This Research Topic is associated with the
Boulder Peptide Symposium 2021, Oct 25-28, 2021 | St Julien Hotel and Spa, Boulder, Colorado.
Peptide therapeutics is a growing field. The discovery and development of peptide therapeutics involve novel peptide design and synthesis, formulation and delivery strategies, and translation into the clinic. Every stage along the research and development pathway presents challenges that must be overcome in order to progress a peptide therapeutics to the market. This Research Topic presents new peptide chemistries to enhance efficacy and manufacturability, delivery strategies to enable peptides to reach therapeutic targets of interest, and the latest clinical data along with the strategies to overcome challenges to obtain regulatory approval.
There are many drug targets that are considered undruggable with small molecules and proteins. Peptides occupy a unique space between small molecules and proteins, and the high target specificity of peptides generally provides good safety profiles. Novel design, formulation, and delivery strategies can be employed to overcome limitations of peptides, such as short half-life in the blood, plasma, stomach, and intestine as well as novel targeting strategies to enable peptides to reach their therapeutic targets. Novel chemistries have been developed for improving peptides' physicochemical properties and half-life, as well as innovative drug delivery technologies, such as strategies to reach intracellular targets and targets in the brain. The diverse therapeutic indications that are addressable by peptides coupled with the recent advances in peptide stabilization and delivery make them ideal drug candidates.
Peptides in general cannot be dosed without either chemical or physical modification. This Research Topic covers some of the strategies to overcome the dosing limitations of peptides. Novel approaches to lock-in peptide secondary structure, or to modify the physicochemical properties of peptides to improve their PK/PD profile and enable them to have therapeutically relevant dosing will be presented. Novel formulation, dosing, and targeting strategies to either enable therapeutic peptides to reach their target of interest or to use peptides to target alternate therapeutic modalities to reach targets of interest are also covered in this Research Topic. Lastly, approaches to advancing peptides to the clinic focusing on specific strategies that must be applied to peptide therapeutics will be addressed.
Basic research articles, on the following topics, are welcome:
• COVID-19 Vaccines and Therapies
• Peptide Therapeutics in the Clinic
• Peptide Drug Delivery Strategies
• Spotlight on Discovery
• Peptide Design & Synthesis Strategies
Topic editor Y.M. Angell is employed by GenEdit, Inc.
Topic editor R. Nofsinger is employed by Merck & Co., Inc.
W. Danho and J. Mayer declare no competing interests with regards to the Research Topic.