Recent progress in the discovery of selective, non-peptide ligands of somatostatin receptors.

Over the past 5 years, researchers in industry and academia have reported the design, synthesis and evaluation of many non-peptide ligands for somatostatin receptors. Structurally diverse agonists and antagonists that, in some cases, exhibit selectivity among the somatostatin receptor subtypes have been published. These agents represent research tools for the clarification of individual receptor pharmacology and are also promising leads for the development of orally active therapeutics for endocrine disorders, proliferative diseases and mood disorders.

Inhibition of retinal and choroidal neovascularization by a novel KDR kinase inhibitor.

Purpose: Inhibition of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) signaling has shown great promise for the treatment of ocular neovascular disease. Current anti-VEGF therapies in late-stage development, while efficacious, require dosing by frequent intravitreal injections that are inconvenient to patients. VEGF signaling inhibitors that demonstrate more convenient dosing regimens could lead to the improved treatment of neovascular diseases such as wet age related macular degeneration (AMD) and proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR).