Restoring Vision in Inherited Retinal Disease

Inherited retinal diseases are a group of genetic conditions that cause progressive and severe vision loss, such as retinitis pigmentosa, choroideremia, and Stargardt disease. Though they vary in terms of their genetic drivers, they are characterized by degeneration of photoreceptor cells in the retina. Collectively, inherited retinal diseases affect more than 2 million people around the world and are largely without reliable treatment options. Kiora Pharmaceuticals is developing a new class of therapies that can restore vision in these conditions by targeting retinal ganglion cells and enabling them to become light sensing to compensate for the degeneration of rods and cones in the eye. We spoke to Brian Strem, CEO of Kiora Pharmaceuticals, about inherited retinal diseases, how Kiora’s experimental therapy works to treat these conditions, and a recent collaboration that will help drive clinical development of its lead experimental therapy.