With the recent completion of the sequencing of the human genome, it is widely anticipated that the number of potential new protein drugs and targets will escalate at an even greater rate than that observed in recent years. However, identification of a potential target is only part of the process in developing these new next generation protein-based “drugs” that are increasingly being used to treat human disease. Once a potential protein drug has been identified, the next rate-limiting step on the road to development is the production of sufficient authentic material for testing, charact- ization, clinical trials, and so on. If a protein drug does actually make it through this lengthy and costly process, methodology that allows the production of the protein on a scale large enough to meet demand must be implemented. Furthermore, large-scale production must not compromise the authenticity of the final product. It is also nec- sary to have robust methods for the purification, characterization, viral inactivation and continued testing of the authenticity of the final protein product and to be able to formulate it in a manner that retains both its biological activity and lends itself to easy administration. Therapeutic Proteins: Methods and Protocols covers all aspects of protein drug production downstream of the discovery stage. This volume contains contributions from leaders in the field of therapeutic protein expression, purification, characterization, f- mulation, and viral inactivation.
