U.K. drug maker AstraZeneca PLC (AZN.LN) Monday said it teamed up with University College London to develop treatments for eye disease using stem cells.
The company said scientists at the university’s Institute of Opthalmology will work with AstraZeneca to develop new medicines for treating diabetic retinopathy, a complication of diabetes and one of the leading causes of vision loss in developed countries.
The three-year collaboration will focus on the potential regenerative properties of stem cells, the body’s master cells.
Marcus Fruttiger, of the Institute of Opthalmology and leader of the project, said stem cells could allow the development of new therapeutic tools to either create new tissue that could be transplanted into patients with diabetic retinopathy or to stimulate the growth of new cells directly.