Light-activated eye drops restore sight in blind mice
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- IBEC researchers, led by Pau Gorostiza, developed a family of light-activated drugs (prosthe6) that restored light perception in blind mice and zebrafish models of age-related macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa, without gene therapy or implants
- Prosthe6-12 and prosthe6-15, the two most promising compounds, restored vision both via injection into the eye and as topical eye drops — the latter being the headline-grabbing delivery method
- The molecules act as 'molecular prostheses' by targeting ON-bipolar neurons and the mGlu6 protein, reactivating surviving retinal circuitry under ordinary indoor or overcast illumination with no specialized light sources required
- Blind mice regained innate light-avoidance behavior after treatment, spontaneously preferring dark areas as healthy mice do, with no training required
- AMD and retinitis pigmentosa affect roughly 200 million people worldwide and carry a global economic burden exceeding US$400 billion per year in healthcare costs and lost productivity, per the source
- Findings were published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society (August 2026) by a consortium including IBEC, the University of Alcalá, IQAC-CSIC, and the University of Barcelona
- The team is now studying safety, formulation, and duration of effect, and is working with spin-off Eyelumina to secure investment for future clinical trials
Why it matters: For the roughly 200 million people with AMD or retinitis pigmentosa — and especially those with advanced degeneration who have no current treatment — a reversible, mutation-independent eye drop that reactivates surviving retinal circuitry could become a far cheaper, less invasive alternative to gene therapy or electronic prostheses; Gorostiza, however, calls clinical translation 'a long and laborious process.'
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