Frontiers in Drug Delivery: Niazi at UIC Proposes Negative-Selection Framework for Oral Peptide Therapeutics
Sarfaraz K. Niazi at the University of Illinois Chicago College of Pharmacy published a March 20, 2026 review in Frontiers in Drug Delivery arguing oral peptide delivery success depends fundamentally on molecular pharmacology rather than formulation technology. The thesis: semaglutide's approval represents a rare boundary case enabled by its ~168-hour half-life and time-integrated pharmacodynamics, not a generalizable breakthrough. The author proposes a negative-selection framework identifying which peptides should be excluded from oral development — short elimination half-lives, dose sensitivity, regulatory variability constraints — and routes excluded candidates toward pulmonary, nasal, or long-acting injectable alternatives. The framework matters for the next-generation pipeline beyond Foundayo and Wegovy pill: many programs currently chasing oral delivery may be better served by alternative routes.