Recent breakthroughs in gene therapy for inherited retinal degeneration

Gene therapy for inherited retinal degeneration has made major advances toward the ultimate goal of reversing blindness in human patients. With significant advances in recombinant viral vector design, safety and efficacy profiles have greatly improved. Although these recent advances have been applied to many different retinal diseases, one retinal degenerative disease, Leber congenital amaurosis, appears to have the greatest potential for reversing blindness. In pre-clinical animal studies, gene therapy for Leber congenital amaurosis has demonstrated visual recovery. Recently, in landmark clinical trials, preliminary results have indicated safety and efficacy for the use of gene therapy in Leber congenital amaurosis, thus laying the foundation for continued use of gene therapy in other forms of inherited blinding disease.