Eyestem to start first trial in India to treat age-related blindness

The first nine patients that they will inject would be legally blind, as they have to prove safety first

Soon, people with dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD) — the largest cause of incurable blindness in people above 60 years — may have a second chance some ray of hope if the investigational cell therapy product Eyecyte-RPE of Bengaluru based start-up Eyestem clears clinical trials.

Currently, there is no cure for dry AMD.

Eyestem, which has recently raised Rs 51 crore in a series A round led by three pharma firms — Alkem, Natco and Biological E — is now looking to start a phase 2a/2b clinical trial for its experimental ophthalmology product by the first half of next year.