Drug Delivery Technology

PROTEINS & PEPTIDES:

DEPENDENT ON
ADVANCES IN
DRUG DELIVERY?

By: Cindy H. Dubin, Contributor

The success of protein and peptide therapeutics is revolutionizing the biotech and pharmaceutical market, spurring the creation of next-generation products with reduced immunogenicity, improved safety, and greater effectiveness, states a new report, Next Generation Protein Engineering & Drug Design. New technologies and genetic and chemical techniques will ensure a competitive edge in developing improved protein- and peptide-based therapeutics.

The report points out that the protein engineering market in 2006 was worth almost $67 billion (10% of total pharma sales) and is forecast to rise to $118 billion (12% of pharma sales) in 2011.

Despite their remarkable success, protein drugs continue to suffer from drawbacks, especially with respect to their delivery (subcutaneously or intravenously injected). The past 3 years have seen approvals of products for non-parenteral delivery, alongside advances in parenteral protein and peptide drug delivery.

Drug Delivery Technology March 2009 Vol 9 No 3

The increased use, development, and discovery of protein therapeutics will lead to increasing opportunities for drug delivery companies. Pharma companies need to use these technologies to gain a competitive edge in an increasingly crowded therapeutic protein market. The protein therapeutic market is largely immediate release, but there is a trend moving toward increased sustained-release formulations.

While the majority of protein therapeutics on the market do not have devices available, this is a growing segment of the market, and Datamonitor expects the growth to accelerate. Datamonitor believes companies should explore the use of devices to maximize the potential of their products and differentiate them from competitors.

Improvements in protein drug delivery will increase patient compliance and expand many drug markets. In addition, some new formulations may be patentable and can therefore extend a drug’s life cycle. For these reasons, pharmaceutical and biotechnology

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A column for large-scale peptide purification at American Peptide Company, Inc.

companies are researching and testing new delivery methods for protein drugs, according to Market Research.

Companies see the potential for improving the delivery methods for protein- and peptide-based drugs. For some, this means extending peptide half-life or improving manufacturing processes, while others are researching active coatings. Some companies on the cutting edge of protein and peptide drug delivery include American Peptide, SurModics Pharmaceuticals (formerly Brookwood Pharmaceuticals), Emisphere, PolyPeptide, and 3M Drug Delivery Systems.