Phase 2 Stem Cell Trial To Be Initiated

Ocata Therapeutics, Inc. (now owned by Acucela) announced on March 31, 2015 that the company has completed dosing of its Phase 1/2 studies for dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and Stargardt’s Macular Degeneration (SMD). A total of 38 patients have been safely dosed. The 200,000 cell cohort, the highest level planned, was successfully completed, paving [Read More]

Stem Cells Might Now Replace Photoreceptors

The media has been full of news about sight restoration from stem cells. In trials, stem cells are healing the retinal layer (retinal pigment epithelium) that supports the nerve cells (photoreceptors) responsible for seeing light. Scientists, however, have not yet been able to replace damaged photoreceptor cells in humans, but a recent study offers hope [Read More]

Stem Cell Trial Yields Surprising Results

by Dan Roberts Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. (now owned by Astellas) has been conducting promising safety trials for stem cell treatment of macular degeneration, but a six-month follow up has yielded even better news than expected. ACT announced that Phase 1/2 clinical data treatment of Stargardt’s macular degeneration (SMD) and dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Surprising even [Read More]

Gene Profiling Technique Accelerates Stem Cell Therapies for Retinal Diseases

(Source: National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health) Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have developed a technique that will streamline the production of stem-cell derived tissues. The technique will help the researchers in their efforts to use patients’ skin cells to create new retinal tissue, a therapy that has been recently applied to [Read More]