The NEI Audacious Goals Initiative: Advancing the Frontier of Regenerative Medicine

Eight years since the launch of the National Eye Institute Audacious Goals Initiative for Regenerative Medicine, real progress has been made in the effort to restore vision by replacing retinal neurons. Although challenges remain, the infrastructure, tools, and preclinical models to support clinical studies in humans are being prepared. Building on the pioneering trials that are replacing the retinal pigment epithelium, it is expected that by the end of this decade first-in-human trials for the replacement of retinal neurons will be initiated.