Stem Cell Therapy for Macular Degeneration: Current Insights and Future Prospects

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a highly prevalent eye disorder characterized by dysfunction or death of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells in the macula region. RPE loss leads to a loss of photoreceptor cells and permanent loss of central vision.

The emergence of cell therapy technologies has shown great promise for developing targeted AMD therapies. These approaches involve RPE transplantation into a patient’s eye to maintain vision by preventing the loss of photoreceptor cells.

Cell based AMD therapies have been evaluated in phase I and phase II trials, but larger trials will require even greater quantities of RPE cells. Animal-free differentiation and expansion protocols using GMP media, proteins, and small molecules will support more robust manufacturing processes.

Download your copy of this white paper to learn about:

• AMD incidence, pathology and clinical trial status
• Stem-cell based approaches to treating AMD
• Animal-free/xeno-free RPE cell culture and the need for robust GMP-compliant ex vivo differentiation protocols
• Challenges of manufacturing therapeutic quantities of RPE cells