Gene Therapy, the Future of Eye Care?

Guest: Courtney Crawford, MD, FACS Guest: Raj Maturi, MD While anti-VEGF therapy can deliver vision gains with consistent, frequent injections in clinical trials, it may be challenging to sustain this in real-world practice.1 Ocular gene therapy could be a potential option for patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration if approved. With this approach, transgenes are delivered to the eye by adeno-associated viruses (AAVs).2-4 Learn more with Drs. Courtney Crawford and Raj Maturi, who shared their perspectives on investigational gene therapy, patient conversations, and surgical considerations at the 2025 American Academy of Ophthalmology annual meeting in Orlando, Florida. Dr. Crawford is a board-certified retina specialist and founder of Star Retina in Burleson, Texas. He previously served for 10 years as a physician in the U.S. Army, where he attained the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Dr. Maturi is a board-certified retina specialist at the Midwest Eye Institute and founder of Retina Partners Midwest in Carmel, Indiana, where he focuses on macular, retina, and vitreous care. References: Weng CY, Singh RP, Gillies MC, Regillo CD. Optimizing visual outcomes in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration: the potential value of sustained anti-VEGF therapy. Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging Retina. 2023;54:654–659. Petrich J, Marchese D, Jenkins C, Storey M, Blind J. …