How to make oraly active protein pharmaceutical? What is the major problem to be encountered?

Question

definition

Answer 1

The problem is stomach enzymes and acids. Once you orally ingest a protein, the proteases in your stomach juices (trypsin, chymotrypsin, pepsin) will cleave the holy-hell out of your therapeutic protein and the acids will denature whatever's left beyond all recognition. This is why proteins like insulin have to be injected.

The way around this is to protect the therapeutic protein with a covering that will dissolve after it has passed through the stomach. How you'd do that is beyond me. If you can figure it out, you could make billions of dollars 'cause people usually would rather swallow a pill than take a shot in the arm.