What Is It?
A tiny peptide — only 4 amino acids. Designed by Hazel Szeto and Peter Schiller at Cornell. Pharmaceutical name: elamipretide. Brand name: Forzinity. FDA-approved September 2025 — the first mitochondria-targeted therapeutic ever approved.
How Does It Work?
Most antioxidants spray the whole house. They float through your cell hoping to bump into damage. SS-31 lives in the engine room. It concentrates 1,000x denser inside your mitochondria than outside. Where the damage actually happens. Binds cardiolipin (the key lipid in inner mitochondrial membranes), stabilizes cristae structure, reduces reactive oxygen species at the source, and improves ATP output.
Primary Benefits (research suggests)
- 2014 Aging Cell study — aged mice showed reversed cardiac dysfunction within 60 minutes
- Acts in real-time
- Most clinically advanced mitochondrial peptide
- FDA-approved (September 2025)
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- FDA approval is only for Barth syndrome (a rare genetic mitochondrial disorder).
- All other uses are investigational.
- Phase 3 trials ongoing for heart failure, dry macular degeneration, and mitochondrial myopathy.
- FDA approval for one rare disease does not mean it's a general longevity fix.
- For research purposes only when discussing non-approved uses.
Research Sources
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