A Florida based clinical stage biotechnology company – Applied Genetic Technologies Corporation (AGTC) has announced the receipt of $1.5M in funding from the US Foundation Fighting Blindness (FFB). The investment will be used by the company to advance a pre-clinical trial in animal models of a gene therapy strategy to deliver a sustainable treatment for patients with X-Linked retinoschisis (XLRS). The proposed pre-clinical study will be designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of a gene therapy treatment for the disease, estimated to affect over 35,000 patients in the US and Europe. The company will co-ordinate the research in collaboration with Dr. David Wilson at the Oregon Health & Science University Casey Eye Institute and Dr. William Hauswirth at the University of Florida.