ReNeuron Group
UK-based stem-cell therapy development company ReNeuron Group has reportedly treated its first patient with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) with its stem-cell therapy in a Phase I/II clinical trial at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary (MEEI).
The procedure involved a single injection of Human Retinal Progenitor Cells (hRPC) cells under the retina and the patient was discharged on the same day. ReNeuron has demonstrated that the hRPC cells have improved visual acuity in pre-clinical models of retinal degeneration, engraft into the retina and replace the photoreceptor cell types lost due to RP, and also appear to help protect the host retina from further degeneration.
The Phase I/II clinical trial is an open-label, dose escalation study to evaluate the safety, tolerability and preliminary efficacy of ReNeuron’s hRPC cell therapy candidate in 15 patients with advanced RP, and also marks the company’s initiation of clinical trial activities in the US.
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