Replies to post #53597 on Ocata Therapeutics Inc fka OCAT

[lasers]

ACTC's Planned Combination RPE and Photoreceptor Program.

GR Commenting on the 20/400 to 20/40 patient.

Gary Rabin - Well, I don't think you can read that much into it, because I think this guy was a very unusual 20/400 candidate. You know, what happens is after the RPE cells die, the photoreceptors die. They die a very slow death. This patient, I think it's safe to say, had his photoreceptors for some reason remain dormant rather than dead for much longer than a lot of the other patients. So it was really remarkable. We don't expect to see the average patient going from blind to driver's license test. We're replacing the RPE cells. We're not replacing the infrastructure of the eye. We're replacing an important piece of the infrastructure, but we're not replacing photoreceptors. That is a potential future therapy for us with our photoreceptor progenitor cells, and it's something that is very tantalizing for us. It tells us that if we can get the healthy RPE layer to hang in there, mixed with some healthy photoreceptors, then you've really got something for these late stage patients.

So looking at combination therapy is something that's definitely interesting to us, but you've got to look at this thing holistically. We don't expect the 20/100 people to start going down to the gym and firing 3 pointers from everywhere. If we can arrest the decline in their disease and give them a little bit more visual acuity with some areas where there are chunks of dormant but not dead photoreceptors, that will be miraculous and wonderful.

http://seekingalpha.com/article/1476661-the-fast-paced-world-of-advanced-cell-technology-an-interview-with-chairman-and-ceo-gary-rabin?source=email_rt_article_title