Cyclic peptide drugs gain traction as AI and hybrid synthesis aim to overcome manufacturing hurdles

Oral cyclic peptides are attracting attention because they promise the convenience of small‑molecule drugs while delivering antibody‑like selectivity, a combination that is fueling interest after the rapid growth of GLP‑1 obesity treatments.

Despite the excitement, developers face major obstacles. Current bioavailability is often below 1%, pharmacokinetic data are scarce, and the synthesis process is highly sensitive to factors such as reactor geometry, resin swelling and even small temperature shifts.

Viva Biotech’s chief technology officer Susan Chen and VP Yue Qian said that hybrid synthesis approaches, advanced ADME/PK modeling, and AI‑guided design are being deployed to improve predictability and scale‑up of cyclic peptide programs, expanding the range of targets that peptide therapeutics can address.