28 October 2019
US researchers have highlighted the potential of using gene therapy to treat wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (12–15 October, San Francisco).
Dr Szilard Kiss, from Weill Cornell Medical College, shared his belief that a gene therapy for wet AMD could be available within the next three to five years.
Dr Kiss and his team developed a vector that inserts genetic material producing a molecule similar to anti-VEGF medicine aflibercept within the cells of the eye.
Once inserted, the DNA sequence begins making aflibercept protein.
“Instead of taking a vile of aflibercept and injecting it into the eye, your eye makes the aflibercept,” Dr Kiss highlighted.
“The goal is a potentially one-and-done treatment. You may need a booster once in a while, but this gene therapy could theoretically last a lifetime,” he added.
Image credit: Pixabay/PublicDomainPictures
Dr Szilard Kiss, from Weill Cornell Medical College, shared his belief that a gene therapy for wet AMD could be available within the next three to five years.
Dr Kiss and his team developed a vector that inserts genetic material producing a molecule similar to anti-VEGF medicine aflibercept within the cells of the eye.
Once inserted, the DNA sequence begins making aflibercept protein.
“Instead of taking a vile of aflibercept and injecting it into the eye, your eye makes the aflibercept,” Dr Kiss highlighted.
“The goal is a potentially one-and-done treatment. You may need a booster once in a while, but this gene therapy could theoretically last a lifetime,” he added.
Image credit: Pixabay/PublicDomainPictures
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