MACUGEN (pegaptanib) is the first FDA-approved treatment for wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) that inhibits the growth of unhealthy blood vessels underneath the retina. The relevance of this new medication is the ability of Macugen to stop the growth of the neovascularization and potentially stop the destruction of the patient’s central vision. Before Macugen, the only available treatment was to destroy the blood vessels after they had grown and vision was already affected to different levels of loss.

Dosage
Typically, Macugen is administered every six weeks as an injection into the eye (0.3 mg dose).

By inhibiting the growth of new blood vessels, MACUGEN minimizes vision loss while not restoring vision that was previously lost.

How the new treatment works
Macugen is a vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) antagonist. VEGF is a protein, which induces the growth of leaky and inflamed blood vessels underneath the retina. As a VEGF antagonist, Macugen blocks VEGF, thereby inhibiting the growth of deleterious blood vessels.

Other anti-angiogenic treatments on the horizon
Drugs and therapies such as Macugen that inhibit the growth of new blood vessels are known to be "anti-angiogenic. Currently there are researchers studying other anti-angiogenic drugs to treat macular degeneration.

The anti-angiogenic therapies are excellent because they target the disease at an early start in the disease process, thus minimizing dramatic vision loss. This type of therapy is also being used and researched in the tumor growth of several cancers and other diseases and conditions.

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