New opportunities for gut-specific oral peptide drug development
Markus Muttenthaler
Professor in Medicinal and Biological Chemistry, The University of Queensland
Peptides have long been ignored as good drug leads for gastrointestinal disorders due to their intrinsic metabolic limitations. However, we argue that peptides could be ideal drug candidates for gut-specific treatments and have developed methods to render them gut-stable for oral treatment. We exemplify this new frontier with several examples, including the trefoil factor family, blockbuster linaclotide, oral oxytocin for abdominal pain, and new treatment opportunities for diseases associated with gastrointestinal biofilms.
Professor Markus Muttenthaler is an ARC Future Fellow heading the Neuropeptide Research Lab at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience at the University of Queensland, Australia, with a second affiliation at the Institute of Biological Chemistry at the University of Vienna, Austria. He is a medicinal chemist working at the interface of chemistry and biology with a strong passion for translational research. His research focuses on bioactive peptides and exploring nature's biodiversity to develop molecular tools, diagnostics and therapeutics. His background in peptide drug discovery and development, as well as his interdisciplinary training in the fields of chemistry, molecular biology, and pharmacology assist him in the characterisation of these highly potent and selective compounds and allow him to study their interactions with human physiology for medical innovations in pain, cancer, neurological diseases, and gastrointestinal disorders.