Patent attributes
The present invention relates to a novel acylating agent, a method for its preparation, and a method of using it for acylating one or more amino groups of an amino acid, a peptide, or a protein. The novel acylating agent may be a compound which comprises a structural element —HN—(CH2)2-(O—((CH2)2)k-O—(CH2)n-CO—, wherein k is an integer in the range of 1-10, and n is an integer in the range of 1-2, being esterified at its —CO-end to the hydroxy group of 3,5-dichloro-2-hydroxy-benzenesulfonic acid (3,5-DC-2-HBSA). This novel acylating agent has an improved stability. Using this agent the acylation process is improved as regards robustness, as well as improving yield and overall production economy. The novel acylating agent is useful for acylating pharmaceutical peptides and proteins such as GLP-1, insulin, pYY, and amylin. The invention also relates to a number of novel GLP-1 precursor peptides and derivatives in which the two N-terminal amino acids have been deleted.
