Development of angiogenesis inhibitors for clinical applications

Angiogenesis, the development of new blood vessels, is associated with many life-threatening pathologies. The neovascularization of tumors for example, allows a blood supply to deliver the required nutrients for tumor development. Inappropriate blood vessel growth also contributes to the pathology of other diseases such as atherosclerosis and arthritis. The process of angiogenesis is beginning to be better understood, and as Ted Maione and Richard Sharpe explain, this understanding has led to the identification of several lead compounds that inhibit this process. At present all of these candidate drugs exhibit severe host toxicity, but more selective angiogenesis inhibitors might be expected to be extremely useful therapeutic agents.