Peptide basics
SS-31 became an approved drug. MOTS-c has one trial of 120 people
On this page
SS-31 is the research code for elamipretide, which has an FDA-approved product and 21 verified registered trials enrolling 1,869 people.
MOTS-c has one verified registered trial with 120 participants and no approved product.
Both are described in marketing as mitochondrial peptides, and that description is accurate for both.
It is also where the similarity ends. One has a regulator's assessment behind it; the other has a single phase 2 study.
This page compares the evidence and approval record of two mitochondrial peptides. It is not a recommendation, does not describe what either does, and contains no dose, schedule or route.
The name change is the tell
SS-31 is a research code. Elamipretide is the international generic name it received on the way to approval, and FORZINITY is the brand of the approved product. A compound acquiring all three names has almost always been through formal development.1
MOTS-c has one name, which is the name it was given in the laboratory. It has not acquired a generic name because it has not needed one.3
The records side by side
- SS-31 / elamipretide: 21 verified trials, 1,869 participants, phase 4, FDA-approved product.
- MOTS-c: 1 verified trial, 120 participants, phase 2, no approved product.
- Publications: MOTS-c 239, SS-31 200.
- Readership: MOTS-c 4,082 a month, SS-31 1,883.123
MOTS-c has more published literature and more readers than the compound that actually reached approval. That is the same inversion visible across this site: laboratory interest and public attention both run ahead of the trial record, and neither substitutes for it.23
What the shared description hides
Mitochondrial peptide is a structural description, not a claim about effect. It groups molecules by where they come from and what they interact with, in the same way that describing two drugs as small molecules groups them without saying anything about either.23
Common questions
Does SS-31's approval say anything about MOTS-c?
No. Approvals are granted to specific products for specific uses. They do not extend to other molecules, however closely related in function.
Why does MOTS-c have more papers?
It is a popular subject for laboratory work on mitochondrial signalling. Publication volume reflects research interest, not clinical testing.
Is one trial with 120 people meaningful?
It establishes that the compound has been administered under a protocol with a pre-specified outcome. That is a real thing and a very small one.
Sources
- RegulatoryDrugs@FDA — elamipretide approval recordU.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2026www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cder/daf/ ↗↩ Back to text
- RegulatoryClinicalTrials.gov search — intervention: elamipretideU.S. National Library of Medicine, 2026clinicaltrials.gov/search?intr=elamipretide ↗↩ Back to text
- RegulatoryClinicalTrials.gov search — intervention: MOTS-cU.S. National Library of Medicine, 2026clinicaltrials.gov/search?intr=MOTS-c ↗↩ Back to text