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Peptide & Macrocycle Therapeutics

Design and develop therapeutic peptides and macrocycles: solid-phase synthesis, cyclisation and stapling strategies, stability engineering and oral / long-acting formulations.

SPPSmacrocyclestapled peptideGLP-1
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Default learning track

4 phases · ~16–22 weeks

A baseline path through this sector with milestones, prerequisites, and concrete projects. Click Personalize this roadmap above to have the AI tailor pace, depth, and resources to your background and goals.

1

Phase 1 — Foundations

3–4 weeks 30–40 hours

Build the conceptual and quantitative base needed to read papers and follow tutorials in the sector.

Prerequisites

  • Comfortable with basic biology / health-science vocabulary
  • Ability to install software and use a terminal

Skills you'll build

Python or R basicsLinux shellGit/GitHubReading scientific literature

Hands-on projects

Reproducible analysis notebook

Walk through a published tutorial in ChemDraw + RDKit + PyMOL and reproduce its results on the provided sample data.

Deliverable: GitHub repo with a Jupyter/Quarto notebook, environment.yml, and README

Milestones

  • Set up reproducible Conda/Mamba environment and a public GitHub repo
  • Read and summarize 3 review papers covering the sector landscape
  • Complete an intro statistics or scripting course end-to-end
Citation · course
Coursera · Drug Development Product Management
UC San Diego
Why: Category match (Pharma & Biotech R&D)
2

Phase 2 — Core tools & datasets

4–6 weeks 60–80 hours

Learn the standard analytical stack of the sector and the canonical public datasets used by professionals.

Prerequisites

  • Completed Phase 1 reproducible notebook
  • Working Python/R environment

Skills you'll build

ChemDraw + RDKit + PyMOLData wranglingQC & exploratory analysisVersion-controlled pipelines

Hands-on projects

Dataset deep-dive on THPdb therapeutic peptide database + PDB peptide structures

Pick one study from THPdb therapeutic peptide database + PDB peptide structures, reproduce the headline result, and write a short technical note on what you found.

Deliverable: GitHub repo + 3-page PDF write-up

Milestones

  • Run the official ChemDraw + RDKit + PyMOL tutorial end-to-end on real data
  • Download and explore one full dataset from THPdb therapeutic peptide database + PDB peptide structures
  • Document a clean QC + analysis pipeline that another person could rerun
Citation · training
FDA Learn portal
U.S. FDA
Why: Category match (Pharma & Biotech R&D)
3

Phase 3 — Applied projects

6–8 weeks 80–120 hours

Move from tutorials to original analyses on real questions. Start showing your work publicly.

Prerequisites

  • Phase 2 dataset deep-dive complete
  • Comfortable with the sector's primary tooling

Skills you'll build

End-to-end pipeline designStatistical interpretationScientific writingReproducible reports

Hands-on projects

Therapeutic peptide design study

Pick a validated target: propose a peptide or macrocycle lead with cyclisation strategy, stability modifications and a screening cascade.

Deliverable: Design dossier + synthesis route + assay plan

Milestones

  • Ship one original mini-analysis on a public dataset with clearly stated hypothesis and limitations
  • Engage with the American Peptide Society and EPS communities (post a question, answer one, or share a notebook)
  • Get peer feedback on at least one project and iterate
Citation · documentation
ICH Guidelines
ICH
Why: Category match (Pharma & Biotech R&D)
4

Phase 4 — Portfolio & career launch

3–5 weeks 30–50 hours

Package your work, target real roles, and prepare to interview in the sector.

Prerequisites

  • Phase 3 capstone project shipped
  • 2+ public repos under version control

Skills you'll build

Technical CVPortfolio siteInterview prep (case studies + technical questions)Networking

Hands-on projects

Job-ready portfolio package

Curate 2–3 of your strongest sector projects into a portfolio site with clear case-study writeups, plus a 1-page CV tailored to the target role.

Deliverable: Live portfolio URL + PDF CV + cover letter template

Milestones

  • Publish a portfolio site or pinned GitHub README linking to 2–3 projects
  • Tailor CV to 3 real job ads in the sector and submit applications
  • Practice 5 mock technical interviews with sector-specific case studies
Citation · training
Benchling Academy
Benchling
Why: Category match (Pharma & Biotech R&D)

Curated learning resources

Verified, canonical resources from the official providers in this sector. The AI roadmap builder draws from this same library when it personalizes your roadmap.

Courses

Coursera · Drug Development Product Management
UC San Diego
Python for Everybody
Coursera · Univ. of Michigan
LinkedIn Learning paths
LinkedIn

Trainings

FDA Learn portal
U.S. FDA
Benchling Academy
Benchling
Software Carpentry lessons
The Carpentries
Kaggle Learn
Kaggle

Documentations

ICH Guidelines
ICH
Git & GitHub fundamentals
GitHub Docs

Books

R for Data Science (2e)
Hadley Wickham et al.

Communitys

AAPS membership & resources
AAPS

Typical career paths

Peptide Chemist

Designs and synthesises therapeutic peptides via SPPS and ligation chemistry.

Macrocycle Design Scientist

Engineers macrocyclic scaffolds with improved permeability and target engagement.

Ready to make this your own?

Answer a short profile and the AI builder will tailor every phase — pace, hours, tools, and resources — to your background and goals in this sector.

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