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Protein / target

Placenta growth factor

Encoded byPGFP49763Homo sapiensSwiss-Prot
Clinically validated
Therapeutic maturity
1
Approved medicines
Open Targets target-level
View by indication →
30
Clinical trials
Small-molecule tractable
Druggability
Structure with Ligand

Protein at a glance

Biological role

Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor binding

Strongest disease association

Diabetic macular edema

Via encoding gene PGF · Clinical evidence · score 0.60

Therapeutic position

Established drug target

Antibodies

Derived from structured UniProt, Open Targets and literature data on this page.

Protein profile

UniProt 2026_02

Canonical identity and biological annotation from UniProt.

Function overview

Growth factor active in angiogenesis and endothelial cell growth, stimulating their proliferation and migration.

View complete UniProt function annotation

Growth factor active in angiogenesis and endothelial cell growth, stimulating their proliferation and migration. It binds to the receptor FLT1/VEGFR-1. Isoform PlGF-2 binds NRP1/neuropilin-1 and NRP2/neuropilin-2 in a heparin-dependent manner. Also promotes cell tumor growth

Subcellular location

Secreted
Domains and Gene Ontology detail (18)

Gene Ontology

  • Cextracellular region
  • Cextracellular space
  • Cmembrane
  • Fchemoattractant activity
  • Fgrowth factor activity
  • Fheparin binding
  • Fvascular endothelial growth factor receptor binding
  • Pcell differentiation
  • Pcell-cell signaling
  • Pinduction of positive chemotaxis
  • Ppositive regulation of cell division
  • Ppositive regulation of cell population proliferation

221 aa · 25 kDa · 4 isoforms

Biological roles

Reactome v97

What this protein does, drawn together from its UniProt function, Gene Ontology terms and Reactome pathways.

Cell migrationGOGrowth-factor signallingGOCell proliferation & survivalGO
View supporting evidence

Cell migration

  • ·induction of positive chemotaxis
  • ·positive regulation of mast cell chemotaxis

Growth-factor signalling

  • ·vascular endothelial growth factor receptor signaling pathway

Cell proliferation & survival

  • ·positive regulation of cell population proliferation
View underlying pathways (2)

Concepts derived from UniProt GO Reactome — each badge above shows which sources supported that role.

Interaction neighbourhood

STRING v12.0

Proteins with the strongest functional or physical association. Node size and line weight reflect STRING confidence; hover or select a partner to inspect one association.

KDRFLT1FLT4NRP1NRP2VEGFBFN1TEKNTRK1PDGFRBPGF

10 strongest partners — larger node and heavier line mean higher confidence

Functional and physical associations from STRING v12.0. Only associations with this protein are drawn — partner-to-partner links are not part of this evidence.

Approved medicines with mapped indications

1 medicine · 6 areas

Approved therapies targeting this protein, grouped by what they are approved to treat — the disease-first view of the medicines below. Relationships come from the canonical approved-indication graph (ChEMBL phase-4), the same source as the drug cards.

Colorectal Neoplasms1 medicine
Diabetes Complications1 medicine
Diabetic Retinopathy1 medicine
Macular Edema1 medicine
Retinal Neovascularization1 medicine
Broader indication categories (1)
Neoplasms1 medicine

Broad umbrella indications (e.g. “Neoplasms”). Shown here because every medicine also appears under a more specific disease above — kept for completeness, de-emphasised for clarity.

Approved indications from ChEMBL (phase-4), via the canonical drug→disease graph.

Drugs targeting this protein

1

How approved and investigational drugs engage this protein — mechanism and action type, direct vs complex targeting, and how broadly each acts across other targets. A drug-first view (the section above groups the approved ones disease-first); direct binders with few recorded targets are listed first.

aflibercept
Narrow target profileApprovedInhibitor

Placenta growth factor inhibitor

Indicated for Colorectal Neoplasms, Diabetes Complications, Diabetic Retinopathy, Macular Edema

Direct interaction with this protein · 1 of 2 recorded protein targets — narrow recorded profile

ChEMBL mechanism, action type, target identity and approved indications. Open Targets clinical status.

Translational evidence

Open Targets 26

Why this target matters therapeutically, strongest evidence first. Disease associations are gene-level (via the gene that encodes this protein) and open into the full confidence synthesis; the development universe, tractability and safety annotations are target-level, from Open Targets.

Strongest disease associations · via encoding gene PGF

Gene-level evidence surfaced through the gene PGFthat encodes this protein — not a direct protein–disease relationship. Ranked by Forefront's causal-directness weighting, so genetically- and clinically-evidenced diseases lead over ones that merely share the literature.

Diabetic macular edema
0.74Moderately supported

Clinical evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.60

Wet macular degeneration
0.74Moderately supported

Clinical evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.60

Macular retinal edema
0.74Moderately supported

Clinical evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.60

Retinal vein occlusion
0.73Moderately supported

Clinical evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.59

Choroidal neovascularization
0.73Moderately supported

Clinical evidence dominant · Open Targets 0.59

View evidence synthesis (5)
Diabetic macular edemaModerately supported
0.74
agreement 0.590.90
Clinical99%Literature1%

Open Targets aggregate 0.60 · 2 independent evidence families

Wet macular degenerationModerately supported
0.74
agreement 0.580.89
Clinical98%Literature2%

Open Targets aggregate 0.60 · 2 independent evidence families

Macular retinal edemaModerately supported
0.74
agreement 0.580.89
Clinical99%Literature1%

Open Targets aggregate 0.60 · 2 independent evidence families

Retinal vein occlusionModerately supported
0.73
agreement 0.570.88
Clinical99%Literature1%

Open Targets aggregate 0.59 · 2 independent evidence families

Choroidal neovascularizationModerately supported
0.73
agreement 0.570.88
Clinical97%Literature3%

Open Targets aggregate 0.59 · 2 independent evidence families

The evidence agreement range shows how closely the independent evidence families agree — it is not a statistical confidence interval, and nothing here is fitted to outcome data. Derived from Open Targets evidence types under Forefront weighting; the per-type scores above show the calculation.

Show all associations
Diabetic macular edema0.60
Wet macular degeneration0.60
Macular retinal edema0.60
Retinal vein occlusion0.59
Choroidal neovascularization0.59
Colorectal Neoplasms0.56
Diabetic Retinopathy0.54
Macular Degeneration0.47
Neoplasms0.41

Drug development

3 compounds recorded · 1 approved · 2 in clinical development

Open Targets' development universe — every compound recorded against the target at any stage, not all approved medicines. Distinct from the 1 drug that targets this protein in Forefront's canonical graph (1 with a mapped approved indication, shown above): these count different sets and are not a subset relation.

View all recorded compounds (3)
CONBERCEPTPhase 3
AFLIBERCEPTApproval
TB-403Phase 2

Open Targets known-drugs universe. Drug name and highest clinical stage only — the disease relationship is NOT read from this slice (it carries trial-context noise); approved indications come from the canonical graph above.

Tractability

Small moleculesEmerging

Feasibility evidence (structure with ligand) — no clinical-stage drug of this modality recorded.

AntibodiesStrong

Advanced Clinical and GO CC high conf support this modality.

Protein degradersEmerging

Feasibility evidence (small molecule binder) — no clinical-stage drug of this modality recorded.

Other modalitiesStrong

Approved Drug support this modality.

View underlying tractability evidence (7)
SM · Structure with LigandAB · Advanced ClinicalAB · GO CC high confAB · UniProt loc med confAB · UniProt SigP or TMHMMPR · Small Molecule BinderOC · Approved Drug

Raw Open Targets tractability assessment buckets, by modality.

Clinical trials

30

Trials of drugs that target this protein — reached indirectly through those drugs, so a trial listed here studies the drug, not the protein. Ranked by active status, then clinical phase and recency, and spread across the targeting drugs.

View all trials (26)

ENROLLING_BY_INVITATION · via aflibercept · NCT07338097

ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING · via aflibercept · NCT04932980

ClinicalTrials.gov via the drug-target graph.

What's happening now

12

Recent therapeutic activity around this target — regulatory actions, clinical trials and safety signals for a drug that targets this protein, plus publications where such a drug is a genuine subject. Every item is reached indirectly through the drug, not the protein itself; incidental mentions (a paper that merely measures a drug) and press items are excluded.

  1. Label change2026-08-20

    Label change: AFLIBERCEPT-JBVF (BLA761274)

    fda · regulatory · fda · via aflibercept

  2. Trial status changed2026-08-03

    A Randomized, Partially Masked, Controlled, Phase 3 Clinical Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of RGX-314 Gene Therapy in Participants With nAMD

    Status changed to Active, not recruiting · ClinicalTrials.gov · via aflibercept

  3. Supplemental approval2026-01-13

    Supplemental approval: AFLIBERCEPT-JBVF (BLA761274)

    fda · regulatory · fda · via aflibercept

  4. Regulatory approval2025-09-15

    Approval: Eyluxvi (EMA)

    ema · regulatory · ema · via aflibercept

  5. Regulatory approval2025-08-18

    Approval: Afiveg (EMA)

    ema · regulatory · ema · via aflibercept

  6. Regulatory approval2025-08-18

    Approval: Mynzepli (EMA)

    ema · regulatory · ema · via aflibercept

  7. Product recall2024-05-15

    Recall (Class II): AFLIBERCEPT

    fda · safety · fda · via aflibercept

  8. New publication2022-01-24
    Efficacy, durability, and safety of intravitreal faricimab up to every 16 weeks for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (TENAYA and LUCERNE): two randomised, double-masked, phase 3, non-inferiority trials.

    Lancet (London, England) · 2022 · 578 citations · Europe PMC · via aflibercept

  9. New publication2020-06-12
    Aflibercept in Combination With FOLFIRI as First-line Chemotherapy in Patients With Metastatic Colorectal Cancer (mCRC): A Phase II Study (FFCD 1302).

    Clinical colorectal cancer · 2020 · 5 citations · Europe PMC · via aflibercept

  10. New publication2017-05-01
    Effect of Bevacizumab vs Aflibercept on Visual Acuity Among Patients With Macular Edema Due to Central Retinal Vein Occlusion: The SCORE2 Randomized Clinical Trial.

    JAMA · 2017 · 164 citations · Europe PMC · via aflibercept

  11. Safety communication2016-04-18

    Drug Safety Update: Aflibercept (Zaltrap▼): minimising the risk of osteonecrosis of the jaw

    mhra · safety · mhra · via aflibercept

  12. New publication2014-06-01
    A single-arm, investigator-initiated study of the efficacy, safety and tolerability of intravitreal aflibercept injection in subjects with exudative age-related macular degeneration, previously treated with ranibizumab or bevacizumab: 6-month interim analysis.

    The British journal of ophthalmology · 2014 · 53 citations · Europe PMC · via aflibercept

Objective event titles are shown unmodified; the event kind and significance line are derived from structured fields. Forefront AttentionEvent stream aggregating Europe PMC Regulatory filings ClinicalTrials.gov.