The Drug That Could Fix the Mitochondria in ME/CFS. Here Is Why You Can’t Have It Yet.

In 2023, a drug called salubrinal reversed mitochondrial damage in ME/CFS patient cells. Three years later it is still not in clinical trials. Here is the full story.

In 2023, NIH researchers published a finding that was unusual in ME/CFS research: a named protein, a named mechanism and a compound that reversed it in patient cells. The protein was WASF3. The mechanism was the physical disruption of mitochondrial energy production. The compound was salubrinal. When salubrinal was applied to ME/CFS patient cells, WASF3 levels dropped and mitochondrial function was restored.

Three years later, salubrinal is still not in clinical trials. No trial is currently underway or in active planning. This piece decodes why that is the case, what the obstacles actually are, what else is being tried and what the WASF3 finding means for patients right now, even in the absence of a trial.