Kiora Pharmaceuticals has received authorization to test a drug initially developed by Professor of Neuroscience Richard Kramer in a phase 2 clinical trial in Australia. The drug, known as KIO-301, is a photoswitch molecule designed to restore some vision to people with advanced retinal diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa (RP). It works by enabling retinal ganglion cells to respond to light directly, thereby bypassing the photoreceptor cells that are lost in people with RP.
The phase 2 clinical trial will enroll 36 patients with severe vision loss due to advanced RP, and is expected to begin in 2025. Because the drug is designed to work regardless of the mutated gene causing the retinal disease, Kiora believes that KIO-301 may also restore vision in people with other retinal diseases.
The clinical development of KIO-301 was made possible through funding from the Foundation Fighting Blindness through its Translational Research Acceleration Program and a Gund Harrington Scholar Award to Richard Kramer.
Read more from the Foundation Fighting Blindness: Kiora Receives Authorization for Phase 2 Clinical Trial of its Photoswitch for Advanced RP
