Scientists at CellGate Inc. say they have demonstrated that linking short peptide polymers of the amino acid arginine to a drug molecule will both increase the molecule's water solubility and help get it through the cell membrane. Moreover, this proprietary strategy for enhancing drug bioavailability appears to work with any class of compound. Harnessing this universal transporter technology, CellGate plans to build a service business around taking well-characterized molecules and turning them into better drugs.

Armed with a better understanding of the bad actors in the misguided immune response that causes allergies, companies hope to develop long-lasting treatments for asthma.

By intervening at the level of antigen processing and presentation, Peptimmune aims to develop drugs that downregulate the inappropriate immune response that occurs in such autoimmune disorders as multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis and to boost the response in the case of HIV and other viruses.

Recent insights into the basic mechanisms of substance addiction are invigorating a range of research efforts in industry, academia and especially government. But it's clearly a risky business.