Chapter 1 - Therapeutic peptides: historical perspectives and current development trends

Abstract

Peptide therapeutics have played a notable role in medical practice since the advent of insulin therapy in the 1920s. Over 70 peptide drugs are approved in the United States and other major markets, and peptides continue to enter clinical development at a steady pace. Peptide drug discovery has diversified beyond its traditional focus on endogenous human peptides to include a broader range of structures identified from other natural sources or through medicinal chemistry efforts. We maintain a comprehensive dataset on peptides that have entered human clinical studies, which includes over 150 peptides currently in development. In this update to our 2017 review article, we provide an up-to-date overview of the peptide therapeutic landscape, including historical perspectives, molecular characteristics, regulatory benchmarks, and a therapeutic area breakdown.