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Replicating success of anti-VEGF in AMD key to unlocking GA puzzle
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SAN FRANCISCO — Researchers need to look to the past success of developing anti-VEGF therapies to one day find a therapy for geographic atrophy, according to a presenter here.
At the American Society of Retina Specialists annual meeting, Jayakrishna Ambati, MD, discussed the need to find a therapy for geographic atrophy (GA) by looking at the path that led to the development of anti-VEGF therapies.
Jayakrishna Ambati
Ambati received the ASRS Presidents’ Retina Young Investigators Award for his work with AMD and GA.
“Ultimately I think we can replicate the anti-VEGF success story by replicating the rich, bidirectional dialogue in terms of molecular, biochemical and pharmacological studies that proceeded between the bedside and the bench and that took place in the decade before last,” Ambati said.
Because GA affects older individuals, “One modest but effective approach would be to simply delay the disease slightly so that it outlasts the patient,” Ambati said.
Finding a “common pathway” across diseases could also lead to a therapy for either AMD or GA that may come from “embracing the concept of repurposing drugs,” he said.
Additionally, utilizing resources in new ways may lead to new therapies. Tremendous resources are invested in cataloguing all the genes involved in GA, but following the genetics may not yield a therapy, Ambati said.
Genomics are powerful, but perhaps a conceptual shift in understanding how genes, environment and culture collude to cause disease is needed, he said. – by Robert Linnehan and Patricia Nale, ELS
Reference:
Ambati J. Solving AMD: Moving forward by stepping back. Presented at: American Society of Retina Specialists annual meeting; Aug. 9-14, 2016; San Francisco.
Disclosure: Ambati reports financial interests in iVeena, Inflammasome Therapeutics, Allergan and OliX Pharmaceuticals.