Patent ID: 6924120

Claim:
A chimeric protein comprising from N-terminus to C-terminus: an N-terminal first peptidyl fragment of from 20 amino acids in length to 92 amino acids in length and having an amino acid sequence which is identical to an N-terminal amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO:2 of the same length as the first peptidyl fragment or having an amino acid sequence which differs by one or two residues from the N-terminal sequence of SEQ ID NO:2 of the same length; an arginine or lysine residue or at least one cleavable peptidyl fragment; a human insulin precursor peptidyl fragment consisting of a human insulin precursor which exhibits insulin-like bioactivity when folded in a bioactive conformation, and wherein the human insulin precursor peptidyl fragment comprises the A chain and the B chain of human insulin, and wherein the A chain and the B chain are separated by a removable peptidyl moiety of between 1 and 34 residues in length; and wherein the arginine or lysine residue or the at least one cleavable peptidyl fragment links the first peptidyl fragment and the human insulin precursor peptidyl fragment; and wherein the first peptidyl fragment is capable of mediating, upon contacting of the chimeric protein with a chaotropic agent, the formation of a correctly folded conformation of the human insulin precursor peptidyl fragment.