MELSMON is the oldest placenta extract injection on the Korean drug register, filed in May 2003. Twenty-three more have been filed since, and on paper they are nearly indistinguishable from it. One line in MELSMON's record sets it apart: it is the only filing of the 24 that states how much extract the solution carries in its ingredient information field. Eight others note a figure only in the remarks field.
What MELSMON is, as the Korean register records it
MELSMON is a prescription-only medicine held in Korea by Korea Melsmon under the licensed name 멜스몬주(자하거추출물). The parenthesis names the substance: 자하거추출물, human placenta extract. It is a single filing with a single presentation.
| Licensed product name | 멜스몬주(자하거추출물) |
|---|---|
| English name on file | MELSMON inj. (Human placenta) |
| Licence holder | Korea Melsmon (한국멜스몬) |
| Granted | 30 May 2003, by full licensing (허가) |
| Declared active | Human placenta extract, 1 mL per 1 mL, separate specification |
| Declared content | 50 mg of water-soluble matter per mL |
| Pack | 50 ampoules per box, 2 mL per ampoule |
| Appearance on file | Light brown, clear solution in a brown ampoule |
| Storage and shelf life on file | Sealed container, 1 to 30°C; 24 months from manufacture |
| Registered barcodes | 8806740000209, 8806740000216, 8806740000223, 8806740000230 |
The register records placenta preparations under two separate ingredient entries, extract and hydrolysate, and MELSMON sits in the extract entry. That split, and why LAENNEC sits in the other one, is set out in our guide to reading a placenta injectable. Here the interest is in what MELSMON's own record says about quantity.
"1 mL per mL" and the line MELSMON adds
A placenta extract is not a single molecule, so it cannot be declared the way a vitamin or a toxin is, as a fixed weight of one substance. The register's answer is to declare the extract by volume. Every placenta extract injection filing states the same thing: in each 1 mL of solution, 1 mL of human placenta extract, made to a separate specification (별규) that the open register does not publish.
Read on its own, that line says the product is the extract, and nothing about how concentrated the extract is. MELSMON's record adds a second line in the ingredient information field: 수용성물질로서 50mg, "as water-soluble matter, 50 mg." That attaches a weight, the water-soluble substances in each millilitre, to what is otherwise a volume figure.
| Field | MELSMON | The other 23 |
|---|---|---|
| Active declared as | 1 mL extract per mL | 1 mL extract per mL, all 23 |
| Quantity of the extract stated | 50 mg water-soluble matter per mL | None in the ingredient field. 8 note one in remarks: 50 mg in 5, about 6 mg in 3 |
| Ampoule or vial size | 2 mL | 2 mL, all 23 (one also files a 5 mL export pack) |
| Route of filing | Full licensing | Full licensing, all 23 |
| Shelf life on file | 24 months | 24 months in 13, 36 months in 9, both stated in 1 |
| Granted | May 2003 | September 2003 to October 2022 |
This is why the 100 mg per ampoule figure seen on MELSMON listings can be traced. Fifty milligrams of water-soluble matter per millilitre, in a 2 mL ampoule, is 100 mg. Of the other 23 filings, eight give a comparable figure in the remarks field, five at 50 mg and three at about 6 mg. The remaining 15 give no number, so a milligram figure on their cartons or listings has no field in the open record to be checked against.
It does not follow that the others contain less, or that MELSMON's figure says anything about how the product works. A stated quantity is a stated quantity. It makes MELSMON easier to verify, not better.
MELSMON and MERSMON: two filings, three months apart
The second-oldest filing in the category was granted on 3 September 2003, just over three months after MELSMON. Its name is 메르스몬주, MERSMON, and it is held by a different company, Medisquare. In Korean the two names differ by a single syllable, 멜 against 메르. In English transliteration they differ by one letter.
On the register the two are separate products: different holders, different barcodes, and MERSMON records its water-soluble matter figure (50 mg) in the remarks field, not in the ingredient information field where MELSMON's sits. Its pack options are also different, with boxes of 10 as well as 50 ampoules recorded. A carton or invoice reading MERSMON is not a MELSMON with a spelling variant. It is a different filing, and the barcode is the fastest way to tell them apart.
What the record's change history shows
MELSMON's record logs a product name change on 16 December 2004, alongside revisions to storage, shelf life and precautions on the same day. Storage and shelf life were revised again on 12 June 2007, precautions in September 2016, and the appearance description on 19 July 2024. The register does not publish the earlier wording of any of those fields.
Two practical consequences follow. Old cartons or inserts, printed before December 2004, may not carry the name in its current form at all. And because the appearance field was revised in 2024, the description of the solution on an insert printed before then may read differently from the current light brown, clear wording, while belonging to the same filing.
How to verify MELSMON before it ships
Read the Korean name carefully. The licensed name is 멜스몬주(자하거추출물). The look-alike 메르스몬주 is a separate product from a separate company. Several other placenta extracts also end in -mon or -sen, so the full name matters more than the sound of it.
Confirm the holder. MELSMON's only Korean filing is held by Korea Melsmon. A document naming another company as the MELSMON licence holder does not match the register.
Check the box against the filing. The record describes 50 ampoules of 2 mL, a light brown clear solution in brown glass. A MELSMON box of a different count, or a vial presentation, does not correspond to the filing.
Match the barcode. The four registered codes all begin 880674000: 8806740000209, 8806740000216, 8806740000223 and 8806740000230. A code outside that set is the clearest single sign of a relabelled carton. A blank result in a consumer barcode app is not, as covered in our question on blank barcode scans.
Use the quantity line as a cross-check. If a listing for MELSMON gives 100 mg per ampoule, that agrees with the record. If it gives a different milligram figure, ask where it comes from.
Sourcing MELSMON
KSTATION supplies MELSMON Inj, 2 mL × 50 ampoules through official Korean channels. For buyers comparing placenta extracts, JBP PLAMON is another extract-entry filing in our range, and the hydrolysate side is covered in our LAENNEC monograph. Both sit with related products under skin recovery and regeneration.
Frequently asked
What is MELSMON injection?
MELSMON is a prescription-only human placenta extract injection held in Korea by Korea Melsmon, licensed on 30 May 2003. It is the oldest of 24 placenta extract injection filings on the Korean register and comes as 50 ampoules of 2 mL.
How much placenta extract is in MELSMON?
The register declares 1 mL of extract per mL, and MELSMON's record adds that this corresponds to 50 mg of water-soluble matter per mL, or 100 mg per 2 mL ampoule. No other placenta extract filing states it in that field. Eight note a figure in the remarks field instead.
Is MERSMON the same as MELSMON?
No. MERSMON (메르스몬주) is a separate placenta extract filing held by Medisquare, granted in September 2003, with its own barcodes. The names differ by one syllable in Korean.
How do you verify authentic MELSMON?
Check that the Korean name reads 멜스몬주(자하거추출물), that the holder is Korea Melsmon, that the box holds 50 ampoules of 2 mL, and that the barcode is one of the four registered codes beginning 880674000.
Sources and references
- Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS), Korean drug product register, detailed record for 멜스몬주(자하거추출물), including holder, declared active and ingredient information, pack, appearance, storage, shelf life, barcodes and change history, retrieved 8 October 2026.
- MFDS drug product register, ingredient query for human placenta extract, 24 injection filings with detailed records read for declared content, pack, filing route and shelf life, retrieved 8 October 2026.
- KSTATION product record for MELSMON Inj, retrieved 8 October 2026.
- KSTATION editorial policy, on how product and register facts are separated in our writing.
Register figures are a reading taken on 8 October 2026. Licences and their detailed records change without notice. This article describes licence holders, declared ingredients, barcodes and carton facts for professional buyers. It says nothing about what the product is indicated for, how it is prepared or administered, or how it compares clinically with other products.
