Monoclonal antibody strategies to block angiogenesis

Antibodies represent a unique class of therapeutics because of their high s pecificity towards a defined target antigen. Recent clinical success with a ntibody-based cancer therapeutics has led to an increase in the clinical de velopment of these agents. Antibody therapeutics offer a promising approach for inhibiting new blood vessel formation (angiogenesis), which is associa ted with a variety of diseases, including cancer. In this review we will fo cus on angiogenesis-related mechanisms targeted by antibody-based therapeut ics, with an emphasis on those studies where pre-clinical in vivo data is a vailable.