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Advances Imminent in Anti-Angiogenesis Therapeutic
Decision Resources, Inc, April 2005, Pages: 19
Angiogenesis inhibitors have interested cancer researchers since 1971, when Judah Folkman demonstrated that tumor growth depends on angiogenesis. Despite many efforts to develop angiogenesis inhibitors, however, this drug class has experienced a long and difficult road to market. The breakthrough came in 2004 when the FDA approved Genentechs bevacizumab (Avastin) for colon and rectum cancer and Eyetech Pharmaceuticals pegaptanib (Macugen) for age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Approval of these drugs essentially validated the concept of angiogenesis, and interest in developing angiogenesis inhibitors has increased. Meanwhile, researchers have discovered that several drugs already on the market (that work by other mechanisms of action) also have anti-angiogenic activity. The result is a heightened activity that we expect to result in approval of several more angiogenesis inhibitors within the next five years.
In this report, we examine only the current and emerging therapies that are being developed and positioned specifically as anti-angiogenesis agents.
Business Implications:
- In 2004, the FDA approved the first two angiogenesis inhibitors: Genentechs bevacizumab (Avastin) for colon and rectum cancer and Eyetech Pharmaceuticals’ pegaptanib (Macugen) for age-related macular degeneration (AMD). In just ten months on the market, bevacizumab garnered sales of $554.5 million.
- Angiogenesis is involved in the pathogenic disease process of several disorders, including cancer, AMD, diabetic retinopathy, rheumatoid arthritis, and psoriasis. Today, the two disorders that companies developing anti-angiogenesis therapies target most frequently are cancer and AMD.
- We expect to see several additional angiogenesis inhibitors reach the market in the next five years. Compounds to watch include Pfizer’s SU-11248, which has demonstrated efficacy in imatinib-resistant gastrointestinal stromal tumors; Bayer and Onyx Pharmaceuticals BAY-43-9006, which is in Phase III for renal cell carcinoma; and Genentech and Novartis’s ranibizumab (Lucentis) for AMD.
- Since the approval of the first angiogenesis inhibitors, which essentially proved the concept of angiogenesis, interest in developing angiogenesis inhibitors has increased; in January 2005, for example, Pfizer announced plans to acquire Angiosyn, a company focused on developing angiogenesis inhibitors. Other Big Pharma have entered into agreements with smaller companies in order to enter this field. We expect to see more of these deals in the future.
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