Overview
- Life Biosciences announced it dosed the first participant in its ER-100 clinical trial on Tuesday, June 9, marking the first human test of a therapy intended to reverse cellular ageing in eye neurons.
- The treatment uses a gene-delivery virus that is designed to be switched on only when patients take the antibiotic doxycycline so the therapy’s activity can be controlled during a planned treatment window.
- The trial targets retinal ganglion neurons damaged in a form of glaucoma with the goal of regenerating optic-nerve connections that do not normally regrow in adults.
- Preclinical work includes a 2020 study from David Sinclair’s lab showing three-gene activation restored vision in mice and company-led rodent and nonhuman-primate studies that the sponsor says showed efficacy signals and no serious adverse events.
- Researchers stress that safety is the trial’s primary question because partial reprogramming can, in principle, trigger uncontrolled growth or other harms, so investigators and regulators will closely monitor participants before any broader use is considered.