An analysis of the Chinese SS-31 Manufacturer Supply Chain (from Google Gemini Deep Research)
Pricing Economics and Arbitrage
The market for SS-31 is driven by extreme price arbitrage.
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Manufacturing Cost: The cost of custom peptide synthesis for a 4-amino acid sequence is relatively low, estimated at $3.50 - $4.50 per residue for crude synthesis. Even with purification and the cost of Dmt, the production cost is a fraction of the retail price.
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Bulk Wholesale: On B2B platforms like Echemi, bulk SS-31 powder is listed between $20/gram and $100/gram depending on quantity and purity claims.
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Retail Markups: When repackaged into 10mg vials for the consumer market, a “kit” of 10 vials (100mg total) often sells for $100 - $300. This translates to a retail price of $1,000 - $3,000 per gram, creating a massive profit incentive for Tier 2 traders to buy bulk from manufacturers like Sinopep or Youngshe and resell to the public.
Future Outlook and Conclusions
The supply of SS-31 (elamipretide) from China to the public is a robust, multi-layered system that has evolved to circumvent the limitations of the formal pharmaceutical market.
1. The Dominance of the Gray Market: Despite the FDA approval of Forzinity, the gray market will likely expand rather than contract. The high cost of the prescription drug and its limited indication (Barth syndrome) leave a massive unserved population interested in aging and mitochondrial health. Chinese manufacturers like Chengdu Youngshe and Wuhan Newtop are perfectly positioned to service this demand through the “Research Use Only” loophole.
2. The Tiered Quality Hierarchy: The market is strictly stratified. Sinopep and CSBio represent the high-quality, regulated tier, supplying the pharmaceutical and legitimate research sectors. Conversely, the “Wuhan Cluster” of traders provides accessibility to the individual consumer, but with higher risks regarding purity and salt forms. The increasing use of independent testing (Janoshik) indicates that the market is self-regulating in the absence of official oversight.
3. Regulatory Resilience: While U.S. legislation like the BIOSECURE Act targets large Chinese biotech firms, the decentralized nature of the direct-to-consumer trade—reliant on small parcels and mislabeled shipments—makes it highly resilient to trade wars. As long as the demand for mitochondrial therapeutics persists, Chinese manufacturers will continue to be the primary engine of global supply.
In conclusion, for the “public” seeking SS-31, China offers a spectrum of options: from the verified, GMP-grade products of CSBio accessible to researchers, to the cosmetic-grade offerings of Chengdu Youngshe, and finally to the consumer-ready vials of Wuhan Newtop. Each tier carries its own balance of cost, access, and risk, defining a complex shadow economy operating in parallel to Western medicine.
Global Supply Chain Analysis: The Chinese Manufacturing Landscape of SS-31 (Elamipretide)
Some providers mentioned (quality not checked):
https://www.echemi.com/produce/pr2506221007-ss-31-high-quality-ss-31-99-purity-white-powder-cas-736992215.html
https://www.echemi.com/produce/pr2104151105-elamipretide.html
Based on the research into their product catalogs and manufacturing capabilities, here are the direct product links for the leading Chinese peptide manufacturers that supply SS-31 (Elamipretide).
The companies are categorized by their market tier: Tier 1 (FDA-inspected, Pharmaceutical/GMP focus) and Tier 2/3 (Research, Cosmetic, and Commercial Bulk focus).
Direct Product Links for SS-31 (Elamipretide)
Important Sourcing Notes
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Custom vs. Catalog: While companies like GenScript and GL Biochem (Shanghai) are top-tier manufacturers, they typically supply SS-31 via their Custom Peptide Synthesis services rather than a permanent public catalog page. You would likely need to submit the sequence (D-Arg-Dmt-Lys-Phe-NH2) for a custom quote.
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Sinopep vs. ApexTide: Sinopep often operates its B2B catalog through its subsidiary brand, ApexTide. The link provided directs to ApexTide’s API listing where Elamipretide is explicitly listed.
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Platform Links: For Tier 3 manufacturers like Hangzhou Go Top and Chengdu Youngshe, their most active and public-facing product pages are often hosted on chemical trading platforms (like Echemi) rather than their corporate websites, which can be unstable or login-gated.[3, 2]
