MIAMI — Cell therapy with CNTO 2476, an adult stem cell treatment for atrophic age-related macular degeneration, is well tolerated when delivered safely into the subretinal space, a speaker told colleagues at Angiogenesis, Exudation, and Degeneration 2015. Of the 35 subjects with bilateral geographic atrophy enrolled in the study, 33 received the cells via microcatheter. “In this study, we need to do a better job with surgical delivery,” Allen C. Ho, MD, said, considering there was a 15% rate of retinal detachment with the method used. No patient had immune response, endophthalmitis, uveitis or tumor formation, however. Ho gave early efficacy results on visual acuity accrued in the phase 1/2a clinical trial, but “with caution,” because the trial was small, unmasked and not controlled. Mean visual acuity over 1 year in treated eyes improved four to five letters, whereas fellow eyes that were untreated lost approximately two letters, according to the presentation. A...