Anti-angiogenic drugs to treat human disease: an interview with Napoleone Ferrara

摘要

The formation of new blood vessels, or angiogenesis, is necessary for the development of most multicellular organisms. The new vessels allow for the perfusion of organs and tissues, including those involved in normal embryonic development, reproductive function and skeletal growth. However, promoting blood vessel development also allows tumors to obtain necessary nutrients and survival factors and to eliminate catabolic products. In 2004, Dr Ferrara’s work at Genentech led to the first Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of the anti-VEGF antibody, under the drug name Avastin, as part of an anti-cancer combination therapy to block angiogenesis in colorectal cancer. Since then, the applications for blocking VEGF function have increased along with our understanding of normal and pathological angiogenesis.