The following transcript has been edited for clarity. 

This is Jordi Monés, MD, PhD, a retina and macula specialist from Barcelona. We are here in Montreal presenting at the American Society of Retina Specialists. I had the pleasure to present the basics of the use of optogenetic therapy using sonpiretigene isteparvovec (MCO-010; Nanoscope Therapeutics) for age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

We’ve had beautiful positive results of meaningful, significant, and durable benefit in visual acuity in patients legally blind with retinitis pigmentosa (RP). It’s also been used in Stargardt disease, with improvements in vision, especially in patients with the macular phenotype, as well as some improvement in visual fields. And overall, the safety profile is very good, both in RP patients and Stargardt patients.

In addition to that, there’s been a new model in nonhuman primates, a new model of geographic atrophy (GA), with selective damage of the [outer retinal] layers. And sonpiretigene isteparvovec was capable of transfecting 70% of the inner layers, improving visual function measured by multifocal electroretinography (ERG).

So everything leads to go to GA. Very soon, clinical trials will be started for GA because we think that the chances of improving vision in those patients, especially in advanced long-lasting cases, is very likely. So we are quite excited about using optogenetics with sonpiretigene isteparvovec in GA patients. RP