Ten years of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapy

• Published in: Nature reviews. Drug discovery Vol. 15; no. 6; pp. 385 - 403
• Main Authors: Ferrara, Napoleone, Adamis, Anthony P.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 01.06.2016; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 631/136/16; 631/154; 631/67; 692/699/3161; Angiogenesis Inhibitors - therapeutic use; Antibodies, Monoclonal - therapeutic use; Biomedicine; Biotechnology; Cancer; Cancer Research; Care and treatment; Eye diseases; Forecasts and trends; Health aspects; Humans; Identification and classification; Innovations; Medicinal Chemistry; Molecular Medicine; Molecular targeted therapy; Neoplasms - blood supply; Neoplasms - drug therapy; Neovascularization, Pathologic - drug therapy; Pharmacology/Toxicology; Protein therapy; Time Factors; timeline; Vascular endothelial growth factor; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A - antagonists & inhibitors
• ISSN: 1474-1776; 1474-1784
• DOI: 10.1038/nrd.2015.17

Over the past 10 years, targeting vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) has been widely pursued in the treatment of various cancers and ophthalmic diseases. Here, Ferrara and Adamis provide an overview of the discovery of VEGFA and the development of anti-VEGFA therapies, addressing key challenges and issues that remain in the application of these agents. The targeting of vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA), a crucial regulator of both normal and pathological angiogenesis, has revealed innovative therapeutic approaches in oncology and ophthalmology. The first VEGFA inhibitor, bevacizumab, was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2004 for the first-line treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer, and the first VEGFA inhibitors in ophthalmology, pegaptanib and ranibizumab, were approved in 2004 and 2006, respectively. To mark this tenth anniversary of anti-VEGFA therapy, we discuss the discovery of VEGFA, the successes and challenges in the development of VEGFA inhibitors and the impact of these agents on the treatment of cancers and ophthalmic diseases.