BlueRock Therapeutics and Foundation Fighting Blindness Expand Rare Eye Disease Study

BlueRock Therapeutics, a clinical-stage cell therapy company and subsidiary of Bayer AG, has partnered with the Foundation Fighting Blindness to expand the Uni-Rare natural history study for inherited retinal diseases (IRDs).

The collaboration will add a new cohort to the study, focusing on patients with IRDs caused by mutations in multiple genes. BlueRock plans to use the gathered data to support the design of future clinical trials and the development of new therapies aimed at treating blindness.

"BlueRock is developing a pipeline of cell therapies that we believe has great potential for restoring vision in people living with blindness caused by retinal disease," said Ahmed Enayetallah, Senior Vice President and Head of Development for BlueRock Therapeutics. "We are excited to be working with the team at the Foundation Fighting Blindness to expand their study."

The Uni-Rare study, launched in 2022, is a natural history study tracking approximately 1,500 individuals with over 300 rare genes associated with IRDs. The study is led by Dr. José-Alain Sahel.

BlueRock Therapeutics is advancing a pipeline of cell therapies for various diseases, including neurological, cardiovascular, immunological, and ophthalmic conditions. Their lead program for Parkinson's disease is currently in Phase I clinical trials.