Gene-based drug to treat blindness registered
Move in line with WHO guidelines
Dubai: Luxturna, an innovative gene-based medicine for the treatment of blindness caused by inherited retinal disease, has now been registered, according to Dr Mohammad Salim Al Olama, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) and Vice-Chairman of the Higher Committee for Drug Pricing and Registration.
The registration comes as part of the ministry’s innovative mechanism for its accelerators to evaluate and approve the world’s breakthrough drugs in accordance with the Fast Track / Accelerate Process system.
Al Olama stated that it is in line with the Ministerial Decree No. 28/2018 which outlines the mechanism for registering breakthrough and rare medicines. “It’s also part of the UAE’s ongoing support for the global initiative ‘Vision 2020: The Right to Sight’ launched by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to eliminate avoidable blindness by the year 2020,” he added.