Fovea and Genzyme establish R&D accord

French drug discovery and development company Fovea Pharmaceuticals and US biotechnology major Genzyme have entered into a research agreement, which will see the firms collaborate on the identification of new targets involved in the photoreceptor degradation associated with retinal dystrophies. The partnership, financial terms of which were not disclosed, will utilize Paris-headquartered Fovea's proprietary high content technology platform to select targets for the development of novel gene therapies.

The US Foundation Fighting Blindness says that photoreceptor degradation is the ultimate cause of irreversible blindness associated with major retinal diseases, including both rare inherited conditions like Retinitis Pigmentosa as well as more common disorders like dry age-related macular degeneration.