ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION Peptides and Proteins as Biodrugs The use of proteins and peptides as therapeutic drugs offers many advantages (Table 1). Peptides and proteins are highly specific and extremely poent for the treatment of human diseases, while potentially improving safety concerns since they generate nontoxic metabolites and are endogenous to the human body. Furthermore, the rapid advancement of pharmacogenomics and recombinant DNA technology offers methods to identify problem genes and the ability to prepare large quantities of proteins with high purity (1). According to Pharmaceutical Market reports, the number of protein therapeutics has grown at an exponential rate in recent years (2). To date, the protein therapeutic market is primarily based on injectable formulations, but many researchers are striving to develop noninjectable delivery options for protein drugs.
