The "Barbie drug" is back

The "Barbie drug" is back

A dangerous peptide marketed online as a sunless tanning shortcut is resurfacing.

The big picture: Melanotan II — nicknamed the "Barbie drug" because it can also suppress appetite — mimics a hormone that tells the body to make more melanin.

  • It can be found as a nasal spray or shot, but it's not approved by the FDA or any other major regulator.
  • Case studies suggest it could lead to the development of skin cancer.

    • What we're hearing: "People who inject melanotan, their moles start to change," says Anthony Rossi, a dermatologic surgeon at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. He's removed atypical moles from a patient who used it.

  • But he's seeing it taken at the gym as part of a "beautification stack" — and he's worried.
  • "I don't really see a medical benefit of it at all," Rossi says.