“As an empathetic, highly responsible ophthalmology resident at the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins in the late 1980s, Dr. David Guyer was unhappy that so many of his older patients were suffering from the visually disabling disease known as Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD). Like so many of his colleagues, and even his teachers and their own forebears, Dr. Guyer was taught to politely and gently tell his patients, ‘I am so sorry, but there is nothing I can do.’

It was a problem previously thought to be unsolvable. However, Dr. Guyer with only a few collaborating young ophthalmologists, within only a few years after finishing their training, cofounded a new biotech company (Eyetech, Inc.).

There, they discovered a new class of chemical compounds known as ‘anti-VEGFs,’ including Macugen, which amazingly improved AMD, and obtained FDA approval to market this novel therapeutic agent in the United States. It represented a significant, life-altering achievement.

Unblinded tells the story of this monumental achievement and provides readers the inspirational, heartwarming story of insight, imagination, perseverance, and intellectual brilliance that characterized Dr. Guyer and his team.

Not only was their innovative therapy successful in reversing and preventing blindness from AMD, it also stimulated an avalanche of important, and ultimately successful, pharmacological research for a wide variety of other blinding eye diseases, including diabetic retinopathy, thrombosed retinal veins, retinal detachments, as well as for AMD and others.

If the famous scientist, Louis Pasteur, had been alive to consider the story of Dr. Guyer and his dedicated colleagues, he would have been impressed, reassured, and very proud of each of them.”—MORTON F. GOLDBERG, MD, DIRECTOR EMERITUS, WILMER EYE INSTITUTE AND PROFESSOR OF OPHTHALMOLOGY, JOHNS HOPKINS SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

“Generations will continue to benefit from David Guyer’s vision and passion to combat one of the leading causes of blindness, age-related macular degeneration. Guyer helped to spark a global quest among retinal specialists, biopharmaceutical companies, and Wall Street, that will continue to save countless people from losing their vision.”—MICHAEL GAITO, GLOBAL CHAIRMAN OF INVESTMENT BANKING AND HEALTHCARE, J.P. MORGAN

“Unblinded shares the vital story of the struggle and ultimate success in developing anti-VEGF—one of the most important breakthroughs ever in ophthalmology—a crucial drug for patients that saved sight for millions.

In 2000, David Guyer, Tony Adamis, and Samir Patel founded Eyetech. As CEO, David showed great talent and initiative, acquiring a unique anti-VEGF agent, Macugen (pegaptanib sodium), raising the needed funding, and building the teams for clinical trials, manufacturing, and regulatory approval. The approval of Macugen changed the way we treat patients with retinal disease and paved the way for multiple anti-VEGF therapies, which are now given to millions of patients around the world every year. The blindness burden worldwide has been lessened because of these treatments.

It is hard to describe the thrill of that moment—taking findings in the laboratory to patients and developing a successful clinical treatment. None of us expected our early work to lead to such a revolution in patient care.”—JOAN MILLER, MD, MASSACHUSETTS EYE AND EAR, CHAIR OF OPHTHALMOLOGY; HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL CHAIR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF OPHTHALMOLOGY, DAVID GLENDENNING COGAN PROFESSOR OF OPHTHALMOLOGY

“Losing your vision is as emotional a condition as having cancer. Mechanistically, because of neovascularization, one can call wet AMD a cancer of the eye. It is in that context that we all need to think of the contributions to medicine that David Guyer, Tony Adamis, and Samir Patel have made with their pioneering work at Eyetech.”—NICHOLAS GALAKATOS, GLOBAL HEAD OF LIFE SCIENCES, BLACKSTONE

“Whether it arrives from an act of nature, serendipity, or inspired creation, an important beginning is fascinating to study. Some beginnings can be chronicled with crystal clarity while others are imprecise or even contentious, giving rise to discussions that breathe additional life into our interest. However, if the beginning gives rise to a trend that is a profoundly significant one, it is paradoxically at high risk of being unappreciated and forgotten.

The story of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) also has a beginning, and it is both intricate and fascinating. Intravitreal injection of anti-VEGF agents has become the most common non-diagnostic ophthalmic procedure and has completely transformed retinal practice with its runaway success in treating a variety of iconic retinal diseases.

Unblinded explores the fascinating origins of our anti-VEGF agents as the first retinal pharmaceuticals and gives an insider’s account of the physicians and scientists who progressively encircled VEGF—stepwise and relentlessly, like a group of hunters pursuing a wolf through dark woods—as a principal agent of so much visual loss and human suffering. If we look even closer, the VEGF story is nothing less than the birth of true retinal pharmacology, a pivotal moment in our specialty that like all beginnings, is populated with discoveries, luck, events, and most importantly, people.

David, as my retina fellow during 1990–92, transformed from a consummate academic retina specialist (he could write an original and luminous medical manuscript in a day!) to the single most savvy retinal pharmaceutical CEO in history. His instincts regarding which targets were worth pursuing (that is, buying the rights to and developing companies around, often as a gamble) and which to pass over are a result of a process impenetrable to observers, and I keep it in the same mental folder as the successful divination of well water with a forked stick. Combined with his high-octane energy and management skills, a winning target was certain to become an FDA-approved drug. He would go on to become an insightful retinal venture capitalist and serial entrepreneur, sharing his successes with numerous colleagues and coworkers. Remarkably, he shows no signs of stopping or even slowing down, and savvy retina specialists would do well to keep his heels within view.”—DONALD J. D’AMICO, MD, JOHN MILTON MCLEAN PROFESSOR AND CHAIR, WEILL CORNELL MEDICINE OPHTHALMOLOGY; OPHTHALMOLOGIST-IN-CHIEF, NEWYORK-PRESBYTERIAN HOSPITAL

“David Guyer founded Eyetech and pioneered the development of Macugen. This therapeutic approach is among the most important innovations in ophthalmology during the past 50 years. Anti-VEGF therapy has enabled millions of patients to remain gainfully employed and lead independent lives. David Guyer’s work has had a major impact on reducing blindness among millions of patients.”—MARCO A. ZARBIN, MD, PHD, PROFESSOR AND CHAIR, INSTITUTE OF OPHTHALMOLOGY AND VISUAL SCIENCE, RUTGERS NEW JERSEY MEDICAL SCHOOL