Preclinical Efficacy and Safety of VEGF-Grab, a Novel Anti-VEGF Drug, and Its Comparison to Aflibercept

PURPOSE: VEGF-Grab is a novel anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) candidate drug with higher affinity to both VEGF and placental growth factor (PlGF) compared to aflibercept. We investigated the preclinical efficacy of VEGF-Grab for ophthalmic therapy and compared it to that of aflibercept. METHODS: The in vitro anti-VEGF efficacy of VEGF-Grab was determined using VEGF-induced cell proliferation/migration and tube formation assays. The in vivo antiangiogenic efficacy of intravitreal injection of either VEGF-Grab or aflibercept was evaluated using murine models of ocular angiogenesis: mouse oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR) and rat laser-induced choroidal neovascularization (CNV). The in vivo retinal toxicity in the mouse eye resulting from the injection of either drug was evaluated with light and electron microscopy. RESULTS: VEGF-Grab showed greater inhibition of VEGF-induced cell proliferation/migration than aflibercept, but it showed comparable inhibition of tube formation in vitro. In the in vivo OIR model, VEGF-Grab showed a comparable suppression of retinal neovascularization compared to aflibercept. Additionally, VEGF-Grab showed an efficacy similar to that of aflibercept in terms of CNV inhibition in the laser-induced CNV model. Histology and transmission electron microscopy showed no significant signs of toxicity in the mouse retina at 7 and 30 days following the intravitreal injection of VEGF-Grab or aflibercept. CONCLUSIONS: Compared to aflibercept, VEGF-Grab presented comparable in vivo antiangiogenic efficacy and superior in vitro anti-VEGF activity. The retinal safety profiles were comparable for the two drugs. Considering its known higher binding affinity to VEGF and PlGF compared to aflibercept, VEGF-Grab could be a potential candidate drug for neovascular retinal diseases and an alternative to aflibercept.