Mechanism of Action of the Angiostatic Cortisene Anecortave Acetate

Anecortave acetate is a unique angiostatic agent. Although derived from the glucocorticoid cortisol acetate, it was designed to be devoid of glucocorticoid activity while retaining efficacious anti-angiogenic activity. These modifications have led to a new class of anti-angiogenic agents, the angiostatic cortisenes. Anecortave acetate has broad based angiostatic activity, inhibiting neovascularization at multiple steps. Unlike several other angiostatic agents that selectively target only one angiogenic factor, anecortave acetate inhibits neovascularization induced by many different angiogenic factors.