The FDA has granted orphan drug designation for chemically induced photoreceptor-like cells to treat retinitis pigmentosa, according to a press release from CiRC Biosciences.
The technology “enables direct chemical transdifferentiation of fibroblasts into other cell types using a cocktail of small molecules in a chemical conversion process that takes less than 2 weeks,” the release said.
A study conducted in an animal model of retinitis pigmentosa found that chemically induced photoreceptor-like cells led “to partial restoration of the pupil reflex and visual function,”
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