Visum sees the light

Researchers at Case Western Reserve University have identified 16 approved drugs that could help treat Stargardt's disease and dry age-related macular degeneration by preventing the toxic buildup of visual cycle byproducts.¹ Visum Therapeutics Inc. has licensed the findings and has variants of the drugs in preclinical development.

The visual cycle is a metabolic process in the retina required for vision, but aberrant accumulation of toxic byproducts produced by the cycle can cause cellular damage. Stargardt's disease is a heritable genetic disorder of the visual cycle that affects about 1 in 10,000 people. Patients are highly susceptible to light and glare and develop severely impaired vision and blindness as they age...