Scenesse Generic: When Will Generic Afamelanotide Be Available?
This page is aggregated from FDA records, court filings and company announcements. Coded and designed by Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS
Updated October 9, 2026 How we build our data
Scenesse Generic at a Glance
Four quick answers from FDA records and our estimate.
- When is the first generic expected? January 2033 About 6.5 years away Why then?
- Has the FDA approved a generic? Not yet None in the FDA’s records yet Why not yet?
- When does the last patent end? January 2033 Its only patent listed with the FDA
- Can you buy a generic today? Not yet No company lists one for sale
Generic afamelanotide is expected to be available in January 2033, about 6.5 years away. None is for sale yet.
Why January 2033?
It is when Scenesse’s patent 8,334,265 ends. That patent covers a way of using it, and once it ends, generics can go on sale as soon as the FDA approves them. We rate it toss-up: still unsettled. Just as likely to slip as to hold.
Why hasn’t the FDA approved a generic yet?
That is normal before a launch. The FDA usually can’t give a generic its final approval while a patent or exclusivity still blocks it, so final approval often comes close to the day the generic can be sold. No company holds a “tentative” approval yet either (the FDA’s word for a generic that is ready but still blocked).
Will the generic cost less?
Usually, but no company is recorded as having applied to make one yet, and a single company usually brings only a modest drop. See the price pattern
What should I do now?
Keep taking Scenesse as prescribed. When a generic arrives, your pharmacy may switch you to it automatically, and it may look different. What a generic means for you
Our month is only an estimate based on available information, so we never name a day.
Scenesse by the Numbers
- Reason
- Patent expiresA patent that protects the brand runs out. After that, approved generics can be sold.
- How sure
- Toss-up Still unsettled. Just as likely to slip as to hold.
- Price competition
- None filed yet No filers on record
- Brand sales
- Sales not reported
- FDA approved 2019 October 2019 FDA Orange Book
- Patents listed 1 last runs to January 2033 FDA Orange Book
Scenesse’s Road to a Generic
Scenesse has had the market to itself since the FDA approved it in October 2019 (Clinuvel Inc). Its FDA protections on record ended by October 2026. Its one listed patent runs to January 2033.
The first generic of Scenesse is expected in January 2033.
Why that month: patent 8,334,265, on a way of using it, ends then.
Each bar runs from the brand’s approval to the day that protection ends. The green band is our projection for the first generic: a month, never a day, because legal dates move and a generic reaches shelves days to weeks after it is allowed. Sources: FDA Orange Book; the expected month from court records and company announcements.
Scenesse Patents and FDA Protections
Every patent and exclusivity the FDA Orange Book lists for Scenesse’s own applications. A protection running past the expected month does not mean the date is wrong: a settlement or a court ruling can let a generic in before a patent ends, and a patent on one formulation or use does not block every generic.
The one that matters for a generic launch: patent 8,334,265, which ends in January 2033, the month the first generic is expected.
| Patent | What it covers | Protects until | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8,334,265 Sets the expected month of generic availability | A way of using it (U-2638) | January 2033 | Active |
| Exclusivity | What it means | Ends | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orphan drug ODE-270 | Seven years of protection for a use in a rare disease. | October 2026 | Ended |
Source: FDA Orange Book, application 210797. Patent numbers open the patent on Google Patents.
Who Is Lined Up to Make Generic Afamelanotide
Three steps stand between a brand and a generic you can buy: a company applies to the FDA, the FDA approves it, and the company starts selling it.
Applied to the FDA
No company is recorded as having applied to the FDA to make a generic Scenesse yet.
Approved by the FDA
Not yet. The FDA has not approved a generic afamelanotide. Final approval often comes close to the day a generic can be sold.
For Sale in Pharmacies
Not yet. No company lists a generic afamelanotide for sale with the FDA.
Sources: how many companies have applied, from court records and company announcements; approved generics from the FDA Orange Book; tentative approvals from Drugs@FDA; what is for sale from the FDA NDC Directory. The FDA does not disclose an application before it approves it (21 CFR 314.430).
Scenesse Price: What Pharmacies Pay and What Generics Usually Do
What a Generic Could Cost
How we estimate it. The national survey of what pharmacies pay (NADAC) has no recent price for Scenesse, so we cannot show dollars. Here is the FDA’s finding of how far the price pharmacies pay usually falls as generic companies join: about 31% with one company, 44% with two, 73% with four and over 95% with six or more (the typical drop for every drug whose first generic came out from 2015 to 2017).
Median prices pharmacies paid for the generic (invoice prices), compared with the brand’s price before generic entry, from FDA’s 2019 analysis “Generic Competition and Drug Prices”. At the manufacturer’s price FDA found steeper drops (about 39%, 54%, 79% and over 95%), the figures quoted elsewhere on this tracker. A typical pattern, not a price quote for this medicine.
Scenesse Strengths and Forms
| Strength | Form | How it is taken | Approved | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16MG | Implant | Subcutaneous | October 2019 | Prescription reference product |
Source: FDA Orange Book, Clinuvel Inc. Listed for sale today by Clinuvel Inc. (FDA NDC Directory).
Scenesse NDC Codes and Packages
Each Scenesse package sold today has its own NDC, the product number printed on the box and on the pharmacy label. Open one to see that package’s details, what pharmacies pay for it and its patent timeline.
| NDC | Product | Package | Company |
|---|---|---|---|
| 73372-0116-01 | AFAMELANOTIDE 16 mg/16mg implant | vial of 1 mg | Clinuvel Inc. |
| 73372-0116-01 | AFAMELANOTIDE 16 mg/16mg implant | vial of 1 mg | Clinuvel Inc. |
Source: the FDA NDC Directory, current listings only. Only packages sold under Scenesse’s own FDA approval (NDA 210797) are listed, never a generic. Some codes belong to companies that repackage Scenesse: it is the same medicine in a different package.
What a Generic Scenesse Means for You
Nothing Changes Until It Is in Pharmacies
Until a generic is actually for sale, keep filling Scenesse as usual. When one arrives, there is nothing you need to sign up for.
Your Pharmacy May Switch You Automatically
Every state lets pharmacists fill a brand-name prescription with an FDA-approved generic rated as equivalent to it, and about 19 states require them to, unless your prescriber writes “dispense as written” or “brand medically necessary” on the prescription. Some states ask the pharmacist to tell you, or to get your OK first. A study of every state’s law has the details.
It Will Probably Look Different
US trademark law does not let a generic look exactly like the brand, so the color, shape or markings usually change. The active ingredient, strength and form are the same. An “authorized generic,” made by or for the brand’s own company, can look identical. The FDA explains.
Your Insurance May Change Too
Once a lower-cost version is available, many insurance plans charge more for the brand, or stop covering it. Your plan’s drug list (formulary) says how.
Until a generic is on US pharmacy shelves, be careful with websites that offer “generic Scenesse”. The FDA warns that unlicensed online pharmacies sell counterfeit and unapproved medicines; its BeSafeRx page shows how to check a pharmacy.
Questions people ask about Scenesse
Is there a generic for Scenesse right now?
No. As of October 9, 2026 no generic afamelanotide is listed for sale in the FDA NDC Directory.
When will Scenesse go generic?
January 2033 is the expected month, and that is toss-up but not certain. It is when Scenesse’s patent 8,334,265 ends. That patent covers a way of using it, and once it ends, generics can go on sale as soon as the FDA approves them.
Will generic afamelanotide be the same as Scenesse?
Yes in the ways that matter: the same active ingredient, strength and form, with proof that it reaches your blood the same way. Inactive ingredients can differ, which is why some people notice a different look or taste.
How much will the generic cost?
Nobody can say for sure before launch. No company is recorded as having applied to the FDA to make one yet, and a single company usually brings only a modest drop.
Has the FDA approved a generic Scenesse?
Not yet. The FDA Orange Book lists no approved generic version of Scenesse.
When does the Scenesse patent expire?
One patent is listed for Scenesse in the FDA Orange Book; it runs to January 2033. The one behind the expected month is patent 8,334,265, which ends in January 2033. A patent date is not the launch date: settlements and court rulings often bring a generic earlier, and FDA approval or a company’s own plans can make it later. The expected month on this page (January 2033) weighs all of that.
Changes to This Projection
- First generic expected January 2033 on this month’s schedule. A line is added here whenever a monthly update moves the month, the reason or how sure it is.
Every change to the expected month is logged here with the month we saw it.
Also Going Generic
- Tirosint-SolLevothyroxine Sodium2026 to 2027
- BunavailBuprenorphine Hydrochloride and Naloxone HydrochlorideJuly 2028
- ForzinityElamipretide HydrochlorideFebruary 2039
- PosimirBupivacaineJanuary 2041
- YuvezziBrimonidine Tartrate and CarbacholNovember 2042
- LivtencityMaribavirNovember 2042
About Scenesse
- Generic name afamelanotide
- How it is taken Injection under the skin
- Company Clinuvel Inc
- Hard to copy Inhalers, injectables, patches and other hard-to-copy products. Fewer companies attempt them and dates slip more often.
- More drugs Brand-name drugs starting with S
- Have a question? A pharmacist answers, free. Ask about Scenesse
Sources. The expected month: FDA Paragraph IV Patent Certifications list, federal court records, company announcements and securities filings (settlement dates, launch plans, sales). The record on this page: FDA Orange Book, Drugs@FDA (tentative approvals), FDA NDC Directory, FDA, Generic Competition and Drug Prices (2019). Updated October 9, 2026. Information, not medical advice.