A Centre for Eye Research Australia (CERA) start-up has been granted AU$1.92 million for its work developing a treatment harnessing the regenerative power of the retina’s own stem cells.
The gene therapy treatment, which is being developed in preclinical studies by start-up Mirugen, aims to prevent and reverse damage to the light sensing photoreceptors in the back of the eye.1
The treatment involves injecting engineered viruses into the eye to deliver reprogramming genes into retinal cells. These genes will then stimulate the stem cells in the eye to develop into new photoreceptors that replace the damaged cells.
Mirugen received the grant from CUREator+, a national program funded by the federal Government’s Medical Research Future Fund and delivered by Brandon BioCatalyst and ANDHealth.
The scheme aims to speed up the translation of innovative preclinical and early clinical research.
“Mirugen is on the cusp of translating our research into a possible therapy that could transform lives by restoring vision”
More than 190 million people worldwide are living with conditions such as retinitis pigmentosa, Startgardt’s disease, and age-related macular degeneration, where faulty and damaged photoreceptors lead to vision loss and blindness.
Currently there are no effective treatments for most people with these conditions and no way of reversing vision loss, but the Mirugen team hopes its innovative new therapy will “switch on sight” by restoring lost photoreceptors.
Mirugen co-founder Associate Professor Raymond Wong, who is Head of Cellular Reprogramming Research at CERA, said the team had achieved promising results in earlier preclinical studies.
“The CUREator + funding will enable my team to conduct essential pre-clinical experiments to accelerate the development of our new gene therapy candidate,” he said.
“Mirugen is on the cusp of translating our research into a possible therapy that could transform lives by restoring vision, so this funding comes at a crucial time as it will help us generate the data needed to attract the investors we need to help us progress into the clinic.
“Our ultimate aim is to get our treatment to patients and create a brighter future for people living with incurable blindness,” Assoc Prof Wong said.
Reference
- Centre for Eye Research Australia, Boost for gene therapy start-up aiming to switch on sight (news release, 23 Dec 2024) available at: cera.org.au/boost-for-gene-therapy-start-up-aiming-to-switch-on-sight [accessed Jan 2025].
