The following transcript has been edited for clarity.

Hello everybody. I am Jay Chhablani, MD. I am a professor of ophthalmology at the University of Pittsburgh and vice chair of clinical trials at UPMC Vision Institute. I’m here at Retina Society in Los Angeles for the 2026 meeting. I presented some of the interesting data on outer retinal structure analysis and cavitation volume in patients who participated in a clinical trial for Encelto (revakinagene taroretcel-lwey; Neurotech Pharmaceuticals), which is an approved treatment for macular telangiectasia type 2 (MacTel).

This was a post hoc analysis, and we found that ellipsoid zone loss was reduced in patients who were treated with this implant. In addition to this, we also saw that the cavitation volume remained the same or was reduced slightly in these eyes that underwent treatment.

What was more interesting is that we noted a thickening of the outer nuclear layer. That means that the outer nuclear layer thickness increased at month 24 in the group that received the implant. That also indicates reduced photoreceptor degradation, because photoreceptor cell bodies lie in the outer nuclear layer, which is what is being preserved. We also saw preservation of the ellipsoid zone, which reflects the inner segment–outer segment junction of the photoreceptors, in patients who received the implant.

Overall, it appears that we have significant benefit from this implant in regard to preserving outer retinal structure as well as preventing cavitation progression. RP