Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. (OTCBB: ACTC), a specialized biotechnology company based in Santa Monica, California, has announced receipt of approval from the UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to initiate a Phase I/II trial using retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) derived from human embryonic stem cells. The therapeutic strategy is aimed at using the RPE cells to treat Stargardt’s macular dystrophy, reported to be the most common type of hereditary macular dystrophy with an estimated incidence of 1 in 10,000. A similar Phase I/II trial for the treatment of Stargardt’s was in initiated by the same company in the US in July 2011.