(BUSINESS WIRE)--Acucela Inc. is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on leveraging promising science in visual cycle modulation (VCM) to develop new methods for treating blinding eye diseases that affect tens of millions of people worldwide. The company’s orally-delivered VCM therapies, which selectively target cells within the retina to protect visual acuity, have the potential to be used to treat several devastating eye diseases, including dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD), for which there is currently no treatment options for patients; retinopathy of prematurity, Stargardt disease and diabetic retinopathy. ACU-4429 for dry AMD is being co-developed by Acucela and Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd in North America, and the companies are also co-developing Rebamipide for dry eye and 6566 for glaucoma in the United States. Acucela was founded by Ryo Kubota, M.D., Ph.D., a pioneer in the ophthalmology field and the discoverer of the gene that causes glaucoma.
