Pegaptanib
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Pegaptanib sodium injection (Macugen) is a medicine for the treatment of neovascular (wet) age-related macular degeneration (AMD). It was discovered by EyeTech Pharmaceuticals and licensed to Pfizer for late stage development and marketing. Approval was granted by the FDA in December 2004.
Pegaptanib is a pegylated anti-VEGF aptamer, a single strand of nucleic acid that binds with specificity to a particular target. Pegaptanib specifically binds to VEGF 165, a protein that plays a critical role in angiogenesis (the formation of new blood vessels) and increased permeability (leakage from blood vessels), two of the primary pathological processes responsible for the vision loss associated with neovascular AMD.
Pegaptanib is administered in a 0.3 mg dose once every six weeks by intravitreal injection.
