Neurotech Pharmacueticals Inc., (Rhode Island, USA) have reported that their intraocular implantable capsule, which delivers ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) to the back of the eye, has provided statistically significant preservation of photoreceptors in 3 patients. The phase 2 clinical study with the company’s product candidate, NT501, was evaluated at baseline, 3, 6, 12, 18 and 24 months following surgical implantation. Evaluation using advanced optics scanning laser ophthalmoscopy (AOSLO) showed that untreated controls had a 2.9% increase in cone spacing and a 9.1% decrease in cone density. Commenting on the results, Dr. Jacque Duncan, Professor of Clinical Ophthalmology, University of California, San Francisco and lead clinical researcher on the trial, stated, “we are extremely encouraged by the photoreceptor preserving effect of NT-501 seen in this study as well as the usefulness of AOSLO as a diagnostic tool for retinitis pigmentosa progression. Larger studies using AOSLO are urgently needed to confirm the photoreceptor protective effect of NT-501 treatment in patients with retinal degeneration.”