Limbal Stem Cell Deficiency
Severe ocular surface disease can result in limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD), a condition leading to decreased visual acuity, photophobia, and ocular pain.
1100
NEW CASES ANNUALLY IN THE US
11,000
PATIENTS IN NEED OF TREATMENT IN THE US
0
APPROVED STEM CELL THERAPIES IN THE US
Standard of Care
Large tissue segments from patient’s healthy eye is transplanted to diseased eye
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Risk to healthier donor eye
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>25% graft failure
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Procedure cannot be repeated
Solution: Tissue Engineered Grafts
Use of limbal stem cells to heal the corneal surface after injury or disease. A small biopsy is taken from the individual patient’s healthier eye, and limbal stem cells from that sample are expanded into a full-sized graft. This approach poses minimal risk to the donor eye, and it offers the possibility repeating the procedure in case of graft failure. In addition, the use of autologous tissue circumvents any issues of immunogenicity and graft rejection.
LSCD Patient
Small tissue biopsy from patient’s healthy eye
Cell dissociation
& expansion
Cells seeded
onto substrate
Implantation of
cells into patient’s
diseased eye
Competitive Advantages
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Fully enrolled, March 2023 Study Completion
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4-year head start over nearest direct competitor
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Manufactured without feeder cells
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Antibiotic-free and serum-free process:
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Functional readouts developed
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Safe and reliable products
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Compatible with FDA guidelines
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Major reduction in risk to donor eye
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Graft repeatability
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No issues with immunogenicity from autologous products
