Recombinant human serum albumin fusion proteins and novel applications in drug delivery and therapy.

Abstract

Fusion proteins have been well-studied and widely applied in biopharmaceutics. Albumin fusion proteins are simple to construct, easy to purify, and stable to formulate. One main application of fusion protein is to extend the plasma half-life of therapeutic proteins and peptides. Albiglutide for diabetes treatment is the first albumin fusion protein drug approved by FDA. Balugrastim and other albumin fusion proteins have been evaluated in clinical trials. Taking advantage of the physiological functions of albumin, albumin fusion proteins can also been applied to act on an essential intracellular target and carry fatty acid-modified drugs. This novel approach makes it possible to co-deliver two different types of drug to one tumor cell for synergistic cytotoxicity.