Peptide drugs open up the blue ocean in the anti-infection market, antimicrobial peptide blockbuster drugs are highly anticipated

In recent years, the explosive growth of peptide drugs has been a recognized fact in the pharmaceutical industry. The growth rate of the peptide drug market is close to twice the overall growth rate of the global drug market.

With such a rapid growth momentum, the application of peptide drugs has gradually covered many fields such as diabetes, osteoporosis, analgesia, vaccines, tumors, anti-heart failure, endocrine disorders, irritable bowel syndrome, and so on. Recently, a peptide antibacterial drug PL-5 spray from Praline Pharmaceuticals was approved to enter clinical phase III research and has attracted widespread attention. As the first domestic innovative antibacterial peptide drug approved for clinical use, this product heralds the beginning of peptide drugs. Fill the application gap in the field of anti-infection.

From the point of view of the mechanism of action, antimicrobial peptide drugs have shown “miraculous effects” on the problem of bacterial resistance, and are expected to become the best substitutes for antibiotics. According to a report released by IMS Health, the global antibiotics and vaccine market will exceed 55 billion U.S. dollars (about 354.8 billion yuan) in 2020. In view of this, once antimicrobial peptide drugs begin commercial application, the market prospects should not be underestimated.

The peptide drug market soars, the anti-infection field emerges

Research data shows that in 2020, the global peptide drug market is about 33 billion U.S. dollars, with a year-on-year growth rate of 8.1%. It is expected that the peptide drug market will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 7.6%, and the market size will exceed 55 billion in 2027. At the dollar level, there is huge room for growth in the peptide drug market.

Although my country’s peptide drug market started late, it has developed rapidly. Sales rose from 24.19 billion yuan in 2016 to 29.56 billion yuan in 2020. The average annual growth rate is much higher than the overall growth rate of the global peptide drug market.

From the perspective of the characteristics of peptide drugs, compared with monoclonal antibody drugs, recombinant protein drugs and small molecule drugs, peptide drugs have the advantages of simple spatial structure, significant curative effect, high safety, wide indications, and controllable quality. Therefore, the application prospects of peptide drugs in various diseases are very broad. Many peptide drugs have become varieties exceeding hundreds of millions of dollars in just one or two years after being marketed. In 2016, the global annual sales of peptide drugs exceeding 1 billion US dollars have been 6 indivual. The most typical peptide drug insulin is a heavy variety.

At present, 85% of the global peptide market is concentrated in the treatment of chronic diseases such as tumors and diabetes, and emergency and surgical aids account for about 15%. There are more than 40 peptide drugs on the market in my country, which mainly involve seven major fields, including immunity, digestive tract, anti-tumor, orthopedics, obstetrics, diabetes and cardiovascular.

In the 350 billion anti-infection field where traditional antibiotics account for 90%, the application of peptide drugs is almost blank. Some antimicrobial peptide varieties represented by PL-5 are still in the clinical stage. It is reported that as of 2020, a total of 4256 natural peptides and 593 synthetic peptides worldwide can be searched in the database. The number of related patents worldwide has exceeded 500. Currently, there are more than 70 antimicrobial peptides as drug candidates, of which 34 are in pre-clinical and 27 are in clinical stage. Indications include Gram-positive bacterial infections, diabetic foot ulcers, postoperative fibrosis, leg ulcers, burn infections and other functions.

Against the background of the increasingly severe global antibiotic resistance problem, the clinical development and application of peptide drugs in the field of anti-infection may open up new opportunities in the field of global anti-infection.

Innovative antimicrobial peptide drugs are expected to solve the problem of resistant bacteria. Blockbuster drugs are highly anticipated

As the successor of antibiotics, antimicrobial peptides are hailed as the best substitute for antibiotics. Antibacterial peptides have the advantages of rapid sterilization, broad antibacterial spectrum, small side effects, and no immunogenicity. Moreover, due to its special bactericidal mechanism-by disintegrating the cell membrane to achieve the effect of killing bacteria, the inhibited or killed pathogenic microorganisms will not produce resistant strains, and will not weaken their killing due to drug resistance. The role of bacteria.

Therefore, antimicrobial peptides have received a lot of attention from the medical community, and are also defined by the scientific community as a powerful weapon for the international community to resist infection by drug-resistant bacteria.

An embarrassing situation is that although the effect of antimicrobial peptides is so significant, and basic research on antimicrobial peptide drugs has been going on for 40 years, there has not yet been any blockbuster drug. The aforementioned PL-5 antimicrobial peptide is expected to become China’s first anti-infective antimicrobial peptide innovative drug, and it is also the world’s first class I antimicrobial peptide innovative drug with secondary wound infection as an indication, so it is highly concerned by the industry.

It is reported that the PL-5 antimicrobial peptide is a molecular sequence obtained by Plychem through de novo design technology, which physically destroys the bacterial S cell membrane. Compared with commonly used clinical anti-infective drugs, it has high efficiency, broad spectrum, resistance to drug resistance, and toxic side effects. Lower features. As China’s first innovative peptide drug with “open wound” indications, its indications and efficacy fill a gap in the market. It is suitable for a variety of wound infections and surgical infection-related markets, and its market prospects are broader than existing topical anti-infective drugs.

At present, the WHO has regarded antibiotic resistance as one of the great threats to health, food safety and development today. The research of antimicrobial peptide drugs is well supported. Among them, the National Action Plan for Containing Bacterial Resistance (2016- 2020)” clearly pointed out that to increase the research and development of antibacterial drugs and support the research and development of new anti-infective drugs.

It is not difficult to foresee that, driven by the catalysis of the peptide drug market and related policies, the anti-infective field will usher in blockbuster antimicrobial peptide drugs. It will not be too far away.