More and More Peptide Drugs Are Put on the Market

1. Market of peptide drugs

In the past ten years, peptides have been widely used in medicine and biotechnology and therapeutics, and research on therapeutic peptides has also been carried out in full swing.

For example, Abbott's peptide drug Lupron has a good treatment effect on prostate cancer, with global sales of more than 2.3 billion US dollars in 2011. In addition, Sanofi's Lantus had annual sales of $7.9 billion in 2013. At present, there are more peptide drugs awaiting FDA approval.

In terms of their therapeutics, the global peptide drug market is segmented into applications for cancer, cardiovascular, central nervous system, metabolic disorders, infections, hematologic disorders, gastrointestinal disorders, skin disorders, respiratory disorders, endocrine disorders, and others. At present, the market share of cancer treatment drugs is the highest, and it is expected to maintain its leading value for a period of time, followed by metabolic disorders.

In terms of its market value, innovative peptide drugs are a potential growth point from $8.6 billion (60%) in 2011 to $17 billion (66%) in 2020.

For example, Victoza, a new drug for type 2 diabetes (T2DM), with total sales of more than $2.6 billion in 2013, became a "blockbuster" drug and caused a lot of buzz. In the next decade, the global peptide drug market is expected to increase rapidly at a CAGR of over 10%. In terms of the regional division of peptide drugs, the North American market currently has the highest global market share. In 2015, the American and European markets are estimated to have accounted for more than 75% of the global market revenue share.

2. The advantages and disadvantages of peptide drugs

The main methods of traditional chemotherapy (except surgery) to treat tumors are usually platinum drugs, alkylating agents and cytotoxic molecules such as paclitaxel. Although these chemotherapy drugs can effectively prevent or slow down the growth of malignant tumors, they are still widely used as first-line clinical treatment options, but a large number of chemotherapy drugs do not have the ability to target and recognize tumor cells, and are usually accompanied by systemic toxicity and greater adverse reactions.

Compared with chemical drugs, peptide drugs are more efficient, safer, and more tolerable. They also have the advantages of higher selectivity and less accumulation in the body. However, the shortcomings of peptide drugs are also obvious. Compared with chemical drugs, peptide drugs have unstable physicochemical properties, are easily oxidized and hydrolyzed, are prone to agglomeration, have a short half-life, have a fast clearance rate, and are not easy to penetrate cell membranes. Most medicines cannot be taken by mouth. Therefore, in view of the advantages and disadvantages of peptide drugs, rational design of peptide drugs is very necessary.

Although the development of peptide drugs is still facing huge challenges, with the development of future technologies and the enrichment of routes of administration, people will overcome the shortcomings of peptide drugs, and emerging peptide technologies will be applied to pharmaceuticals, including many Functional peptides, cell-penetrating peptides and peptide conjugated drugs will greatly expand the application scope of therapeutic peptide drugs.