{
  "patent_number": "US 7169901",
  "country": "US",
  "title": "How Genentech Engineered Antibodies to Starve Tumors of Blood",
  "original_title": "Anti-VEGF antibodies",
  "summary": "A 2007 Genentech patent describing specific lab-made antibodies that block a protein called VEGF, which tumors use to grow new blood vessels.",
  "what_it_does": "This patent describes a humanized antibody designed to bind tightly to Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF). VEGF is a protein that signals the body to grow new blood vessels. By blocking this signal, the antibody prevents tumors from building the blood supply they need to expand. The patent specifically claims the precise amino acid sequences for the antibody's 'variable domains'—the parts that actually grab onto the VEGF protein—ensuring it binds with high affinity.",
  "what_it_does_not_cover": [
    "Does not cover antibodies that bind to targets other than VEGF.",
    "Does not cover naturally occurring, non-humanized antibodies.",
    "Does not cover therapeutic methods of treating patients, only the antibody composition itself.",
    "Does not cover antibody sequences that fall outside the specific amino acid variations defined in the claims."
  ],
  "filed": "2002-09-03",
  "granted": "2007-01-30",
  "expires": null,
  "status": "active",
  "holder": "Genentech Inc",
  "holder_url": "https://patentbrief.org/company/genentech-inc",
  "inventors": [
    {
      "name": "Manuel Baca",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/manuel-baca"
    },
    {
      "name": "Leonard G. Presta",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/leonard-g-presta"
    },
    {
      "name": "James A. Wells",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/james-a-wells"
    },
    {
      "name": "Yvonne Man-yee Chen",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/yvonne-man-yee-chen"
    },
    {
      "name": "Henry B. Lowman",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/henry-b-lowman"
    }
  ],
  "times_cited": 76,
  "tags": [
    "biotech",
    "pharmaceutical"
  ],
  "abstract": "Humanized and variant anti-VEGF antibodies and various uses therefor are disclosed. The anti-VEGF antibodies have strong binding affinities for VEGF; inhibit VEGF-induced proliferation of endothelial cells in vitro; and inhibit tumor growth in vivo.",
  "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/7169901/avastin-bevacizumab",
  "markdown_url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/7169901/avastin-bevacizumab/md",
  "google_patents_url": "https://patents.google.com/patent/US7169901",
  "relatedPatents": []
}