Astellas links with Harvard to discover new ophthalmic agents

Japanese drug major Astellas Pharma (TYO: 4503) has entered into a research collaboration with an investigator at Harvard Medical School, USA, aiming to establish a new treatment for ophthalmic diseases.

The accord is focused on discovering the pathologic mechanism for retinitis pigmentosa and identification of new therapeutic targets. Astellas and Harvard will work with the aim to provide a new treatment option with a view of a gene therapy, to retinitis pigmentosa patients who have difficulty maintaining good vision.

This collaborative research will be led by Constance Cepko, Professor of Genetics and of Ophthalmology at Harvard, who is also an investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and is a world-renowned authority on ophthalmology and gene therapy. Using adeno-associated virus vectors, genes that prolong vision in those who inherit retinitis pigmentosa will be identified and verified. Astellas will support the collaboration for up to three years. If the collaboration is successful in identifying genes that lead to promising treatment options for patients, Astellas will conduct further drug discovery on such promising candidates, and subsequent development and commercialization under an exclusive license from Harvard.