Abstract
Antimicrobial peptides of higher organisms have been studied for the past 25 years and their importance as components of innate immunity is now well established. The basic simplicity of the chemical structure of antimicrobial peptides along with the lower likelihood of the emergence of resistance compared with conventional antibiotics have made them attractive candidates for development as therapeutics. In this chapter, I describe the stories behind three drug candidates currently in clinical trials: Pexiganan, Plectasin, and Brilacidin. Each of these compounds has faced specific challenges in development and has a high likelihood of reaching commercialization. Antimicrobial peptides appear to be coming of age as therapeutics.
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Zasloff, M. (2016). Antimicrobial Peptides: Do They Have a Future as Therapeutics?. In: Harder, J., Schröder, JM. (eds) Antimicrobial Peptides. Birkhäuser Advances in Infectious Diseases. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24199-9_10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24199-9_10
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