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Improving lives and saving dollars with anti-VEGF

The impact of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapy

What is anti-VEGF?

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a protein that creates new blood vessels. Occasionally, too much VEGF can be produced leading to the growth of abnormal blood vessels. These blood vessels cause damage to the eye, leading to vision impairment or blindness. Anti-VEGF treatment blocks VEGF, thus slowing or stopping the damage. The medicine slows vision loss and can improve vision. 

The implementation of anti-VEGF treatment has not only prevented vision loss but also drastically enhanced the quality of life for numerous individuals. This achievement owes its existence to the invaluable contributions of federal funding and the collaborative endeavors between scientists and biotechnology companies.  

Eye conditions treated by anti-VEGF

A type of macular degeneration where abnormal blood vessels grow under the macula

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A vascular disorder of the retina where the veins that transport blood away from the retina are obstructed 

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An eye disease caused by complications of diabetes

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Swelling of the retina

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Anti-VEGF Video Series

Watch the journey of the development of anti-VEGF treatments and how they resulted in fundamental improvements in millions of lives. You will hear from clinicians and scientists who were involved in the development of the treatment, a patient's personal story on the therapy's positive impact on her life, plus the good return on federal-funded investment in research. The video series highlights also the collaborative efforts between biotechnology companies and clinician-scientists.

Watch the full video
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Part 1: The path to anti-VEGF

Before the development of anti-VEGF therapy, the options for effectively halting vision loss in patients with specific eye conditions, like diabetic retinopathy, were severely limited. Everything changed in 1983 with the discovery of the vascular permeability factor.
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Part 2: Anti-VEGF impact for clinicians and patients

Blindness is often regarded as one of the most feared health issues. Prior to the advent of anti-VEGF therapy, individuals diagnosed with macular degeneration had little hope for improvement in vision loss due to the limitations of existing treatments.
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Part 3: Anti-VEGF and the return on investing healthcare dollars

The return on investment from federal funding of anti-VEGF research and development is invaluable. In addition to a reduction in morbidity rates associated with injuries, the prevention of vision loss has become achievable.

Additional Resources

Advocate for vision research

From conception to delivery

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A joint initiative of ARVO's Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science (IOVS) and Translational Vision Science & Technology (TVST) journals

Advocate for eye and vision research funding

View Fact Sheet

Letter to the U.S. Senate and House

FDA Approves New Dose of Existing Drug to Treat Macular Degeneration. BrightFocus Foundation.

VEGF: From Discovery to Therapy: The Champalimaud Award Lecture. Joan W. Miller; Trans. Vis. Sci. Tech. 2016;5(2):9. 

Advocate for Vision Research Funding

ARVO and the National Alliance for Eye and Vision Research (NAEVR) are advocating for $1 billion for the National Eye Institute. 

You can help by filling out a template letter to your members of Congress. It's easy:

  • Just click on one of the advocacy issues listed on the page, enter your name and contact information in the pop-up form, then click send.