In 2015, Avalanche Biotechnologies, Inc., announced a partnership with the University of Washington in Seattle to develop genetically based treatments for color blindness. Using its proprietary platform, Ocular BioFactory, the Bay Area company collaborated with the university to explore innovations in the treatment of red-green color blindness, often categorized as CVD, or color vision deficiency.
To further the project, two color vision experts from the university were scheduled to join the company’s scientific advisory panel. Avalanche also established a public education website, ColorVisionAwareness.com. The academic-corporate partnership sought to expand on UW research on gene therapies for color blindness, already detailed in a peer-reviewed article in the scientific publication Nature.
About 10 million Americans are affected by color blindness, with males far outnumbering females. In fact, about 8 percent of males exhibit some form of color vision deficiency. Avalanche’s innovative BioFactory technology makes it possible to specifically target the human retina to deliver genetically modified virus components, which offer the opportunity to pioneer in the treatment of color blindness and other ophthalmologic conditions.
