As the landmark clinical trial of gene therapy at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia expands, and more participants report vision restoration, Jean Bennett, M.D., Ph.D., and Al Maguire, M.D., continue to receive attention from prominent media, including Smithsonian Magazine, which is featuring the researchers’ story in their January 2009 issue.

Neurotech’s innovative encapsulated cell technology (ECT), which shows promise for treating a wide range of retinal diseases, has received Fast Track status from the FDA. Fast Track status is given to therapies that address an unmet medical need. Also, the FDA will review an application for marketing approval of a Fast Track treatment within six months. Neurotech plans to release results from their three Phase II/III clinical trials in spring 2009. At that point the company may seek FDA marketing approval for the treatment to make it generally available and/or conduct additional clinical studies.

The National Neurovision Research Institute (NNRI), the clinical support organization of the Foundation Fighting Blindness, recently established research collaborations with two pharmaceutical companies to evaluate potential treatments for retinal degenerative diseases.