A phase 2 liver trial where the add-on drug didn't help — and the base drug quietly did
Read the Sunday Brief →

Study wrapper · #989

Mitochondrial Targeting by Elamipretide Improves Myocardial Bioenergetics Without Translating into Functional Benefits in HFpEF.

Schauer A, Jahn D, Vahle B, et al. International journal of molecular sciences. 2026.
ContradictedAnimal (in vivo)Mentions: SS-31

Editor's note

An animal study in obese ZSF1 rats where elamipretide improved mitochondrial respiration but did not translate into functional or structural cardiac improvement, and systolic performance modestly declined. A notable negative finding for the peptide in established HFpEF, a valuable counterweight to more optimistic preclinical reports.

Plain-language abstract

In a rat model of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, elamipretide modestly improved mitochondrial respiration but produced no functional or structural heart benefits.