Gene Therapy in an Implant: Neurotech Lands First FDA Approval in Rare Vision Disorder

MedCity News March 9, 2025
Frank Vinluan

Neurotech Pharmaceuticals’ surgically implanted cell and gene therapy, Encelto, is now FDA approved to treat macular telangectasia type 2 (MacTel). It’s the first therapy for this rare retinal degeneration disorder.

Protein therapies for the eye must be dosed as frequent injections. Gene therapy offers one-time treatment, but must also be administered by injection. Neurotech Pharmaceuticals’ gene therapy comes in a surgical implant, and it’s now the first FDA-approved treatment for a rare vision-loss disorder.

The approval handed out on March 5 covers the treatment of macular telangectasia type 2 (MacTel) in adults. The Neurotech therapy, known in development as revakinagene taroretcel, will be marketed under the brand name Encelto.

There are two types of MacTel. In type 2, tiny blood...

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