Positive results reported for RPE cell therapy for geographic atrophy in phase 1/2a trial
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Key takeaways:
- A cohort of patients treated with cell therapy showed improvement in retinal structure and visual function.
- The therapy may provide support to remaining retinal cells, counteracting cell dysfunction and loss.
An allogeneic retinal pigment epithelial cell therapy may help slow disease progression in geographic atrophy secondary to age-related macular degeneration, according to a press release from Lineage Cell Therapeutics.
Preliminary evidence from a phase 1/2a trial showed that a cohort of eyes treated with RG6501 (OpRegen) had an average gain of 7.6 letters in visual acuity at 12 months. Long-term vision preservation with outer retinal structure improvement persisted for up to 4 years in the treated eye.
Image: Adobe Stock
One patient who maintained visual acuity improvement at 4 years after treatment experienced a gain of three letters in the treated eye compared with a loss of 30 letters in the untreated eye.
The therapy’s retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells may provide support to remaining retinal cells in atrophic areas, counteracting host RPE cell dysfunction and loss, according to the release. More research is needed to find the optimal disease stage for intervention, as well as the optimal target delivery location.
“We are extremely pleased to see our observations of improved retinal structure in the initial clinical study of OpRegen are being reinforced by additional external and independent analyses of the images performed by Genentech and Roche,” Brian Culley, CEO of Lineage, said in the release. “Looking ahead, we are excited to collaborate with Genentech and Roche on the ongoing phase 2a study of OpRegen, which is currently enrolling patients and open at multiple sites in the U.S., with more sites expected to come online this year.”
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