SS-31
Also called Elamipretide, Forzinity, MTP-131, Bendavia
Educational only, not medical advice. Dosaly reports what has been studied; it isn't a recommendation to use SS-31 or any amount of it. Talk to a clinician.
Approved by the FDA under accelerated approval as a prescription medicine (Forzinity) to improve muscle strength in Barth syndrome; not approved by the EMA (as of October 2026).
Research applications
- Mitochondrial energy production and cardiolipin binding (lab studies)
- Heart failure (human trials)
- Primary mitochondrial myopathy (phase 3 trial did not meet its main goals)
- Barth syndrome (FDA accelerated approval in 2025)
- Aging and heart, kidney and muscle disease (animal models)
What studies have looked at, not proven uses.
What it is
SS-31 (elamipretide) is a lab-made peptide that goes into mitochondria, the energy centers of cells. In 2025 the FDA approved it for Barth syndrome, a rare inherited disease.
More detail
SS-31, now known by its drug name elamipretide, is a synthetic four-amino-acid peptide from the Szeto-Schiller family, designed to enter cells and gather in mitochondria. There it binds cardiolipin, a fat in the inner mitochondrial membrane that supports energy production. Animal studies have examined it in models of aging and of heart, kidney and muscle disease. Human trials include studies in heart failure, in primary mitochondrial myopathy, where a phase 3 trial did not meet its main goals, and in Barth syndrome, a rare inherited disorder. In 2025 the FDA granted it accelerated approval for Barth syndrome, with continued approval tied to a confirmatory trial.
Evidence listed here
- 2 human studies
- 1 review
- 1 animal study
Results from cells and animals often don't carry over to people. How to read peptide research
Molecular info
- Class
- Synthetic tetrapeptide (mitochondria-targeted)
- Length
- 4 amino acids
- Sequence
- H-D-Arg-Dmt-Lys-Phe-NH2
- Research areas
- Longevity, Cardiovascular
Dmt is 2',6'-dimethyltyrosine; ends in an amide. Drug name: elamipretide.
Research
- Human studyNeurology · 2023Efficacy and Safety of Elamipretide in Individuals With Primary Mitochondrial Myopathy: The MMPOWER-3 Randomized Clinical Trial.
Phase 3 randomized trial (MMPOWER-3) in primary mitochondrial myopathy.
- Human studyCirc Heart Fail · 2017Novel Mitochondria-Targeting Peptide in Heart Failure Treatment: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial of Elamipretide.
Randomized placebo-controlled trial in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction.
- ReviewBr J Pharmacol · 2014First-in-class cardiolipin-protective compound as a therapeutic agent to restore mitochondrial bioenergetics.
Review of cardiolipin-targeting peptides and mitochondrial energy.
- Animal studyGeroscience · 2025Aging, mitochondrial dysfunction, and cerebral microhemorrhages: a preclinical evaluation of SS-31 (elamipretide) and development of a high-throughput machine learning-driven imaging pipeline for cerebromicrovascular protection therapeutic screening.
Aged, hypertensive mouse model of cerebral microbleeds.