Proceedings - Boulder Peptide Foundation

BPS 2023

Employing an integrated approach towards developing orally bioavailable peptide therapeutics

Stephen Timothy Buckley

Vice President, Novo Nordisk

ABSTRACT

Peptides and proteins have reshaped the possibilities for effectively treating diseases; however, their rapid degradation and poor absorption in the gastrointestinal tract challenge their ability to be delivered orally. Owing to these challenges, an integrated approach is required, which combines tailoring both the peptide and its formulation to achieve optimal in vivo performance and thereby, the desired therapeutic effect. Peptide analogues can be designed to offer improved stability and prolonged half-life while a formulation approach can facilitate improved absorption. Specifically, molecular engineering approaches designed to provide enhanced proteolytic stability with the requisite receptor affinity and strong albumin binding, which in turn lead to significantly improved bioavailability and ultra-long plasma half-life will be discussed. Additionally, a bespoke formulation approach is necessitated, which exhibits suitable compatibility for the co-formulated peptide. Strategies to delineate the relative contributions of structural traits of permeation enhancers to their capacity to promote enhanced drug absorption will be discussed. Herein, a machine learning-derived quantitative structural activity relationship (QSAR) model will be presented, which provides for a trained and reliable tool for modelling the potency of these complex pharmaceutical excipients and can be applied for both in silico screening of novel permeation enhancers, in addition to optimization of their surfactant-derived enhancing properties. Lastly, mechanistic insights into the performance of oral peptide-based formulations in human subjects will be shared, with a specific focus on the influence of ingested food and fluid on their performance.

BIO

Dr. Stephen T. Buckley is Scientific Vice President of Advanced Drug Delivery at Novo Nordisk A/S, Denmark. In addition to his leadership responsibilities, he is responsible at Novo Nordisk for a cross-organizational team of scientific experts tasked with identifying and evaluating novel drug delivery technologies. He holds a degree in Pharmacy from Trinity College Dublin (Ireland), and a Ph.D in Biopharmaceutics and Cell Physiology from the same university. During this time, he also worked as a Visiting Fellow at the University of Southern California (USA). Prior to joining Novo Nordisk A/S, Dr. Buckley was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Southern Denmark (Denmark). He is the recipient of honors and awards from the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) and the Scandinavian and German Physiological Societies. He is (co-) author of 25+ articles in peer-reviewed journals (including Science, Science Translational Medicine and Nature Biotechnology), 1 book chapter and 30+ abstracts, and has been invited to give numerous presentations at research institutions, international conferences and workshops

Oral Presentations in Scientific Sessions

The session topics for Scientific Program are Peptides in the Clinic, Drug Delivery, Chemistry of Complex Peptides, Spotlight on Discovery, and Peptide Showcase. Abstracts may be submitted via the Apply to Present page on the website. Submissions will be reviewed by the Scientific Advisory Board on a monthly basis and the speaker will be notified of a decision.

Presentation length: Format is 25-30 minutes slide presentation with 5-10 minutes for Q&A, with the exception of Peptide Showcase talks which are 10 minute slide presentations with 5 minutes for Q&A. Please confirm with your session chair to confirm the exact presentation length.

Invited Speakers: Speakers are requested to supply their presentation details 30 days after receiving an invitation to present.

Program Book Deadline: Final abstract and title must be provided no later than September 1st. No changes to the program are possible after this date.

Presentation Format: Oral presenters please provide your presentation slides to the A/V table on the day of your presentation.

Lodging: All speakers are requested to reserve their own room. Discount rates at the conference hotel are available until August 16th.

Registration: All speakers, excluding sponsored presentation speakers, receive a complimentary registration upon approval of the abstract.

Peptide Showcase Description

The Peptide Showcase is an opportunity for an individual or company to “showcase” new ideas, technology and pipeline assets. Priority shall be given to presentations from biotech and startup companies. Service providers and vendors are not eligible. Speakers in the session receive a complimentary event registration.

Posters

Posters can be presented on any topic relevant to peptides including original research, innovative products and technologies.

Eligibility- Any attendee (from academia, industry, biotech or vendor/sponsor) can present a poster. The presentation must contain original scientific thinking. To submit a poster go to the Submit a Poster link from the meeting menu. All submissions are reviewed on a rolling basis and will be notified of approval. September 1st is the last day to submit a poster abstract. Approved posters are published on the BPF website.

A 30 ” x 40″ board shall be provided with thumb tacks. Board will be on an easel and can be rotated for either landscape or portrait formats. Once you apply for a poster, you will get email confirmation that your poster was accepted. The poster session and number assignments will be emailed one week before the Symposium.

Poster boards shall be available for display from 8am to 8pm the day of your assigned poster session. See the program agenda for the poster session schedule.

Public Release

Every presentation at the Boulder Peptide Symposium is automatically recorded. Speakers are required to give consent for sharing of the presentation video with the peptide community.