Peptide Marriages: Modular Assembly of Multi-Agonist Therapeutics

Multi-receptor peptide agonists represent an effective strategy for obesity treatment, extending the success of incretin-based therapies through simultaneous engagement of complementary targets. Their development, however, is synthetically demanding, as each receptor combination typically requires de novo preparation of large fusion peptides. We report a modular polyethylene glycol (PEG)-based scaffold that enables orthogonal attachment of up to three functional components, including therapeutic peptides, half-life-extending units, and other labels, via sequential strain-promoted azide-alkyne cycloaddition (SPAAC) and copper-catalysed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC). The scaffold is assembled on solid phase without intermediate purification, providing a readily accessible and versatile linker. Using glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and amylin receptor agonists as a proof-of-concept, dual-agonist constructs with tuneable valency and functionality were rapidly generated. Lead conjugates displayed balanced, low-picomolar potency at both receptors in cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) assays and showed selective receptor-mediated internalisation in GLP-1 receptor-expressing cells. This orthogonal click-based platform enables rapid and modular multi-agonist assembly, facilitating systematic exploration of receptor combinations, valency, and payload effects. Beyond incretin biology, it offers a general route to multifunctional peptide therapeutics and diagnostics.