Currently there are more than 80 peptide drugs on the global market and about twice as many in clinical development. Due to their beneficial properties, these biomolecules play already an important role in the treatment of diseases such as diabetes, cancer, hormone disorders, HIV infection, and multiple sclerosis. In the recent issue of Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, a team of Austrian and Australian scientists led by medicinal chemist Markus Muttenthaler of the University of Vienna present an outlook on the latest trends in peptide drug discovery and development.