A new procedure reported in the current issue of Nature Biotechnology has been shown to be a safe and effective method for introducing stem cells into the retina. Implantation of a specially engineered patch of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells derived from stem cells has restored some vision in two people with sight loss from [Read More]
Category: Research and Developments
First AMD Patient Receives Sub-Retinal Implant
(Updated 4/17/18) Pixium Vision has announced its first successful human implantation of a wireless sub-retinal implant in a patient with atrophic dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD). So far, three patients have been implanted with the device, and results are promising. As reported here in October 2017, the implant, called PRIMA, acts like a tiny solar [Read More]
Apellis Entering Phase 3 Trials for Dry Macular Degeneration
Apellis Pharmaceuticals has announced that it has finalized the trial design for its planned Phase 3 program evaluating APL-2 for the treatment of patients with geographic atrophy (GA), aka dry macular degeneration. The Phase 3 program, planned to begin in the second half of 2018, will consist of two identical studies to assess the efficacy [Read More]
FDA Approves First Gene Therapy for Inherited Retinal Dystrophy
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Luxturna (voretigene neparvovec-rzyl), a new gene therapy developed by Spark Therapeutics, to treat an inherited form of vision loss that can result in blindness. The most prevalent inherited retinal dystrophies are retinitis pigmentosa (RP), Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA) and Stargardt disease (SD), all of which have [Read More]
Iluvian Continues to Show Good Results in DME Trials
We reported here in 2015 that Iluvian, a unique drug implant devised by Alimera Sciences, had entered trials for treatment of diabetic macular edema (DME). The drug is a corticosteroid that has demonstrated effectiveness in the treatment of DME without the need for monthly injections. Jay Prensky, MD (investigator for Alimera Sciences) reported to the [Read More]