THE ANGIOPOIETIN/TIE PATHWAY IN RETINAL VASCULAR DISEASES: A REVIEW [67/135 characters].

Purpose To provide a concise overview for ophthalmologists and practicing retina specialists of available clinical evidence of manipulating the angiopoietin/tyrosine kinase with immunoglobulin-like and endothelial growth factor-like domains (Tie) pathway and its potential as a therapeutic target in retinal vascular diseases. Methods A literature search for articles on the angiopoietin/Tie pathway and molecules targeting this pathway that have reached phase 2 or 3 trials was undertaken on PubMed, Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) meeting abstracts (2014-2019), and ClinicalTrials.gov databases. Additional information on identified pipeline drugs was obtained from publically available information on company websites. Results The PubMed and ARVO meeting abstract search yielded 462 results, of which 251 publications not relevant to the scope of the review were excluded. Of the 141 trials related to the angiopoietin/Tie pathway on ClinicalTrials.gov, seven trials focusing on diseases covered in this review were selected. Vision/anatomic outcomes from key clinical trials on molecules targeting the angiopoietin/Tie pathway in patients with retinal vascular diseases are discussed. Conclusions Initial clinical evidence suggests a potential benefit of targeting the angiopoietin/Tie pathway and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-A over anti-VEGF-A monotherapy alone, in part due to the synergistic nature of the pathways.