This article reviews pegaptanib sodium, a compound developed by Eyetech 
Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Pfizer Inc., for the treatment of neovascular 
age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Traditional treatment approaches to 
neovascular AMD have included destructive therapies such as thermal laser 
photocoagulation and photodynamic therapy; the use of pegaptanib sodium heralds 
a new treatment approach that is a non-destructive therapy based on the 
inhibition of vascular endothelial growth factor activity in the eye. This 
diminishes the neovascular drive in the pathologically hyperpermeable state of 
the diseased eye. Pegaptanib sodium is one of the first therapeutics belonging 
to the class of compounds known as aptamers. The chemistry, mechanism of action, 
pharmacokinetics and rationale for the clinical use of the drug are reviewed. 
The article highlights and summarises the results of the multi-centre, 
randomised, sham-controlled clinical trials with pegaptanib sodium to treat 
subfoveal choroidal neovascularisation in AMD. In addition, the safety profile 
is reviewed.