Retinal tissue has been regrown in three patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) with geographic atrophy or dry (atrophic) AMD in a Phase

Retinal Tissue Restored in Patients with Dry AMD, Heralding Paradigm Shift

submited by
Style Pass
2021-06-18 17:00:06

Retinal tissue has been regrown in three patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) with geographic atrophy or dry (atrophic) AMD in a Phase I/IIa study conducted by Lineage Cell Therapeutics.

Adding to the original findings reported last year, two additional patients treated in November demonstrated a reduction in atrophied retinal tissue, making them – to the company’s knowledge – the only patients with dry AMD to actually regrow retinal tissue and improve visual acuity.

The treatment, OpRegen®, is an allogeneic retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cell transplant therapy. In a 12-person study of dry AMD patients who retained some vision, 83% reported the vision in the treated eye was at or above baseline. Coincidentally, the same percentage reported that vision in their untreated eye worsened. So, although OpRegen® doesn’t reverse blindness, by causing tissue to regrow, it may be able to prevent people with dry AMD from worsening and eventually becoming blind.

In the study, RPE atrophy was measured using clinical high-resolution optical coherence tomography (OCT). It showed new areas of RPE monolayer with overlying ellipsoid zone, external limiting membrane, and outer nuclear layer that were not present during the baseline assessment. Visual acuity likewise increased.

Leave a Comment