Peptibodies: Bridging the gap between peptides and antibodies.

ABSTRACT

Peptides are a very critical class of pharmaceutical compounds that can control several signaling pathways and thereby affect many physiological and biochemical processes. Previous research suggests that both peptides and antibodies may serve as potent tools for research, diagnostics, vaccination, and therapeutics across diverse domains. The distinct attributes of peptides, like their profound tissue penetration, efficient cellular internalization, reduced immunogenicity, and adaptability to chemical modification, underscore their significance in biomedical applications. However, they also possess drawbacks such as lower affinity, poor absorption, low stability to proteolytic digestion, and rapid clearance. The advent of peptibodies is a significant advance that improves the limitations of both peptides and antibodies. Peptibodies, or Peptide-Fc fusions, represent a promising therapeutic modality comprising biologically active peptides fused to an Fc domain. The stability and efficacy of the peptide are enhanced by this fusion strategy, which overcomes some of the inherent limitations. Many peptibodies have been developed to treat conditions like cancer, diabetes, and lupus. Romiplostim and Dulaglutide are the only ones approved by the EMA and FDA, respectively. Given the growing significance of peptibodies in the pharmaceutical landscape, this investigation aims to explain key aspects encompassing the intrinsic properties of peptides, the intricacies of peptibody production, and their potential therapeutic applications.