® improves low desire in women is unknown, and the FDA said so when it approved the injection. Erectile dysfunction (ED) tablets work differently. The Viagra® label describes a PDE5 inhibitor that acts in the erectile tissue during sexual stimulation.

Is PT-141 for men or women?

The FDA approval covers women, and only some women. The Vyleesi® label says the injection is for premenopausal women with acquired, generalized hypoactive sexual desire disorder, or HSDD. That means low sexual desire that causes marked distress or interpersonal difficulty, in someone who previously had no problems with desire, regardless of situation or partner. It must not be due to another medical or psychiatric condition, a relationship problem or the effects of a medicine.

The same label says Vyleesi® is not indicated for HSDD in postmenopausal women or in men, and that it is not indicated to enhance sexual performance.

No PT-141 product is FDA-approved for men. Use in men is outside the FDA-approved indication, and the evidence for it is limited, as the next section explains.

Does PT-141 work?

The strongest evidence is for Vyleesi® in women. In two phase 3 trials of premenopausal women with HSDD, the injection improved scores for desire and reduced distress about low desire more than placebo. The label also reports no significant difference from placebo in the number of satisfying sexual events, and more women stopped the trials early on Vyleesi® than on placebo.

Those results describe that injection in those women. Compounded PT-141 did not go through those trials, so they cannot be carried over to a spray or a tablet. This Q&A on PT-141 for women goes further.

The evidence in men is thinner. Early studies, with authors from the company developing the drug, reported a measurable erectile response after nasal or injected PT-141, including in men who had not responded well to Viagra®. A larger trial of a nasal spray, in men for whom sildenafil had not worked, reported better results than placebo, but the journal has since published an expression of concern about that paper. None of these studies tested a tablet under the tongue, the amounts in these tablets or a mix with oxytocin.

A 2026 review in Sexual Medicine Reviews names bremelanotide among the most established peptides in sexual medicine, for its approved use. It also says most of these peptides remain insufficiently validated for clinical use, that oxytocin has limited efficacy data, and that safety data are limited by short follow-up, small samples and incomplete assessment of cardiovascular and cancer outcomes.

Is PT-141 safe?

PT-141 carries real risks, and a provider weighs them against your health history. The Vyleesi® label warns of nausea, a temporary rise in blood pressure and patches of darker skin, and it says the injection should not be used by people with uncontrolled high blood pressure or known cardiovascular disease. Compounded medicines also have no FDA check of their safety, effectiveness or quality before they reach patients. The side effects page covers what to watch for.

CHROMA X Max tablets also hold tadalafil, which is not for use with nitrate medicines. An erection lasting longer than 4 hours is a medical emergency.

How do you get PT-141 online?

PT-141 is a prescription medicine, so it starts with a free assessment. On CHROMA23®, it is one of three actives in CHROMA X Max and CHROMA X Max Peak, compounded sublingual tablets for men with erectile dysfunction that also hold tadalafil and oxytocin. They are listed on the Sexual Health page from $81 a month, visit included, plus tax where required. They are not FDA-approved. You choose a plan and pay, then complete the intake. An independent licensed provider in your state, where available, reads your case and decides what fits. If a prescription is written, a licensed U.S. pharmacy fills it and ships it. You're notified at every step.

If a provider decides it does not fit, your order is fully or partially refunded under the Refund Policy. The cost page covers what a plan includes.

CHROMA23® does not offer Vyleesi® and does not list a PT-141 product for women. The prescription option for women is Euphoria, a compounded arousal cream of arginine, papaverine and alprostadil. It is for arousal and sensation rather than low desire, it is a different medicine, it is not FDA-approved, and your provider decides whether it fits. This guide to prescription options for low libido sets out the wider picture.

Frequently asked questions

About CHROMA23®

CHROMA23® brings weight loss, longevity, sexual health, hair, and skincare into one place. Every prescription decision is made by an independent provider licensed in the patient's state, where available, and every medication is dispensed by a state-licensed pharmacy. The assessment is free. One clear price per plan, shown in full before you pay. The medicine is real. The provider is real.

Sources

1. Vyleesi® (bremelanotide injection) full prescribing information, revised October 2026
2. FDA: approval announcement for Vyleesi®, June 21, 2019 (archived copy)
3. Drugs@FDA: Vyleesi®, NDA 210557
4. Kingsberg et al.: bremelanotide for hypoactive sexual desire disorder, two randomized phase 3 trials (Obstetrics & Gynecology, 2019)
5. Dhillon and Keam: bremelanotide, first approval (Drugs, 2019)
6. Rosen et al.: subcutaneous PT-141 in healthy men and men with an inadequate response to Viagra® (International Journal of Impotence Research, 2004)
7. Diamond et al.: intranasal PT-141 in healthy men and men with erectile dysfunction (International Journal of Impotence Research, 2004)
8. Safarinejad and Hosseini: intranasal bremelanotide after sildenafil failure (Journal of Urology, 2008)
9. Journal of Urology: expression of concern on Safarinejad and Hosseini, 2023
10. Vasylieva et al.: peptides in urology and sexual medicine, a narrative review (Sexual Medicine Reviews, 2026)
11. Viagra® (sildenafil) full prescribing information
12. Cialis® (tadalafil) full prescribing information
13. King et al.: melanocortin receptors, melanotropic peptides and penile erection (Current Topics in Medicinal Chemistry, 2007)
14. Böhm et al.: benefits and risks of chronic melanocortin 1 receptor activation (Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology, 2024)
15. FDA: compounding and the FDA, questions and answers

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