INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION TO FIND A CURE FOR CHOROIDEREMIA A RARE INHERITED RETINAL DISEASE THAT CAUSES BLINDNESS

Choroideremia Research Foundations in Canada and the United States partner on innovative research initiative to accelerate research progress

SPRINGFIELD, MA, UNITED STATES, March 15, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ — The Choroideremia Research Foundation (CRF) in partnership with the Choroideremia Research Foundation Canada (CRFC) is excited to announce the first-ever international competition to develop a treatment, therapy, or cure for choroideremia (CHM). The winner will be recognized with the generous support of the Throssell and Hillier Families Research Award.

David Throssell, who has choroideremia, and his family have supported vision research over many years through donations to the CRFC and other likeminded vision organizations. The Hillier family, also affected by choroideremia, have been deeply involved with the CRFC since its formation in 2004. Both families are excited by the progress that has been made to create a better understanding of the disease and look forward to the day that it will be cured.

The CRF—CRFC invite qualified investigators to submit Expressions of Interest (EOI’s) from the global community of institutions, researchers, and industry. Research focused on any appropriate technology, such as gene replacement, stem cell, editing and pharmacological, is acceptable. However, increased consideration will be given to treatments or approaches that address “stop codon” or “nonsense mutations.” Proposals addressing the “Lett” variant (STOP in exon 9) studied in Eastern Ontario, Canada, and originating in Ireland, will be given priority consideration.

EOI Content: Applicants should sufficiently describe their research hypothesis to allow reviewers to evaluate its feasibility and potential success. The EOI should be 1 to 3 pages in length. The principal investigator should also include h/her CV. Submissions may include multiple stages extending longer than one year.

Evaluation Criteria for EOI: The Scientific Advisory Board of the CRF will review and evaluate all EOI submissions on the potential to yield successful outcomes and the capability of the researcher to achieve established goals. Applicants whose EOI is deemed sufficiently promising will be invited to submit a formal proposal.

Funding Limit: The CRF—CRFC welcome EOIs in the $50,000 to $300,000 (Canadian dollars) range.

Submitting EOI: Applications should be emailed to Kathi Wagner, Executive Director, Choroideremia Research Foundation ([email protected]) by April 30, 2022. In your application, please refer to the Throssell and Hillier Families Research Award.

“We look forward to collaborating with the CRFC with whom the CRF has a long and supportive relationship.” said Neal Bench, CRF board president. “Our two foundations have jointly funded nine international studies in our shared goal to find a treatment for this incurable retinal disease that may lead to blindness.”

Please visit the CRF website (curechm.org) and CRFC (curechm.ca) websites for more information about the organizations, research studies they fund, and communities of patients and families they support with information and resources.

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About Choroideremia
Choroideremia (CHM) is a rare inherited form of blindness affecting approximately 1 in 50,000 people. Due to its x-linked inheritance pattern males are most severely affected with females usually experiencing much milder visual impairment. Symptoms begin in early childhood with night blindness and restriction of visual field being the earliest noticeable effects and may eventually progress to complete blindness. An estimated 6,000 people in the United States and 10,000 in the European Union are impacted by choroideremia. There are currently no approved treatments for choroideremia. For more information, visit curechm.org/#choroideremia

About the Choroideremia Research Foundation Inc.
The Choroideremia Research Foundation was founded in 2000 as an international fundraising and patient advocacy organization to stimulate research on CHM. Since its inception, the CRF has provided over $.5 million in research awards and is the largest financial supporter of CHM research worldwide. Research funded by the CRF has led to the development of a CHM animal model, the pre-clinical production of gene therapy vectors currently in clinical trials, and the CRF Biobank which stores tissue and stem cell samples donated by CHM patients. For more information, visit curechm.org

About the Choroideremia Research Foundation Canada Inc.
The Chorioderemia Research Foundation Canada was created in August 2004 and granted charitable status the same year. It was created to support the choroideremia community in Canada and be a source for information and raising funds for research. The organization has raised and awarded over $350,000 to scientists towards choroideremia-specific research. The foundation’s overhead is low as all positions are unpaid and staffed completely by volunteers. The CRFC President currently sits as a Board member on the Choroideremia Research Foundation in the United States along with other international representatives. For more information visit curechm.ca

Kathleen Wagner
Choroideremia Research Foundation
+1 800-210-0233
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