Diana Davis Spencer Foundation Pledges $5M to Foundation Fighting Blindness for Inherited Retinal Disease Research

Commitment to expand translational research acceleration program and fund career development award.

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Jan 27, 2022, 07:30 ET

COLUMBIA, Md., Jan. 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Foundation Fighting Blindness, the world's leading organization committed to finding treatments and cures for blinding retinal diseases, has announced the launch of the Diana Davis Spencer Foundation Enhanced Translational Research Acceleration Program. This Program is designed to accelerate the progress of particularly promising preclinical research toward an Investigational New Drug filing that can lead to follow-on investment and clinical trials — providing a robust and diverse pipeline of potential therapies to fight inherited retinal degenerative diseases.

"We are honored by the Diana Davis Spencer Foundation's relentless commitment to supporting the mission of the Foundation Fighting Blindness to find treatments and cures for inherited retinal diseases," said Benjamin Yerxa, PhD, chief executive officer, Foundation Fighting Blindness. "This level of investment drives the acceleration of the very best researchers in the retinal field."

In addition, the Foundation Fighting Blindness will develop the Diana Davis Spencer Foundation Career Development Award to provide financial support and protected time to conduct clinical research to individuals with MD or MD/PhD degrees. This contribution will facilitate advances in laboratory and clinical research and ultimately lead to a clinical research career in the field of retinal diseases. Research projects and clinical training activities will focus on inherited retinal degenerative diseases.

"We're thrilled to continue our longstanding support for the Foundation Fighting Blindness," said Abby Moffat, president and CEO of the Diana Davis Spencer Foundation. "We are proud of their half-century commitment as leaders in retinal research and look forward to the day these diseases are eradicated."

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 $856 million toward its mission of accelerating research for preventing, treating, and curing blindness caused by the entire spectrum of blinding retinal diseases including: retinitis pigmentosa, macular degeneration, and Usher syndrome. Visit FightingBlindness.org for more information.

About the Diana Davis Spencer Foundation
The Diana Davis Spencer Foundation espouses the values upon which our nation was founded: freedom and individual responsibility. The mission of the foundation is to promote national security, entrepreneurship, self-reliance, free enterprise, and to enhance quality of life by supporting the arts, education, global understanding, health advancements, and preservation of the environment. Visit DDSFoundation.org.

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SOURCE Foundation Fighting Blindness