Is SS-31 the same as elamipretide?

Yes. SS-31 is the research name, elamipretide is the drug name, and Forzinity is the brand it is sold under.

What is it actually approved for?

One thing: improving muscle strength in adults and children with Barth syndrome, a rare inherited mitochondrial disease. Any other use is off-label.

What does cardiolipin do?

It is a fat in the inner wall of mitochondria that holds the energy-producing machinery in place. Without enough of it in the right shape, energy production suffers.

Does an approval for one rare disease mean it works for energy generally?

No. The approval covers a specific disease where cardiolipin is genetically faulty. Trials in other conditions have had mixed results, and healthy aging has not been studied that way.

How do I get started?

Head to our shop to see current availability and complete your order. Where a medical evaluation is required, a licensed provider reviews your health history—and may order labs—as part of the process.

Wellness & vitality

SS-31

Also known as: Elamipretide

Elamipretide, a peptide that gathers at the inner wall of mitochondria and binds a fat called cardiolipin that the wall needs to work.

Drug name: Elamipretide (Forzinity)
Target: Cardiolipin in mitochondria
Approved for: Barth syndrome
FDA status: FDA-approved (one rare disease)

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Overview

What it is

SS-31, known as elamipretide, is a lab-made peptide that collects at the inner membrane of mitochondria, the parts of the cell that make energy. It binds cardiolipin, a fat in that membrane that the energy-making machinery depends on.

SS-31 spent nearly two decades in development as elamipretide, tested in heart failure, mitochondrial muscle disease, and eye disease. Results across those programs were mixed.

In September 2025 the FDA approved it as Forzinity, but for one thing only. That use is improving muscle strength in people with Barth syndrome, a rare inherited disease that affects roughly 150 people in the United States.

The approval came through the accelerated pathway, which allows a decision based on an early marker rather than a final outcome. A confirming trial is running now, and continued approval depends on it.

Benefits

What it supports

Supports the inner structure that mitochondria need to make energy
Supports balance against oxidative stress inside the cell
Supports endurance and recovery goals
Supports cellular healthy-aging goals alongside NAD+ and MOTS-C

Mechanism

How it works

Mitochondria have an inner wall, folded over on itself to pack in more surface area. The machinery that produces energy is embedded in that wall.

A fat called cardiolipin holds that machinery in place. When cardiolipin is damaged or missing, the wall loses its shape and energy production falls off.

SS-31 is designed to collect at that inner wall and bind cardiolipin, which helps the structure hold together so the machinery can keep working.

In Barth syndrome, a genetic fault means cardiolipin is not built correctly. That is why the drug found its clearest use in a disease defined by exactly this problem.

Context

Who it's for

Families dealing with Barth syndrome, discussing the approved use with a specialist

Adults interested in how mitochondria produce energy and what can go wrong

People comparing SS-31 with NAD+ or MOTS-C and how their evidence differs

Adults who want to understand what a narrow, accelerated approval actually means

Landscape

In the landscape

How this compound compares to related options in the wellness landscape.

MOTS-C
Also involves mitochondria but acts as a signal to the rest of the cell. It has never been approved.
NAD+
A helper molecule for energy reactions rather than a structural one. Different kind of molecule entirely.
Epithalon
A four-amino-acid peptide studied for telomeres, with a far thinner evidence base.

In this area

Related therapies

Other compounds that support overlapping wellness goals.

NAD+

A helper molecule found in every cell that cells use to turn food into energy and to run repair enzymes.

Learn about NAD+

Glutathione

An antioxidant your body already makes that helps the liver clear waste and helps cells handle everyday chemical stress.

Learn about Glutathione

MOTS-C

A rare peptide written in the DNA of mitochondria, the parts of the cell that make energy, and studied as a message from them to the rest of the cell.

Learn about MOTS-C

Epithalon

A four-amino-acid peptide modeled on a substance from the pineal gland, studied for links to telomeres and the sleep-wake clock.

Learn about Epithalon

Questions

SS-31 FAQ

Good to know

Regulatory & considerations

Elamipretide is FDA-approved under the name Forzinity, but only to improve muscle strength in people with Barth syndrome, a rare inherited mitochondrial disease. It was cleared in 2025 through the accelerated pathway, and a confirming trial is still running. It is not approved for energy, endurance, or healthy aging, so any such use is off-label and is decided by a licensed provider.

Peptides in our shop are sourced from US-licensed manufacturers.

The FDA approval covers one use: improving muscle strength in people with Barth syndrome. It is not approved for energy, endurance, or healthy aging.

The approval was accelerated, meaning it rested on an early marker of benefit. A confirming trial is still under way, and continued approval depends on the result.

Trials in other conditions, including a form of mitochondrial muscle disease, did not meet their main goals. That history is worth knowing before assuming broad benefit.

Injection site reactions are the most commonly reported side effect.

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See current pricing and availability for SS-31 in our shop. If a medical evaluation is needed, a licensed provider guides you through it.

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Individual results vary. General information on this site is not a substitute for professional medical advice.