A review: Anti-VEGFs structural related activity and stability

Abstract

Monoclonal antibody technology shows a huge advantage for the cure of several diseases, including age macular degeneration (AMD). There are four drugs for AMD disease, but all drugs require a monthly visit to a clinic to receive the dose through IVT. To decrease the monthly visit, it is important to improve the binding affinities of the drug, which can increase the residue time of the drug in the eye. Many techniques have been used to determine binding affinities, including SPR, ELISA and cell cultures, but none of these demonstrates a reliable result. Moreover, there is a need to use ITC. This study was designed to test and compare anti-VEGF drugs on ITC to determine binding affinities. ITC is the only device that can test protein−protein interactions in solution, which simulates the internal interaction with receptors in the eye. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we shifted to a library-based project that reviewed the structural difference of all anti-VEGF and their relationship to binding affinities and stability. In addition, we discuss the impact of the drug delivery system on residue time in the eye, which found a significant gap that merits future investigation.