Frontera Therapeutics doses first patient in a trial of FT-002 gene therapy for treatment of X-Linked retinitis pigmentosa

FT-002 is an intraocular injection of recombinant AAV virus carrying the gene that expresses active functional proteins and repairs damaged retinal cell structure and function.

Frontera Therapeutics today announced that it has dosed the first patient in a clinical trial of its gene therapy product, FT-002.

According to the company, FT-002 is being studied for the treatment of X-linked retinitis pigmentosa (XLRP) and is Frontera’s third gene therapy product candidate to enter the clinic.

"I am very pleased with our speed of execution and the rapid buildup of our medical and clinical operations capabilities. As a company, we now have three gene therapy clinical studies running in parallel,” said Xinyan Li, PhD, president and chief medical officer of Frontera.

Moreover, Yong Dai, Ph.D., founder and CEO of Frontera Therapeutics, noted in a news release that FT-002 was manufactured entirely in-house and administered to the first patient as a first-in-class product, again validating the maturity and advancement of the company's AAV R&D platform technology.

“Driven by our mission to develop novel and best-in-class gene therapies, the Frontera team accelerated the R&D process to enable FT-002 to enter the clinic smoothly, and we believe FT-002 could greatly improve the quality of life for XLRP patients for whom there are currently no effective treatments,” Dai said in a statement. “This year, the company expects to advance additional product candidates into preclinical and clinical studies, which we believe may provide more patients with curative opportunities.”

According to the company, T-002 is a recombinant adeno-associated virus gene therapy drug intended to treat patients with X-linked retinitis pigmentosa (XLRP) caused by RPGR gene mutation. There is no treatment for this disease globally.

The company also noted that FT-002 is an intraocular injection of recombinant AAV virus carrying the gene that expresses active functional proteins and repairs damaged retinal cell structure and function. One injection can effectively delay disease progression or restore the patient's visual function. FT-002 is the first AAV gene therapy drug to be tested in XLRP patients in China and is also a potential first-in-class drug.