The first drug to treat uncontrolled secretion of mucins in the airways, a characteristic symptom of asthma, COPD and cystic fibrosis, has shown positive results in the lab trials.  A multicenter research team co-led by University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center has identified Syt2 as a viable therapeutic target protein. The researchers have designed a hydrocarbon-stapled peptide – SP9 – targeting this protein. The study, published in Nature, said that the stapled peptide SP9 will be further refined before moving to human studies and stressed on how peptides have been used to treat other lung diseases resulting from cancer and cancer treatment.