Drug targets biopharmaceutical therapies

Despite tremendous innovations in the field of drug delivery technology, oral intake remains the preferred route of drug administration, for reasons of patient convenience and therapy compliance. Compounds intended for oral administration must have adequate biopharmaceutical properties in order to achieve therapeutic concentrations at the targeted site of action. 

The major target indications of biopharmaceuticals currently undergoing clinical trials include cancer, cardiovascular, and infectious diseases, the major killers within the developed world. Although in excess of 30 nucleic acid-based drugs are currently being evaluated for gene therapy, vaccines, and other applications, the majority remain in the early stages of clinical development (phase I/II) [11]. 

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