Holding Hands: Using Peptide-Drug Conjugates (PDCs) for the Precise Treatment of Pulmonary Fibrosis

Targeted therapy is a new paradigm in biomedical research that improves therapeutic efficacy, overcomes drug resistance, reduces off-target effects, and enables early disease detection by precisely delivering drugs to diseased tissue. Peptide drug conjugates (PDCs), a new tool for targeted therapy, consist of a targeting peptide, a linker, and an active drug. Dr Kelly’s team synthesized a PDC series of PDCs designed to treat pulmonary fibrosis precisely, combining the kinase inhibitor nintedanib with a mimetic peptide chain targeting the αVβ6 integrin. Their antifibrotic activity is currently being evaluated in a mouse model of pulmonary fibrosis.