Voyager CEO Al Sandrock outlines a focused strategy: remain specialists in neurology, but broaden the therapeutic modalities (gene therapy, proteins, oligonucleotides). This allows them to pursue well-validated CNS targets that are considered "undruggable" by traditional small molecules, which have historically been the only option for crossing the blood-brain barrier.

Breakthrough drugs aren't always driven by novel biological targets. Major successes like Humira or GLP-1s often succeeded through a superior modality (a humanized antibody) or a contrarian bet on a market (obesity). This shows that business and technical execution can be more critical than being the first to discover a biological mechanism.

Many peptides are unlikely to ever receive FDA approval because their simple, easily replicated structures make them commodities. Pharma companies won't fund billion-dollar trials for drugs they can't patent, leaving them in a permanent gray market.

The degradation mechanism is fundamentally superior to inhibition because it removes the entire protein, addressing both its enzymatic and scaffolding functions. This allows degraders to hit targets harder and more completely, suggesting they could become the dominant modality across oncology and other therapeutic areas.

T-cell receptor (TCR) therapies offer a significant advantage over monoclonal antibodies by targeting intracellular proteins. They recognize peptides presented on the cell surface, effectively unlocking 90% of the proteome and requiring far fewer target molecules (5-10 copies vs. 1000+) to kill a cancer cell.

The FDA defines a peptide as an amino acid chain of 40 or less. Blockbuster drugs like Ozempic and Mounjaro are all exactly 39 amino acids long. This perfect fit suggests potential regulatory shaping or clever drug design to fit an advantageous classification.

Acknowledging its late entry into the crowded obesity market, Protagonist consulted key opinion leaders to define the ideal drug profile: an oral "triple G" agonist. By using its peptide platform to build exactly what experts requested, the company aims to leapfrog competitors with a best-in-class product rather than an incremental improvement.

Peptilogics shifted from the challenging general antibiotic market to a niche with massive unmet needs after an orthopedic surgeon collaborator called their drug "the greatest thing I've ever seen" for prosthetic joint infections, an application the CEO hadn't even considered.

Profluent CEO Ali Madani frames the history of medicine (like penicillin) as one of random discovery—finding useful molecules in nature. His company uses AI language models to move beyond this "caveman-like" approach. By designing novel proteins from scratch, they are shifting the paradigm from finding a needle in a haystack to engineering the exact needle required.