A Race Against Blindness Announces $2 Million Grant to Support Sight-Saving Clinical Trial

PHOENIX, Feb. 05, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — A Race Against Blindness, a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding sight-saving therapies for children, is thrilled to announce a $2.0 million grant was awarded in December 2024 to Axovia Therapeutics to support a planned clinical trial for the company’s product candidate, AXV101, aimed at combating childhood blindness due to retinitis pigmentosa (RP) caused by Bardet-Biedl Syndrome 1 (BBS1).

With this grant, the charity contributed $3.0 million in total funding during 2024 to propel this groundbreaking program forward.

“Because of our incredible supporters, we’ve taken another huge step forward in the race against blindness. But much work remains, and continuing to advance this therapy into and through a clinical trial remains our top priority,” said Dr. Stephen Johnston, co-founder of A Race Against Blindness. “The potential of this gene therapy to address vision loss brings hope to thousands of children facing blindness due to BBS1 worldwide. However, additional funding is needed to support this program through clinical trials.”

The grant funding provided by A Race Against Blindness to Axovia Therapeutics has enabled significant progress in nearing the anticipated Clinical Trial Application (CTA) submission, which if cleared, would allow the company to begin a clinical trial in the UK in mid-2025. The funding supported advancing manufacturing, GLP toxicology studies and interactions with the UK regulatory agency and will ultimately support the planned clinical trial.

Dr. Stephen Johnston and Kristina Johnston founded A Race Against Blindness after their son was diagnosed with progressive vision loss due to RP/BBS1. Due to the progressive nature of the condition, it truly is a race against blindness for all facing this condition.

To learn more about A Race Against Blindness and how you can contribute to sight-saving research, visit www.ARaceAgainstBlindness.org.

Media Contact:
Stephen Johnston, MD, MBA, Co-Founder and President
Steve@ARaceAgainstBlindness.org
(520) 548-1807