Angiogenesis inhibitors--a review of the recent patent literature.
The development of a general appreciation for the central role of angiogenesis in cancer growth and metastasis and other disease states has led to a wide range of new therapeutic strategies. This paper reviews the patent applications that appeared over the 6-month period between April and September 2000 in the field of angiogenesis inhibition. The review focuses on those approaches that directly target angiogenesis. The majority of the review covers patents in the area of mechanism-based inhibitors in which most of the activity of this field is focused. Later sections will cover the patenting of endogenous inhibitors and small molecules of unknown target, where there is significant effort but less understanding of mechanisms.
Bilodeau
M T
MT
Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Merck Research Laboratories, PO Box 4, West Point, PA 19486, USA. mark_bilodeau@merck.com