The cryopreserved formulation of a therapeutic candidate for retinitis pigmentosa (RP), based on
human retinal progenitor cell (hRPC), has been approved by the FDA.
Dissecting cell cycle events and their links to cytoskeletal dynamics in retinal progenitor cells
But it was another three decades before Klassen — who has
used retinal progenitor cells to restore vision in mice, cats, dogs and pigs — could conduct human trials involving retinitis pigmentosa.
Pluripotent colonies first emerged after 20 days, and to
derive retinal progenitor cells (RPCs), the researchers then differentiated iPSCs as embryoid bodies (EBs) in neuronal induction medium containing Noggin to produce cells which expressed neuroectodermal progenitor markers (Nestin and Musashi) and the pro ‐ neural transcription factor Mash1.
Instead of starting with embryonic stem cells, as Astellas does, several other research groups are working
with retinal progenitor cells found in the eye.
These results suggest the fate of pluripotent cells may be purposely altered to generate
multipotent retinal progenitor cells, which differentiate into functional retinal cell classes and form a neural circuitry sufficient for vision.
In June 2015, she became the first patient in North America to receive an eye injection of about half a million
retinal progenitor cells.
ReNeuron Group plc (UK) has received a new # 1.5 million grant from Innovate UK to advance development of its human
retinal progenitor cell (hRPC) candidate for retinitis pigmentosa, currently being tested in a US Phase I / II trial.