Novartis acquires optogenetics start-up

Abstract

Novartis has acquired the small Swiss start-up Arctos Medical, which is developing optogenetic gene therapies to treat blindness. The therapies deliver into the eye a gene for a light-sensing protein that could partially restore the ability to see, even if a person’s photoreceptors are dead. Novartis says the approach might work for many forms of genetic and age-related blindness. The company acquired another optogenetics start-up, Vedere Bio, in October 2020.