Discovering and improving novel peptide therapeutics

Curr Opin Pharmacol. 2008 Oct;8(5):616-9. doi: 10.1016/j.coph.2008.06.002. Epub 2008 Jul 16.

Abstract

Peptides have a number of advantages over small molecules in terms of specificity and affinity for targets, and over antibodies in terms of size. However, sensitivity to serum and tissue proteases coupled with short serum half-life has resulted in few recombinant library derived peptides, making the transition from lead to drug on the market. Recently, a series of technologies have been developed to address both these issues: selection methodologies addressing protease resistance have been developed that when combined with methods such as pegylation antibody Fc attachment and binding to serum albumin look likely to finally turn therapeutic peptides into a widely accepted drug class.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Drug Delivery Systems
  • Drug Design
  • Drug Stability
  • Humans
  • Peptide Hydrolases / chemistry
  • Peptides / chemistry
  • Peptides / isolation & purification
  • Peptides / pharmacology*
  • Protein Engineering / trends*

Substances

  • Peptides
  • Peptide Hydrolases