Nonparenteral administration of peptide and protein drugs

Peptides/proteins are an important class of drugs which are usually administered by parenteral route. In recent years, pharmaceutical research has been directed towards developing a nonparenteral route of delivery of peptide/protein drugs. These studies report that it may be possible to administer the peptides/proteins especially insulin, by nasal, buccal, rectal, or even transdermal route. Therefore, there is a great potential for future development of a nonparenteral route of delivery of peptide/protein drugs. The primary objective of this review is to report the present status of research involving nonparenteral administration of macromolecular peptides/proteins, with special emphasis on insulin.