By: Adam Abulizi
Walking the floor at CPHI Japan this year, one thing was clear: the energy around peptides is only growing. Conversations with Japanese and global pharma teams kept circling back to the same themes- more complex modalities, more sustainability and more pressure on development timelines.
Below are the trends that came up again and again.
Japan has always been a leader in high-purity manufacturing and advanced chemistry and this year reinforced that reputation. The strongest areas of interest were:
- Peptide-Drug Conjugates: (PDCs): programs requiring precise linker chemistry and high-purity payload attachment
- Macrocyclic peptides: where structural complexity is becoming a competitive advantage
- Oral delivery strategies: permeation enhancers, and structural modifications and formulation driven sequence design.
- Targeted delivery: peptides used as “homing devices” to improve tumor specificity and reduce systemic toxicity.
These conversations reflect a broader shift. Innovators are pushing peptides into spaces that demand more sophisticated synthesis and purification strategies.
One of the clearest themes this year was the commitment to greener manufacturing. Teams were candid about the pressure to reduce reliance on DMF and NMP in SPPS and to adopt more efficient hybrid approaches.
These conversations echoed many points raised in a recent post by my colleague, Andrew Kennedy on the differences between SPPS, LPPS and hybrid synthesis. As sequences get longer and more complex, innovators are looking for synthesis strategies that can adapt without compromising purity or environmental goals. It’s clear that CDMO’s who can offer flexible, sustainable options, will be better positioned to support the next wave of peptide programs.