Barcelona-led team restores sight in blind mice using light-activated eye drops
A Barcelona-led research consortium at IBEC has restored sight in blind mice using light-activated eye drops instead of surgery or gene therapy. The compounds, called prosthe6, target surviving retinal neurons to replace the function of photoreceptor cells lost to macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa.
Scientists at the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) have restored sight in blind mice and zebrafish using light-activated small-molecule drugs delivered as eye drops or injections, without gene therapy or implants. The compounds, called prosthe6, target ON-bipolar neurons that survive after photoreceptor cells are destroyed in age-related macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa, conditions affecting roughly 200 million people worldwide. Published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, the findings build on more than a decade of research. The drugs don't cure the underlying disease, and a spinoff company, Eyelumina, is now seeking funding to move toward human trials.