Elamipretide (also known as SS-31, , MTP-131 and Bendavia)
is a small
mitochondrial
A mitochondrion (; ) is an organelle found in the cells of most Eukaryotes, such as animals, plants and fungi. Mitochondria have a double membrane structure and use aerobic respiration to generate adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is use ...
ly-targeted
tetrapeptide (
D-Arg-dimethylTyr-Lys-Phe-NH
2) that appears to reduce the production of toxic reactive oxygen species and stabilize
cardiolipin
Cardiolipin (IUPAC name 1,3-bis(''sn''-3’-phosphatidyl)-''sn''-glycerol) is an important component of the inner mitochondrial membrane, where it constitutes about 20% of the total lipid composition. It can also be found in the membranes of most ...
.
Stealth Peptides, a privately held company, was founded in 2006 to
develop intellectual property licensed from several universities including elamipretide; it subsequently changed its name to Stealth BioTherapeutics.
As of November 2017 Stealth had obtained an orphan designation in the US for use in
mitochondrial myopathy and had started a Phase III trial in that indication.
[ As of January 2020, trial expectations were not met.]
References
{{Reflist
Tetrapeptides
Experimental drugs