Accademia La Maison de la Danse Srld Italy

Delivering drugs specifically to patient neoplasms is a major and ongoing clinical challenge. Function-blocking

monoclonal antibodies were first proposed as cancer therapies nearly four decades ago. The large size of these molecules

hindered their commercial development so that the first antibody or antibody-fragment therapies were only commercialized for

cancer therapeutics and diagnostics 20 years later [1,2]. A classic development during this period, a radiolabelled peptide

analog of somatostatin (SST) was used to target neuroendocrine tumors expressing the SST receptor instead of targeting the

receptor with an antibody [3]. The concept of using a peptide as a targeting moiety for cancer diagnosis and treatment has

since led to current peptide drug developments in both academia and pharmaceutical industries. In addition to cancer

treatments, melanotan 2 peptide that

mimic natural peptide hormones also offer therapeutic opportunities. Synthetic human insulin, for instance, has been long

exemplified for its clinical efficacy for diabetic patients [4].