Patent focus on cancer chemotherapeutics V. Angiogenesis agents: September 2001-August 2002

Angiogenesis refers to the formation of new capillaries from existing blood vessels and is believed to be a key process in tumour growth. Angiogenesis inhibition represents an active area of cancer drug discovery, with several agents and approaches now entering late stage clinical development. This review summarises the key aspects of recent patent applications relating to cancer chemotherapy and drug discovery that involve. inhibition or modulation of angiogenesis. The review includes applications that. have been published between September 2001 and August 2002. In particular, the review focuses on the approaches aimed at growth factor targets, such as angiopoietin, fibroblast growth factor (FGF), platelet-derived growth factor:(PDGF) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF).