Patent ID: 6897034

Claim:
A method of designing a prodrug, the method comprising: (1) providing an oligopeptide of the formula (AA) n -AA P2 -AA P1 -AA P1′ -(AA) m , wherein: n and m are integers, AA P2 represents any amino acid, AA P1 represents any ammo acid, AA P1′ represents any amino acid, and each AA independently represents an amino acid, (2) linking the oligopeptide at a first attachment site of the oligopeptide to a stabilizing group that hinders cleavage of the oligopeptide by enzymes present in whole blood, and (3) directly or indirectly linking the oligopeptide to a therapeutic agent at a second attachment site of the oligopeptide, wherein steps (2) and (3) may be performed in any order or concurrently and further wherein a conjugate is formed by performance of steps (1) through (3), (4) testing if the conjugate is cleavable by CD10, and (5) selecting the conjugate as a prodrug if the conjugate is cleavable by CD10.