Oral drug delivery is generally considered the most convenient way of dosing drugs. It is most often both patient-friendly and cost-efficient. If the drug is taken orally, it can act locally in the oral cavity, stomach or intestines or may be absorbed into the body. For some drugs like biopharmaceuticals, however, the natural biological barriers of the stomach and intestines represent a huge barrier for uptake of the drug in sufficient amounts to be therapeutically relevant.
Biopharmaceuticals comprise peptides and proteins for the treatment of life-threatening and debilitating diseases. Drug delivery systems for use in oral delivery of such peptides and proteins must, therefore, be specifically designed to aid the absorption of the drug, which represents a grand challenge.
