Research Impact 

  • 3 patents on the cellular reprogramming technologies developed in this project, led to the reprogrammimg of the stem cells within the retina (the Muller glia) to regenerate retinal neurons.
  • To further develop this into a novel gene therapy, a spin off biotech start-up company, Mirugen, was established to commercialise and translate the research to the clinic.
    • Mirugen is focused on developing a gene therapy to stimulate retinal regeneration to treat vision loss in blind patients.
    • As a spin-out company from the Centre for Eye Research Australia, Mirugen has raised approximately $7M of funding to date, including support from Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF)’s national biotech incubator programs CUREator and CUREator+, as well as additional commercial investments.

The gene therapy work has received significant media attention, and the team has also presented its work in research seminars, national and international meetings including most recently:

  • 2025 – Radio interview with 2RPH radio – an Australian radio station for those with reading difficulties
  • 2025 – News coverage for gene therapy work: Mivision the ophthalmic journal – ‘Grant for CERA start-up aiming to switch on sight’; Eyesmart news – ‘Australian Startup Mirugen Secures Grant to Advance Gene Therapy for Vision Restoration’; Retina UK – ‘Mirugen – Unlocking the Power of Retina Regeneration’; Insight news – ‘Funding boost for Aussie gene therapy start-up aiming to reverse eye damage’
  • 2024 – Inspiring Leaders Seminar Series, Flinders University, Australia
  • 2024 – St Vincent’s Institute seminar series, St Vincent’s Institute of Medical Research
  • 2022 – Research seminar, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Bonn, Germany
  • 2022 – Research seminar, Save Sight Institute, Sydney Eye Hospital, Australia
  • 2022 – ACMD link seminar, Aikenhead Centre for Medical Discovery, Australia
  • 2021 – Research seminar, National Stem Cell Conversations, Australian Society of Stem Cell Research

Funding Leverage 

  • Following the award of the Retina Australia grant, the cell reprogramming project was subsequently awarded:
    • a NHMRC ideas grant ($979,264)
    • MRFF Stem Cell Therapies Mission grant ($587,569) and a
    • National Stem Cell Foundation of Australia ($100,000)
  • The spin-off Mirugen was awarded the MRFF CUREator grant ($500,000) and the MRFF CUREator+ grant ($1.92M), as well as commercial investment to further advance our pre-clinical development program.
  • In addition, Associate Professor Wong and team’s findings enabled initiation of new cell reprogramming projects to treat retinal degeneration, which was awarded funding from the CASS Foundation ($62,000) and collaborative fundings with Japan (RIKEN, $119,180) and Germany (University of Bonn, $290,200).
     

Associate Professor Wong comments:

“The project has been a big success and we were awarded a total of >$4.5M competitive funding following the Retina Australia grant – the Retina Australia grant has certainly contributed significantly to our journey to develop this novel retinal gene therapy to treat retinitis pigmentosa!”