Perspectives for Targeted Protein Delivery

Perspectives for Targeted Protein Delivery

Protein targeting strategies have been developing at a rapid pace. A new generation of homing devices (target cell-specific MAb) and a better insight into the anatomy and physiology of the human body under pathological conditions have been critical factors to achieve this success. A much better picture has emerged not only about the potentials, but also the limitations of the different targeting approaches.

Very little attention has been paid to typically pharmaceutical aspects of advanced drug delivery systems such as immunotoxins and immunolipo-somes. These systems are now produced on a lab scale and their therapeutic potential is currently under investigation. If therapeutic benefits have been clearly proven in preclinical and early clinical trials, then scaling up, shelf life and quality assurance issues (e.g., reproducibility of technology, purity of the ingredi-ents) will still require considerable attention.