Albumin as a carrier
Human albumin is the most abundant protein in the human body. Present at concentrations as high as 40g/L, one its main functions is to act as a carrier for a wide range of molecules. Once bound, drugs and other agents can be transported around the body, often remaining in circulation for many days.
These properties are now being exploited by Upperton to enhance the delivery of drugs, proteins and peptides that normally have a short circulatory half life.
The rP-conjugate™ technology is based on Recombumin®, the world’s only recombinant human albumin approved by the FDA/EMEA for human administration. The Recombumin® molecule is derived from the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and is free from animal derived material.
rP-conjugate™: albumin conjugation chemistry
The recombinant human albumin molecule has a number of potential sites where drugs, peptides or other molecules can either bind naturally or be attached covalently. These linkages can be designed to release the active molecule either slowly or quickly, depending on the chemical environment in different parts of the body.
Schematic showing how the rP-conjugateTM technology can be used to link short half life peptide to recombinant human albumin
Once linked, the conjugated peptide will have an extended half life following administration.
Albumin fusion is an alternative method for peptides/proteins to be linked to albumin. For such compounds Upperton’s conjugation technology offers several major advantages:
- shorter timelines for producing lab-scale constructs for testing
- much smaller production facilities needed to produce commercial quantities (the largest component albumin can be purchased)
- fewer intellectual property issues
- less complex regulatory pathway
More information on rP-conjugateTM: applications
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