A First for Turkey: Original Anti-VEGF Molecule from IBG Published in Scientific Reports
A First for Turkey: Original Anti-VEGF Molecule from IBG Published in Scientific Reports
The first results of the product R&D study led by Assist. Prof. Sibel Kalyoncu Uzunlar and Assist. Prof. Gülçin Çakan Akdoğan from İzmir Biomedicine and Genome Center (IBG) have been published in Scientific Reports with the title “Novel anti VEGF scFv antibodies with superior in vitro and in vivo activities.”
Entirely developed by the IBG team, this anti-VEGF molecule is one of the first original drug candidates discovered and developed in Turkey. VEGF is a key driver of pathological angiogenesis in diseases such as wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Using protein engineering and Pichia pastoris production systems, we generated three novel single chain variable fragment (scFv) antibodies targeting VEGF. Our lead molecule, original anti-VEGF scFv1, outperformed the widely used ranibizumab in both human cell based assays and zebrafish models of ocular neovascularization and retinal leakage.
The study was carried out by Prof. Mehmet İnan, Özlem Erez, Ceren Özer, Ebru Önal, Olcay Mert, Şeyda Güllü, Merve Arslan, and Dr. Mehmet Ender Avcı. It was co-funded by IBG and VSY Biotechnology. Patent applications have been filed, and further product R&D is ongoing to move toward clinical development.
We congratulate all researchers and collaborators for this significant achievement in Turkish biotechnology.