VEGFA Inhibitors & Biosimilars
17 drugsAbout VEGFA
Vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA), also known as VEGF, is a signaling protein that stimulates angiogenesis. It promotes the formation of new blood vessels, playing a critical role in various physiological and pathological processes.
VEGFA is a significant drug target supported by strong genetic evidence (max score 0.74) linking it to 28 diseases. Associations include osteoarthritis (0.74) and skeletal abnormalities (0.73), suggesting that modulating VEGFA activity could have therapeutic benefits.
VEGFA is targeted by 17 FDA-approved drugs, including VEGZELMA, LUCENTIS, and AVASTIN, across metabolic diseases and oncology. These drugs include biologics (10), antibodies (3), fusion proteins (3), and bispecific antibodies (1).
VEGFA Genetic Evidence Strong
VEGFA has strong genetic support with a max score of 0.74 linking it to osteoarthritis and skeletal abnormalities.
The strong genetic support suggests a higher likelihood of success in clinical trials targeting VEGFA.
Evidence Across Diseases
20 totalGWAS and other genetic studies link VEGFA to 28 diseases.
🔗 Colocalization Evidence 20 strong
max H4: 1.00eQTL/pQTL signals for VEGFA colocalize with these GWAS traits, providing causal evidence that gene expression changes drive disease risk.
Understanding these scores
Association Score (0-1): Combines all evidence types (genetic, literature, drugs, animal models). Higher = more evidence linking target to disease. This is a ranking heuristic, not a confidence score.
L2G Score: Open Targets uses a machine learning model (Locus-to-Gene) to predict which gene is causal at each GWAS locus. L2G=0.5 means ~50% probability of being the causal gene. Only associations with L2G > 0.05 are included.
Odds Ratio (OR): From gene burden studies (UK Biobank, AstraZeneca PheWAS). Measures how loss-of-function variants affect disease risk. OR<1 = protective (inhibiting target may help), OR>1 = risk (losing function causes disease).
Beta (β): Effect size for continuous traits. β<0 = protective, β>0 = risk.
Clinical Translation (~1.8x): Based on Nelson et al. 2015: drug targets with genetic evidence have ~2x higher success rates in clinical trials. We estimate: Strong support (score ≥0.7) → ~1.8x, Moderate (0.3-0.7) → ~1.3x, Weak → baseline.
Colocalization (H4): Tests whether a GWAS signal and an eQTL/pQTL signal share the same causal variant. H4 is the posterior probability that both traits are associated AND share a causal variant. H4 > 0.8 = strong evidence that gene expression/protein levels drive disease risk. This links genetic variation → gene expression → disease, supporting the target-disease connection.
Top VEGFA Drugs
Eleven companies have approved drugs targeting VEGFA, with Roche, Novartis, and Regeneron as the top players.
The competitive landscape suggests high barriers to entry, requiring differentiated products to gain market share.
| Drug | Company | Approved | Indications |
|---|---|---|---|
| ZIRABEV | Pfizer | 2019 | 8 |
| AVASTIN | Roche | 2004 | 7 |
| ALYMSYS | AMNEAL PHARMS | 2022 | 7 |
| EYLEA | Regeneron | 2011 | 5 |
| PAVBLU | Amgen | 2024 | 5 |
| LUCENTIS | Roche | 2006 | 5 |
| CIMERLI | Novartis | 2022 | 5 |
| EYDENZELT | CELLTRION INC | 2025 | 5 |
| EYLEA HD | Regeneron | 2023 | 4 |
| BYOOVIZ | SAMSUNG BIOEPIS CO LTD | 2021 | 4 |
| VABYSMO | Roche | 2022 | 3 |
| SUSVIMO | Roche | 2021 | 3 |
| BEOVU | Novartis | 2019 | 2 |
| ZALTRAP | Sanofi | 2012 | 1 |
VEGFA Drug Modality Landscape
Modalities
Routes of Administration
VEGFA requires biologic approaches (biologic (other)), likely due to its structure or location.
The bispecific antibody class is an emerging modality, representing a whitespace opportunity for novel VEGFA-targeting therapies.
📈 Modality Evolution
Antibodies pioneered VEGFA targeting (2004), with bispecific antibodies entering more recently (2022).
VEGFA Clinical Trials 2,274 trials
Phase 1-4 trials started in 2008 or later that test an FDA-approved drug acting on VEGFA. Source: ClinicalTrials.gov. How we count
Completion by Phase
| Phase | Total | Completed | Stopped | Active | Completion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 | 571 | 280 | 98 | 187 | 74% |
| Phase 2 | 1063 | 507 | 175 | 378 | 74% |
| Phase 3 | 436 | 231 | 46 | 159 | 83% |
| Phase 4 | 204 | 144 | 25 | 35 | 85% |
Top Sponsors
By Modality
Top Conditions
Phase 3 Readout Calendar Pro
8 Phase 3 trials testing approved VEGFA drugs across all sponsors.
Coverage: trials whose intervention is an approved drug targeting VEGFA. Pre-approval candidates with development codes (e.g. AZD0901, MK-7240) are not yet linked. Anchored on CT.gov primary completion date.
VEGFA Drug Approval Timeline (2004 - 2025)
The first VEGFA-targeting drug, AVASTIN, was approved in 2004, with the most recent, EYDENZELT, approved in 2025.
The 22-year approval span indicates a mature market, suggesting incremental innovation rather than breakthrough therapies.
Pro Intelligence Preview
Deep insights for drug target analysis
Competitive Landscape
- • 10 companies competing
- • Market share by company
Full Drug Portfolio
- • All 17 approved drugs
- • Approval dates & indications
Genetic Validation
- • Full genetic evidence table
- • Effect sizes & directions
Approval Timeline
- • Full 17-drug timeline
- • First-of-modality markers
Clinical Trials Analysis
- • Sponsors: 851 (258 companies)
- • Completion rates by condition
Full summary • All drugs • Genetic evidence • Trials • Timeline
How We Count Trials
- Trials: phase 1-4 interventional trials on ClinicalTrials.gov that started in 2008 or later and test an FDA-approved drug acting on VEGFA. A trial counts if an approved drug acting on VEGFA is in any arm, including as a comparator, and a trial that tests two such drugs counts once. Trials that test only unapproved drugs are not counted. A trial listed as phase 1/2 counts as phase 1, and phase 2/3 as phase 2.
- Active: recruiting, not yet recruiting, enrolling by invitation, or active and no longer recruiting.
- Completion rate: of the trials that have ended, the share marked Completed rather than Terminated or Withdrawn. Completed means the trial ended as planned; it does not mean the drug worked. Suspended trials are not counted as ended.
- Stopped: terminated or withdrawn. Trials stop for many reasons, including slow enrolment and business decisions, not only safety or efficacy.
- Sponsors: the lead sponsor of each trial. Companies are the sponsors ClinicalTrials.gov classes as industry; the rest are universities, hospitals, cooperative groups, government bodies and individuals.