
Astellas Pharma Inc. and University of Pittsburgh have entered into a research collaboration agreement focused on the discovery and optimization of clinical candidates for the treatment of dry age-related macular degeneration (dry AMD), a back-of-the-eye disease, utilizing the AAV-based gene therapy approach. Among back-of-the-eye diseases, age-related macular degeneration is one of the leading causes of acquired blindness in the elderly. Dry AMD, in particular, is a disease in which retinal pigment epithelial cells gradually degenerate in the macula of the retina, and visual acuity deteriorates significantly as the disease advances to a severe stage. However, the mechanism leading to such