NEW YORK — For only the second time, the U.S. government has approved a test in people of a treatment using embryonic stem cells — this time for a rare disease that causes serious vision loss.
Advanced Cell Technology, a biotechnology company based in Santa Monica., Calif., said the research should begin early next year, following the green light from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
ACT’s experiment will focus on Stargardt disease, which affects about 30,000 Americans. The company hopes the same approach will work for similar and more common eye disorders such as age-related macular degeneration, which affects millions.
Last month, biotech company Geron Corp. said it had begun preliminary testing in people for treating spinal cord injuries by injecting cells derived from embryonic stem cells.
