Polymer therapeutics at a crossroads? Finding the path for improved translation in the twenty-first century

Despite the relatively small early investment, first generation 'polymer therapeutics' have been remarkably successful with more than 25 products licenced for human use as polymeric drugs, sequestrants, conjugates, and as an imaging agent. Many exhibit both clinical and commercial success with new concepts already in clinical trials. Nevertheless after four decades of evolution, this field is arriving at an important crossroads. Over the last decade, the landscape has changed rapidly. There are an increasing number of failed clinical trials, the number of 'copy' and 'generic' products is growing (danger of ignoring the biological rationale for design and suppression of innovation), potential drawbacks of PEG are becoming more evident, and the 'nanomedicine' boom has brought danger of loss of scientific focus/hype. Grasping opportunities provided by advances in understanding of the patho-physiology and molecular basis of diseases, new polymer/conjugate synthetic and analytical methods, as well as the large database of clinical experience will surely ensure a successful future for innovative polymer therapeutics. Progress will, however, be in jeopardy if polymer safety is overlooked in respect of the specific route of administration/clinical use, poorly characterised materials/formulations are used to define biological or early clinical properties, and if clinical trial protocols fail to select patients most likely to benefit from these macromolecular therapeutics. Opportunities to improve clinical trial design for polymer-anticancer drug conjugates are discussed. This short personal perspective summarises some of the important challenges facing polymer therapeutics in R&D today, and future opportunities to improve successful translation.