Catena: Breaking the chain

While antiangiogenics targeting VEGF have transformed treatment of some cancers and age-related macular degeneration, their use is associated with side effects including bleeding and gastrointestinal perforation. Catena Pharmaceuticals Inc. believes inhibiting signaling by lysophosphatidic acid, which has a different mechanism of action in angiogenesis as well as other biologic activity, could be safer than VEGF inhibition and may more specifically target some diseases.

Catena's lead molecule is VPC51299, an LPA receptor antagonist that is in discovery for ovarian cancer and other solid tumors...