Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals Limited to Trial Innovative Drug in Stroke. The drug afamelanotide will be used for the first time in patients with acute stroke. The study will evaluate the safety and efficacy of afamelanotide, developed by Australian company CLINUVEL, in arterial ischaemic stroke (AIS). The aim is to offer a treatment for patients suffering a stroke who are unable to receive treatment to dissolve or remove the underlying blood clot. AIS accounts for approximately 85% of the 15 million strokes suffered worldwide each year. A clot in the brain vessel of a stroke patient leads to instant death of brain tissue closest to the clot, shown in dark pink. The larger area surrounding the core (shaded) is characterised as the penumbra, tissue which can still be rescued.