Novel oral drug delivery gateways for biotechnology products: polypeptides and vaccines

Oral delivery of peptide, protein and vaccine biotechnology products remains the major challenge in drug delivery technology. In the main, these agents are administered to patients by injection, infusion or by subcutaneous implants. Oral delivery of intact peptide-based products is attractive because it offers improved convenience and patient compliance, and this will result in reduced overall healthcare costs. Taking into account the intestinal site of absorption and the physicochemical properties of the agent, these labile compounds can be successfully formulated for oral delivery using intestinal-protective-,targeting- and epithelial-permeating approaches. Some of the more innovative current technologies are reviewed for these classes of biotech products.