RetroSense Therapeutics Selected As A Red Herring Top 100 North America Winner

ANN ARBOR, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--RetroSense Therapeutics LLC, a privately-held biopharmaceutical company, today announced that the Company has been selected as a Red Herring Top 100 North America winner, a prestigious list honoring the year’s most promising private technology ventures from the North American business region. RetroSense is developing a novel gene therapy application of optogenetics to treat retinitis pigmentosa and initiated the first clinical trial for lead product RST-001 in 2016.

“The selection of RetroSense as one of Red Herring’s Top 100 North America private technology ventures illustrates the importance of the research we have undertaken”

“The selection of RetroSense as one of Red Herring’s Top 100 North America private technology ventures illustrates the importance of the research we have undertaken,” said Sean Ainsworth, CEO of RetroSense Therapeutics. “The results of our ongoing clinical trial should provide key insights into the potential for optogenetics in vision restoration for patients suffering from retinitis pigmentosa, a debilitating condition. Using a gene therapy application of optogenetics, we hope to improve vision in individuals with currently incurable blindness.”

“In 2016, selecting the top achievers was extremely difficult,” said Alex Vieux, publisher and CEO of Red Herring. “The variety, depth, disruption and traction we saw from the early stage companies to those with significant scale made it one of the toughest vintages to judge. The North America winners are representative of the amazing ecosystem that never ceases to astound, with new and experienced entrepreneurs continuing to push the barriers of innovation. As one of the winners, RetroSense should be proud of its accomplishment under such strong competition.”

RetroSense Therapeutics is the world leader in clinical applications of optogenetics. Optogenetics refers broadly to means of conferring light sensitivity to cells that were not previously, or natively, light sensitive. By applying optogenetics to retinas in which rod and cone photoreceptors have degenerated, RetroSense is working to confer new light sensitivity to the retina, with the expectation of some degree of improved or restored vision for affected patients.

About RST-001

The Company’s Investigational New Drug (IND) application for RST-001 received clearance from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2015. The clinical trial tracker is NCT02556736. For more information on the clinical trial, please visit www.clinicaltrials.gov.

About RetroSense Therapeutics

RetroSense Therapeutics is a privately-held biotechnology company developing life-enhancing gene therapies designed to restore vision in patients suffering from blindness due to retinitis pigmentosa and advanced dry age-related macular degeneration. There are currently no FDA-approved drugs to improve or restore vision in patients with these retinal degenerative conditions. The Company's approach to using optogenetics in vision restoration is based on pioneering, proprietary research conducted at Wayne State University and Massachusetts General Hospital. RetroSense has worldwide exclusive rights to the relevant intellectual property from both institutions. RetroSense is led by a team of seasoned veterans with deep experience in taking products from the discovery stage through to the clinic. For more information about RetroSense, visit http://www.retro-sense.com/.