ISS National Lab-sponsored study to test a novel gene therapy for AMD

AMD is a leading cause of blindness in older adults, affecting more than 200 million people globally. Patients in the intermediate stage of the disease currently lack an effective treatment to improve vision or slow disease progression.

According to a news release, an investigation is set to launch on SpaceX’s 30th Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) mission to the International Space Station (ISS) contracted by NASA to test the therapy in space. This could open new avenues for treating vision loss with this novel ocular gene therapy. Experiments on Earth have shown Oculogenex’s therapy is effective against retinal damage in models of retinal degeneration, indicating the potential to prevent progression to advanced AMD. However, these models do not emulate intermediate AMD’s milder, chronic oxidative stress.

Read more: https://www.ophthalmologytimes.com/view/iss-national-lab-sponsored-study-to-test-a-novel-gene-therapy-for-amd?ekey=RUtJRDpGQ0FERjM4NC1GNDk3LTQyMzUtOTExQy0yOUNGM0ZEOUJGNkY%3D&utm_campaign=emailname&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8Soh96tw8G1QE9T9v-_Hy5vcf7nQVjxwg3l1uf15hRleAjHLrXwpgX1uzO-TC3JqHGFc2zT6dJoAj5UUCQ9fRcoGlI_w&_hsmi=300931447&utm_source=hs

Source: Ophthalmology Times