AV-001, a synthetic Angiopoietin 1 mimetic, activates the Tie2 receptor which is highly expressed on the surface of endothelial cells located within the vasculature.. AV-001 is designed to interact with the Tie2 receptor on a binding domain distinct from the natural ligands Angiopoietin 1 and Angiopoietin 2.
Activation of Tie2 broadly promotes barrier defense against vascular leak and counteracts vascular inflammation by decreasing the activity of multiple pro-inflammatory factors. AV-001 represents a novel multifactorial approach that acts at the cellular and tissue-level. This approach is in contrast to the traditional highly specific lock and key therapies aimed at killing the pathogen or individual targets within the inflammatory response pathway. There are no clinically available medications to treat vascular leak.