Vascular disruption represents a new approach to a validated therapeutic strategy: depriving tumors (and, in the case of eye disease, pathologic neovascular lesions) of blood supply.

In solid tumors, vascular disrupting agents, such as ZYBRESTAT and OXi4503, rapidly disrupt the vasculature within the tumor, reduce blood flow, and deprive the tumor of oxygen and nutrients, resulting in tumor cell death. This disruption of the newly formed blood vessels contrasts with the action of anti-angiogenic therapies, which are designed to prevent new blood vessel formation.