Peptides used in clinical research have antioxidant, antibacterial, and antithrombotic (anti-clotting) properties. If we go by the reports, as of 2017, more than 60 peptide medicines were legal in the United States and other countries. Either synthetic or naturally occurring peptides are used in pharmaceutical products.
Therapeutic peptides have changed over time and will continue to alter as drug development and treatment paradigms change.
Here, in this article we have enumerated some of the crucial pointers about therapeutic peptides and their applications.
Current Status Of Therapeutic Peptides
Peptides have been found to act as neurotransmitters, hormones, growth factors, ion channel ligands, or anti-infectives. They are known for being effective and selective while also being safe.
There are currently 140 peptide therapies in clinical trials, and alternative approaches such as multifunctional peptides, cell-penetrating peptides, and peptide drug conjugates are being explored.
This text discusses the current state, benefits, and drawbacks of peptides as drugs, as well as the newest developments in peptide drug development.
Now we will learn about both the advantages and disadvantages of Therapeutic Peptides.
Advantages And Disadvantages Of Therapeutic Peptides
Therapeutic peptides have their fair share of advantages as well as drawbacks. Here’s a quick look at the benefits and disadvantages.
Advantages of Peptides
Therapeutic peptides are small molecules that bind to cell surface receptors with high affinity and specificity and cause intracellular effects. They have a lengthy therapeutic history and intrinsic benefits, such as affordable manufacture and sale rates, oral administration, and effective membrane penetration.
However, they are difficult to suppress major surface contacts, such as protein-protein interactions (PPIs). Small molecules only cover 300-1000 A2 of the protein surface in comparison to PPIs, which typically have a contact area of 1500-3000 A2. The reduced specificity of small molecules also places restrictions on their therapeutic usage.
Drawbacks
Therapeutic peptides have two inherent limitations as natural amino acid-based therapies: membrane impermeability and poor in vivo stability. The membrane permeability of peptides is low due to peptide length and amino acid content, which restricts their use in medication development.
Over 90% of peptides in current clinical development target extracellular targets like GPCRs, gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) receptors, and glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptors.
Peptides are chemically and physically unstable due to these innate chemical characteristics, with a brief half-life and rapid in vivo elimination.
Final Thoughts
Peptides have gained prominence in recent years due to their potent yet safe mode of action. The future development of peptide drugs will build on the strengths of naturally occurring peptides, with the application of traditional rational design to improve their weaknesses.
Additionally, medicinal peptide chemistry could be applied increasingly in a modular fashion, comparable to micro-electronics or LEGOTM bricks. Taking all of these factors into account, peptides offer enormous growth potential as future therapeutics for the treatment of unmet medical needs.
It is always better to buy peptides for clinical research from renowned manufacturers and suppliers. The products will be of highest-quality standards, which is a prerequisite in clinical research.
The leading manufacturers also emphasize on safe and secure shipping. So, once you have planned your purchase with them, it would be easy to get highest-quality peptides from the top stores.
