Nobelist Calls Macular Degeneration Trials “One of Most Successful” in Stem Cell Field

Clinical trials for what Nobel Prize-winner Sir John Gurdon, D.Phil., recently called “one of the most successful stem cell treatments so far” are cranking into second gear.

The trials give retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells, made from embryonic stem (ES) cells, to patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of vision impairment and blindness in the developed world.

Having shown safety – and some vision improvement – in two Phase 1 U.S. and Korea trials published in The Lancet and Stem Cell Reports, Ocata began enrolling its first Phase 2 patients this September. The London Project to Cure Blindness (LPCB) and Pfizer have launched a Phase 1 trial in the U.K., dosing its first patient in August. Cell Cure Neurosciences launched a Phase 1/2a trial in Israel, dosing its first patient this year —and scoring FDA “fast track” approval for a U.S. trial a few weeks ago. And a new University of California (UC) trial began enrolling patients last week.