Introduction

We seek to bridge the fields of synthetic biology and pharmacology to provide a revolutionary way of drug delivery called PEPDEX, the ultimate delivery system of peptides. Peptides bind to specific receptors and regulate many physiological processes. For instance, peptide-based hormones, such as insulin, growth hormone, and ACTH, are secreted by the pituitary gland and coordinate many physiological functions, including energy metabolism and stress response. Peptides have long been widely used in pharmacology to treat certain diseases, and with a better understanding of diseases, peptide-based drugs can now be applied in many disease modalities (except for hormonal supply), such as neurology, and immunology. Structurally, peptide-based drugs have many benefits. First, they can be processed and modified to bind seamlessly to specific receptors with complex 3D structures, which may not be accessible to small molecule drugs. Second, when applied in immunology, synthetic peptides can be used to mimic epitopes presented to antigen-presenting cells. Modified synthetic peptides show great efficacy in the induction of cognate CD4 T-cells, which is required for therapeutic activity against infection diseases, and, in particular, cancer.

Structure of PEPDEX

Our PepdEx system consists of 5 conceptual parts, the sensor, the effector, the main circuit, the stability module, and the safety module.