Thursday, August 31, 2000
Effective treatment of corneal graft rejection
The research was conducted by Prof. Friedrich Hoffmann at the Hospital Benjamin Franklin in Berlin, in cooperation with Mologen. The treatment with MIDGE® transfection vectors led to a significant delay of the rejection of transplanted corneas in mice. Transplants were performed by the ophthalmologist Dr. Er-Ping Zhang, one of the few men worldwide able to perform cornea transplantation in mice. Worldwide, about 100,000 cornea transplants are performed annually. In a number of cases, graft failure occurs due to the rejection of the donor cornea. Corneal graft rejection is the most common cause of graft failure in the late postoperative period and in the worst case can lead to blindness. The method described in the paper is covered in a filed patent application by Mologen. Applications of the method to human corneal graft rejection are under investigation. Prof. Hoffmann is a leading expert in corneal transplantation. Mologen develops technologies for genetic vaccination and gene therapy. Mologen's MIDGE® technology improves the safety and efficacy of therapeutic and preventive uses of genetic information.
For further information please contact Manuel Stern, +49 30 84 17 88 17, [email protected].
Berlin, August 31, 2000 *** |