FIRST APTAMER PEGATANIB

APTAMER-PEGATANIB

1.   small RNA/DNA molecules can form secondary and tertiary structures capable of specifically binding proteins or other cellular targets

2.  essentially a chemical equivalent of antibodies. 

3.  Aptamers have the advantage

a.  highly specific,

b.  relatively small in size,

c.   non-immunogenic. 

4.  The first aptamer Pegaptanib is an RNA aptamer directed against vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-165, and based therapeutic was FDA approved in 2004 for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration ARMD