Drug delivery systems and routes of administration of peptide and protein drugs.

The unique requirements of peptides and proteins in designing delivery systems, and the unprecedented recent growth in the field, has driven a great deal of research into novel means of drug delivery. The search for approaches that provide formulations that are stable, bioavailable, readily manufacturable, and acceptable to the patient, has led to major advances in development of nasal and controlled release technology. The field of parenteral solution technology has also seen some new demands made of it, and what was formerly a conventional area of formulation technology has made scientific advances to meet the needs of these compounds. At the same time, strides are being made in fundamental research in areas including oral delivery, transdermal delivery, and pulsatile and 'on demand' delivery of peptides and proteins.