Nearly double the number of therapeutic peptides in clinical trial since 1990s

Since 2000, the number of therapeutic peptides in clinical study has nearly doubled the 1990s rate, due in part to advances in synthesis,  delivery, and formulation technologies, according to a study recently  completed by the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development, USA.

"Therapeutic peptides have emerged as a therapeutically and commercially  important class of drugs and 48 are now on the market worldwide, with  four having generated global sales of more than $500.0 million each in  2007," said Janice Reichert, a senior research fellow at Tufts CSDD and  author of the study.

The average annual number of therapeutic peptides entering clinical  study worldwide in the 2000-07 period nearly doubled to 16.9 from 9.7  during the 1990s, the study found.