What it is
Bremelanotide is for premenopausal women with persistently low sexual desire that causes them real distress — a diagnosis doctors call hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD). It works on desire signals in the brain, so it is nothing like the tablets men take for erection problems, and it is not meant to improve sexual performance. It is a melanocortin receptor agonist: it acts on signalling pathways in the brain involved in sexual desire, rather than on blood flow to the genitals.Regulatory status
Bremelanotide is approved in the United States but has no marketing authorisation in the European Union. As of a check of the EMA public medicines register on 27 July 2026, there is no entry for bremelanotide or Vyleesi as an authorised, refused or withdrawn application.An EU authorisation gap is not the same as a safety concern. It means the medicine has not been through, or has not completed, the EU regulatory process — so it sits outside what any EU-licensed doctor is permitted to prescribe.
What the studies reported
The RECONNECT phase 3 trials (Kingsberg et al., Obstetrics & Gynecology, 2019) enrolled 1,267 women. Two registry entries cover this programme: NCT02333071 and NCT02338960. A few things are worth knowing about who was studied: 96.6% of participants were recruited at US sites, and 85.6% were white. The differences from placebo were small movements on questionnaire scales whose day-to-day meaning is debated.Side effects reported in the phase 3 trials
Side effects reported in the phase 3 trials
If low desire is the concern
A GP or gynaecologist can look at hormones, mood, medication side effects and relationship factors together, which is the assessment low desire actually needs. Within Hi-Doctor’s sexual health consultation, doctors review the case that is actually submitted and consider the EU-authorised options that fit it — see low sexual desire for how that consultation works. Where a related PDE5-inhibitor question comes up in a sexual health case (for a different indication, such as erectile dysfunction), the options a Hi-Doctor doctor can assess include sildenafil and other authorised tablets in that class — none of which treat HSDD, and a doctor decides case by case whether any of them are relevant to what was actually reported in the questionnaire.Common questions
What is bremelanotide and what is it used for?
What is bremelanotide and what is it used for?
Bremelanotide is for premenopausal women with persistently low sexual desire that causes real distress — a diagnosis called hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD). It is a melanocortin receptor agonist that acts on signalling pathways in the brain involved in sexual desire, rather than on blood flow to the genitals.
Why does Hi-Doctor not prescribe bremelanotide?
Why does Hi-Doctor not prescribe bremelanotide?
Bremelanotide has no EU marketing authorisation. It cannot legally be prescribed or dispensed by any doctor working in the EU, and Hi-Doctor does not offer it. An EU authorisation gap is not the same as a safety concern — it means the medicine has not been through the EU regulatory process.
What alternatives can I consider for low sexual desire?
What alternatives can I consider for low sexual desire?
A GP or gynaecologist can look at hormones, mood, medication side effects and relationship factors together, which is the assessment low desire actually needs. Within Hi-Doctor’s sexual health consultation, doctors review the case and consider EU-authorised options. See low sexual desire for how that consultation works.
What did the RECONNECT trials show?
What did the RECONNECT trials show?
The RECONNECT phase 3 trials enrolled 1,267 women. Of those, 96.6% were recruited at US sites and 85.6% were white. The differences from placebo were small movements on questionnaire scales whose day-to-day meaning is debated. Nausea was reported by 40.0% of women given bremelanotide versus 1.3% on placebo; flushing by 20.3% versus 0.3%.
How is bremelanotide taken?
How is bremelanotide taken?
It is an injection given under the skin of the stomach or thigh about 45 minutes before sex.
Can an EU doctor prescribe a PDE5 inhibitor for low desire?
Can an EU doctor prescribe a PDE5 inhibitor for low desire?
PDE5 inhibitors such as sildenafil treat erectile dysfunction, not HSDD. A doctor decides case by case whether any of them are relevant to what was reported in the questionnaire.
How Hi-Doctor handles it
One consultation, one doctor, one decision. A licensed doctor reviews every sexual health case; nothing is prescribed automatically. See how it works and pricing for the consultation process and cost of the medical review — medication, where something is prescribed, is paid separately at the pharmacy.Start a consultation
Sexual health consultation
Answer the sexual health questionnaire and a registered doctor reviews it.
They decide whether treatment is appropriate, which one, and at what dose —
and declining is a normal outcome. See what it costs
and how the review works.