In December 2017 the American Federal Drug Adminstration (FDA) licensed the first every therapy to treat a genetic disease causing blindness – Luxturna from Spark Technologies - at a cost of $425,000 per eye. This has opened the way for a new wave of gene therapies. So what are the headline makers?

For a start, Novartis are battling hard to bring Luxturna to the European market, and are hopeful that it will be available in the not-too-distant future.

On the back of Spark’s research, French company GenSight is experimenting (so far unsuccessfully) with a cure for a rare mitochondrial disease LHON. Also in France, Eyevensys is trialling the removal of viruses in gene therapy, while fellow Parisians Horama are seeking to find a therapy for retinitis pigmentosa.

In the UK, London company Nightstar is getting closer to a gene therapy for choroidermai, and stealing a march on Spark who are not as far along the research route. Clearly, there is much expectation around the potential of gene therapies as a cure for blindness, and the next few years should see more advances. Watch this space….

Sources:

1. Labiotech.eu:
   Can gene therapy become a cure for blindness?.

2.FDA News:
FDA approves novel gene therapy to treat patients with a rare form of inherited vision loss..