The transcription factors ID1 and ID3 as targets for AMD and retinopathy

INDICATION: Age-related macular degeneration (AMD); retinopathy of prematurity

A Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center team led by Angiogenex Inc. CEO Robert Benezra showed that inhibiting the transcription factors ID1 and ID3 could treat AMD and retinopathy of prematurity. Both diseases are characterized by pathologic angiogenesis in the posterior segment of the eye. Systemic knockout of ID1 or ID3, or treatment with the ID1 inhibitor Idantirx (AGX-51), reduced the area of pathologic neovascularization in mouse models of AMD and retinopathy of prematurity. An optimized derivative of Idantirx that had an IC₅₀ about four-fold lower that Idantirx in a cell-based assay (5.53 vs. 22.28 μM) more potently reduced neovascularization in the AMD mouse model...