Peptides and proteins are an important and rapidly developing area of pharmaceutics, from the initial use of insulin in the early 1920s, through blockbuster anti-TNF antibodies to the GLP-1 analogues which have recently appeared on the market. Derived from molecules natural to the body, they have the potential to act in a very potent, specific, and safe manner. The barriers to more widespread use of these agents as therapeutics have been the cost of production of these very sensitive and complex molecules, and the absence of technologies that enable them to pass, after oral administration, into the rest of the body. Both of these barriers are now being overcome, with recent preclinical and clinical studies demonstrating the ability to deliver protein-based therapeutics in a commercially viable form, particularly in the areas of diabetes and obesity, where there is very high demand.

The series will be a collection of articles combining reviews and original research from leaders in the field, describing new technologies which are being developed to improve the delivery of peptides and proteins via the oral route. Most of the work in this area focusses on the small intestine as the site of entry, although to provide balance, and fuller coverage of the topic, attention will also be paid to delivery via the oral cavity itself (buccal, sub-lingual) and routes which appear to involve the stomach.

The series will cover five main areas, each addressing approaches to overcoming one or more of the barriers encountered by peptides/proteins delivered to the digestive tract.
These are:
(i) the mucin barrier
(ii) para-cellular route (crossing tight junctions)
(iii) trans-cellular delivery – e.g. involving non-specific membrane permeabilization
(iv) trans-cellular delivery involving receptor-mediated process
(v) physical methods such as capsule-mounted needles.

Sections (ii), (iii), and (v) are likely to include the approaches relating to gastric and oral cavities.
In view of the cost hurdle mentioned above, articles on the economics of protein/peptide manufacture are also welcome.

Topic Editor R. New is co-Founder and Executive Director of Proxima Concepts Ltd. D. Vllasaliu declares no competing interests with regards to the Research Topic subject.

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Frontiers in Drug Delivery

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