Methods of producing a recombinant peptide, such as vessel dilator peptide (VSDL), are disclosed, including a particular method involving expressing a fusion polypeptide comprising concatemeric repeats of the peptide wherein the peptide is flanked by peptide cleavage sites, and cleaving the fusion polypeptide at the peptide cleavage sites with a cleaving agent(s) so as to release the peptide from the fusion polypeptide. Expression constructs and host cells for producing the fusion polypeptide and purification methods for the recombinant peptide are also disclosed.