Advances in Biopharmaceutics

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Background

Advances in drug discovery identified novel therapeutic approaches to treat otherwise incurable diseases. However, the initial excitement was often banished due to the low therapeutic efficacy and high rate of toxicity and side effects. The use of substances/biomolecules of natural origin reduces the risks of side effects, and is biocompatible and effective. Natural substances/biomolecules are used for the treatment of cancer, kidney stones, infectious disease, diabetes, etc. Therefore, the body of research and clinical evidence suggest that natural products have great potential in improving the therapeutic outcome of many diseases previously considered as incurable. Data indicates that natural products can improve the rate of tissue regeneration. Natural product can also be used from tissue engineering, replacement therapy, as well as the scaffolds and vesicles with enhanced attaching and proliferative properties. There are several sources of natural compounds including eukaryotic cell cultures, microbes and plants. Recombinant proteins are getting more attention as therapeutics, where many biologics, such as monoclonal antibodies, are produced using recombinant DNA technology. Another approach for treatment using natural product includes human stem cells (adult stem cells, embryonic stem cells, iPS, etc). Alternative to the delivery of biologically active molecules is gene therapy, when a genetic material is being delivered to target cells resulting in expression of therapeutic proteins or acting as a regulator of endogenous genes. The latest discoveries in the field of genomic editing allows for precise corrections of disease causing mutations.

It is a well-known fact that the same disease varies its rate of progression, depending on the individual. Also, the organism’s response to the same medicine differs among patients, making single drug-based therapy often unsuccessful. Therefore, researchers as well as physicians are coming to the conclusion that the treatment of disease using standard protocols may not be the best approach, especially when the disease is multifactorial in its etiology and involves multiple organs and systems. As the solution, a novel concept of the personalized medicine was developed, where treatment addresses the features of the disease, which are unique to a patient. Among many substances, biological compounds are considered to be the best fit for the requirements of personalized therapeutics: low toxicity, high efficacy and high specificity to the target.

Biopharmaceuticals are relatively novel class of therapeutic agents. They are used extensively to treat infectious diseases, metabolic diseases, tumors and autoimmune diseases, detoxification of poisons and narcotics etc. Scientists are welcomed to submit their original research papers, case reports, clinical trials and review articles with the following potential, but not exhaustive, list of topics:

- Current advances in gene therapy. Viral and non-viral methods for recombinant DNA and RNA delivery. Genomic editing for therapeutic applications.
- Effect of genetic properties on the pharmacological effect of drugs. Pharmacogenomics in personalized medicine.
- Cell based biopharmaceutical products. Cell and stem cell based therapy. Extracellular vesicles as novel biopharmaceutics.
- Recombinant peptides and proteins. Growth factors. Hormones. Enzymes. Bioscavengers.
- Therapeutic antibodies. Using of antibodies for drug targeting and diagnostics.
- Vaccines. Prophylactic vaccines against infectious agents. Therapeutic vaccines
- Phage therapy.
- Microorganisms. Probiotics. Bioengineered microbes in disease therapy. Bacteria as vectors for gene therapy.
- Developing biotechnologies for biopharmaceutics production.
- Pharmacogenomics, and linkage of genetic factors with drug effect in personalized medicine

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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