This TED Talk features protein designer Christopher Ball, recorded live at TED 2019.

I'm a protein designer. And I'd like to discuss a new type of medicine. It's made from a molecule

called a constrained peptide. There are only a few constrained peptide drugs available today,

but there are a lot that will hit the market in the coming decade.

So let's explore what these new medicines are made of,

how they're different,

and what's causing this incoming tidal wave of new and exciting medicines.

Constrained peptides are very small proteins. They've got extra chemical bonds that constrain the shape of the molecule,

and this makes them incredibly stable, as well as highly potent.

They're naturally occurring. Our bodies actually produce a few of these

that help us to combat bacterial, fungal, and viral infections.

And animals like snakes and scorpions use constrained

peptides in their venom. Drugs that are made of protein are called biologic drugs. So this

includes constrained peptides as well as medicines like insulin or antibody drugs like

Humira or Enmeral. And in general, biologics are great because they avoid several ways that

drugs can cause side effects. First, protein is a totally natural, non-toxic material in our bodies.

Our cells produce tens of thousands of different proteins and basically all of our food has

protein in it. And second, sometimes drugs interact with molecules in your body that you don't want them to.

Compared to small molecule drugs, and by this I mean regular drugs like aspirin.

Biologics are quite large.

Molecules interact when they adopt shapes that fit together perfectly,

much like a lock and key.

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