Category Archives: Retinitis Pigmentosa

Mike Householder / AP Roger Pontz wears special glasses that house a small video camera and wirelessly transmit images, converted into a series of electrical pulses, to an array of electrodes on the surface of his retna. The pulses stimulate the retinas remaining healthy cells, causing them to relay the data to the optic nerve. A degenerative eye disease slowly robbed Roger Pontz of his vision. Diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa as a teenager, Pontz has been almost completely blind for years. Now, thanks to a high-tech procedure that involved the surgical implantation of a "bionic eye," he's regained enough of his eyesight to catch small glimpses of his wife, grandson and cat. "It's awesome. It's exciting seeing something new every day," Pontz said during a recent appointment at the University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center. The 55-year-old former competitive weightlifter and factory worker is one of four people in the U.S. to receive an artificial retina since the Food and Drug Administration signed off on its use last year. The facility in Ann Arbor has been the site of all four such surgeries since FDA approval. A fifth is scheduled for next month. Retinitis pigmentosa is an inherited disease that … Continue reading →

ANN ARBOR, MICH.A degenerative eye disease slowly robbed Roger Pontz of his vision. Diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa as a teenager, Pontz has been almost completely blind for years. Now, thanks to a high-tech procedure that involved the surgical implantation of a bionic eye, hes regained enough of his eyesight to catch small glimpses of his wife, grandson and cat. Its awesome. Its exciting seeing something new every day, Pontz said during a recent appointment at the University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center. The 55-year-old former competitive weightlifter and factory worker is one of four people in the U.S. to receive an artificial retina since the Food and Drug Administration signed off on its use last year. The facility in Ann Arbor has been the site of all four such surgeries since FDA approval. A fifth is scheduled for next month. Retinitis pigmentosa is an inherited disease that causes slow but progressive vision loss due to a gradual loss of the light-sensitive retinal cells called rods and cones. Patients experience loss of side vision and night vision, then central vision, which can result in near blindness. Not all of the 100,000 or so people in the U.S. with retinitis pigmentosa can … Continue reading →

Chipping Sodbury woman treks the Sahara for charity 10:10am Tuesday 22nd April 2014 in News A CHIPPING Sodburywoman has headed off to the Sahara to raise money and awareness for the charity RP Fighting Blindness (RPFB), which supports sufferers of Retinitis Pigmentosa. Lisa Taplin, who works in insurance and suffers from RP herself, left last Saturday for a 100km hike across the desert. She is walking for up to eight hours a day with a group of 21 and returns on Good Friday. Most of the group are registered blind and have RP, leaving them with limited peripheral vision and very little vision at night. There is no treatment or cure and many sufferers will eventually lose their sight. 25, 000 people in the UK suffer from the disorder. Lisa said: Ive always wanted to walk for RP. Since November we have trained as a group a couple of times, including a great 17 mile walk in Bournemouth. Its going to be a challenge but I am sure that willpower, adrenaline and camaraderie will pull me through. They are a really nice group of people. Lisa aims to raise awareness and 2,800 for the charity, with the help of local … Continue reading →

A Vision to Run Erich Manser has Retinitis Pigmentosa, a degenerative eye disease that clouds and restricts his sight. He'll be running this year's Boston Marathon on Team W... By: Boston Herald … Continue reading →

Molly, aged six, has Retinitis Pigmentosa - a genetic condition Parents Chris and Eve Bent are creating as many memories as possible Plan to take Molly to visit museums, zoos, the theatre and a butterfly house By Jill Reilly Published: 03:33 EST, 11 April 2014 | Updated: 19:01 EST, 11 April 2014 1,326 shares 15 View comments One day soon, six-year-old Molly Bent will become blind. So before that time comes, she is determined to see as many wonderful places and special events as possible and has drawn up a bucket list of them. Molly was born with perfect sight but a year ago was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a disease that is ruining her vision. Molly, six, is desperately trying to complete a special 'bucket list' of things she wants to see before a genetic condition makes her go blind Go here to read the rest: Girl, 6, who is going blind compiles touching 'bucket list' … Continue reading →

Retinitis Pigmentosa by Natac By: Olaya Menndez … Continue reading →

Greenwich resident Gary Katcher will receive a top honor in the fight to support awareness and raise funds for sight-saving research at the Foundation Fighting Blindness Banking on A Cure gala on Tuesday, April 8 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Pierre Hotel in New York City. The benefit will raise critical awareness and research funds toward preventions, treatments and cures for vision-robbing retinal degenerative diseases such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD), retinitis pigmentosa (RP), Usher syndrome and related conditions. At the event, two leaders in the fight against blindness will be honored with the organizations Visionary Award Mr. Katcher, co-founder and chairman of Greenwich-based hedge fund GRK Partners LP, and Stephen Tsang, M.D., Ph.D., of New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center. A Greenwich resident, Mr. Katcher, who was named a Foundation Fighting Blindness national trustee in 2013, became involved in the fight against blindness to support his brother Mitch Katcher, who has retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic retinal disease characterized by night blindness and a progressive loss of peripheral vision. This is a tremendous honor for me, Mr. Katcher said in a press release. My brother Mitchs fight is my fight, and it is his spirit and tenacity that inspires … Continue reading →

By Estel Grace Masangkay Spark Therapeutics and Genable Technologies announced that they have signed a collaboration agreement to develop GT038, Genables lead therapeutic drug for the treatment of rhodopsin-linked autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa (RHO adRP). The partnership will allow Genable to license specific adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector manufacturing patents from Spark. Spark will gain exclusive manufacturing rights of the product and will receive milestone payments and royalty on future sales of GT038. The company is also eligible to receive near term revenue from the manufacture and supply of GT038, for which it will provide development advice and expertise. Jeffrey Marrazzo, Spark Therapeutics co-founder, president and CEO, said, We are excited to apply our deep expertise in AAV clinical development and manufacturing to augment Genable's great work, and expand the number of debilitating diseases of the eye that can be addressed through gene therapy. GT038 is a potential drug for the treatment of rhodopsin (RHO)-linked autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa (adRP), which affects approximately 30,000 patients around the world. The disease is an inherited retinal dystrophy that often leads to blindness. No approved pharmacologic treatment for adRP currently exists. GT038 has an established safety and efficacy profile for the utilization of AAV … Continue reading →

Retinitis pigmentosa is the most common inherited eye disease. Mutations in the gene for rhodopsin, the pigment for photoreceptor cells in the retina responsible for the perception of light, account for 15 percent of retinitis pigmentosa cases. CHOP spinout Spark Therapeutics, which has a late stage retinitis pigmentosa gene therapy treatment under development, is collaborating with Ireland-based biopharma company Genable Technologies, according to a company statement. The deal will focus on Genables lead therapeutic to treat rhodopsin-linked autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa, called GT038. Under the deal terms, Genable will license certain manufacturing patents from Spark. Philadelphia-based Spark will be the exclusive manufacturer of the product and provide development advice and expertise to Genable to help in its development of GT038. In exchange, Spark received an initial payment and will receive subsequent milestone payments and royalties on future sales of GT038, and near-term revenue from the manufacture and supply of the product, according to the statement. In response to emailed questions a spokeswoman for Spark Therapeutics said: Generally, the company recognizes that there are a significant number of severe genetic diseases without effective treatments in therapeutic areas where it has significant expertise (for example, inherited blindness, hematologic disorders, neurodegenerative diseases), and … Continue reading →

Wednesday, March 26 12:07:25 Genable Technologies, the venture-capital-backed Dublin-based pharma company specialising in fighting blindness, has entered in to a collaborative deal with Spark in the US to find a therapy against inherited blindness. They both announced today that they have entered into a collaboration agreement for Genable's lead therapeutic to treat rhodopsin-linked autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa (RHO adRP), GT038. Under the terms of the collaboration, Genable will license certain adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector manufacturing patents from Spark. The parties have entered into a broad agreement in which Spark will be the exclusive manufacturer of the product and provide development advice and expertise to Genable to help in the ongoing development of GT038. Spark will receive milestone payments and royalties on future sales of GT038, as well as near-term revenue from the manufacture and supply of product. "We are excited to apply our deep expertise in AAV clinical development and manufacturing to augment Genable's great work, and expand the number of debilitating diseases of the eye that can be addressed through gene therapy," said Jeffrey D. Marrazzo, Spark Therapeutics co-founder, president and CEO. Dr. Jason Loveridge, CEO of Genable Technologies commented, "We have chosen Spark as our partner to advise, … Continue reading →