It was developed as a successor to afamelanotide ("Melanotan I"), an FDA approved drug operating through a similar pathway.

Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals intended to offer it as a cosmetic, but abandoned this pursuit in the 2000s due to regulatory restrictions and concerns about the promotion of suntanning.

Unlicensed Melanotan II is found on the internet, although health agencies advise against its use due to legality and a lack of testing.

[7][8] Research in the early 1960s showed that in rats, administration of α-MSH caused sexual arousal, and work on this continued in many labs up through the 1980s, when scientists at the University of Arizona began attempting to develop α-MSH and analogs as potential sunless tanning agents, and synthesized and tested several analogs, including melanotan-I and melanotan II.

[6][non-primary source needed] As a tanning agent, melanotan I (now known as afamelanotide) was licensed by Competitive Technologies, a technology transfer company operating on behalf of the University of Arizona, to an Australian startup called Epitan,[10][11] which changed its name to Clinuvel in 2006.

[14] Competitive Technologies (Clinuvel) sued Palatin for breach of contract and tried to claim ownership of bremelanotide;[13] the parties settled in 2008 with Palatin retaining rights to bremelanotide, returning rights to melanotan II to Competitive Technologies, and paying US$800,000.