| Description |
Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is a leading cause of vision impairment in the elderly and substantially affects the quality of life of an individual. Although the exact pathophysiological mechanisms behind the disease are multifactorial and complex, several genetic and environmental risk factors are associated with AMD, such as age, cigarette smoking, hypertension, abdominal obesity, dietary fat, and low physical activity.
Geographic Atrophy (GA) is the late stage of dry AMD(d-AMD). GA is a slow but inexorably progressive disease that causes irreversible blindness over time. Several new non-invasive tools such as Fundus Autofluorescence (FAF), Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT), and OCT Angiography (OCT-A) are being used to enable early diagnosis and follow up in these patients. Despite these advances, there are currently no approved treatments for GA that can replace the damaged RPE, photoreceptors, or outer retinal layers. In recent years, stem cell replacement therapy is being evaluated as an alternative to treat d-AMD.
In the pursuit to find a promising solution for d-AMD, which is an unmet medical need globally, Eyestem has been striving to develop a safe and effective stem-cell based therapy.
Theoretically, human induced pluripotent stem cells(hiPSCs) derived Eyecyte-RPE™, developed by Eyestem can help replace the damaged or lost retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells and potentially enable tissue regeneration in the diseased retina. In addition, stem cells can perform multiple functions, such as immunoregulation, prevention of apoptosis in sensory neurons, and secretion of neurotrophic factors. The latest stem cell transplantation studies performed by other research groups has been able to demonstrate that this therapy has a promising approach to restore visual function in eyes with degenerative retinal diseases.
The results of the pre-clinical safety and efficacy studies with Eyecyte-RPE™ have been very encouraging. It has been shown to provide significant beneficial effects on the degenerating retina in animals without any significant safety concerns, suggesting that this therapy may have substantial therapeutic value in d-AMD. |
