ABSTRACT
Recent advances in molecular biology and biotechnology have resulted in a significant increase in the number of protein and peptide drugs that have been approved for clinical use. Recent use of recombinant DNA technology has enabled us not only to produce these peptides and proteins in large quantities but also to modify these peptides for enhanced therapeutic effect. The application of peptide-and protein-based drugs in the treatment of a variety of ailments has been well documented. Table 1 lists some of the therapeutic agents and their clinical use (1). Along with a wide range of clinical and therapeutic applications, these macromolecular compounds exhibit a wide range of structures and sizes (Table 2).
