Foundation Fighting Blindness Launches Translational Research Acceleration Program for Sight-Saving Therapies

Accepting grant applications for advancing retinal degeneration treatments toward human studies

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Jul 22, 2020, 07:00 ET

COLUMBIA, Md., July 22, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Foundation Fighting Blindness, the world's leading organization searching for treatments and cures for inherited retinal diseases, is launching a new Translational Research Acceleration Program (TRAP) to help advance vision-saving research toward the clinical usage.

The Foundation is accepting applications for retinal degeneration treatment approaches, including but not limited to: genetic therapies, regenerative treatments, and novel medical therapies. There are a variety of TRAP grant mechanisms that can provide up to $1.5 million in funding over three years.

"We are at a very promising juncture in retinal degeneration therapy development with about 40 clinical trials underway for sight-saving therapies, but we also have dozens of more emerging therapies in preclinical development with strong clinical potential," says Benjamin Yerxa, PhD, chief executive officer at the Foundation Fighting Blindness. "TRAP provides significant funding and strong clinical development expertise to help researchers work toward submission of Investigational New Drug applications for their emerging therapies."

TRAP brings a proactive program management structure and a hands-on advisory committee with expertise in: (1) drug development, (2) clinical trials, (3) business and commercialization, (4) regulatory guidance, (5) intellectual property, and (6) partnerships catalyzing the movement of technology into clinical use.

Since 2008, TRAP has provided $41.5 million in funding for translational research efforts.

To apply for a TRAP grant, go to the Foundation Fighting Blindness' website for key information and application instructions. Questions may be directed to the Director of the Preclinical Translational Research Program at [email protected].

A Proposer's Day will be held on August 3, 2020, at 1 p.m. ET via ZOOM to review the program and answer questions. For registration, go to bit.ly/3hlzlK1.

About the Foundation Fighting Blindness
Established in 1971, the Foundation Fighting Blindness is the world's leading private funding source for retinal degenerative disease research. The Foundation has raised more than $760 million toward its mission of accelerating research for preventing, treating, and curing blindness caused by the entire spectrum of retinal degenerative diseases, including: retinitis pigmentosa, age-related macular degeneration, Usher syndrome, and Stargardt disease. Visit FightingBlindness.org for more information.

Media Contact:
Chris Adams
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SOURCE Foundation Fighting Blindness