Verana Health and Nanoscope Therapeutics to advance retinitis pigmentosa research with real-world data in new partnership

Verana Health and Nanoscope Therapeutics have announced a strategic collaboration to accelerate research on the rare eye disease retinitis pigmentosa (RP) using real-world data (RWD). Leveraging Verana’s proprietary Qdata® and Nanoscope’s expertise in gene therapy, the partnership aims to enhance insights into disease progression and treatment efficacy, advancing therapeutic development for RP patients.

Retinitis pigmentosa is a rare inherited retinal disease affecting approximately 100,000 people in the US. To support research and treatment development, the collaboration will leverage data from more than 70,000 de-identified patients with RP. This includes advancing Nanoscope Therapeutics' optogenetic gene therapy, MCO-010, which has completed Phase 2 trials for RP and Stargardt disease, and is set to enter Phase 3 in 2025. Nanoscope also plans to submit a Biologics License Application (BLA) for RP in early 2025, with MCO-010 receiving FDA Fast Track and orphan drug designations for both conditions.

As part of this effort, Nanoscope Therapeutics will utilize Verana Health’s Qdata® Retinitis Pigmentosa, a research-ready, real-world dataset designed to analyze RP patients and track their clinical outcomes. By extracting insights from unstructured and semi-structured electronic health records (EHRs), Qdata® provides a more comprehensive view of disease progression. Key variables, such as visual acuity and central subfield thickness, enable more precise classification of patient cohorts beyond standard ICD or SNOMED codes. These insights will not only support research but also aid in the commercialization of MCO-010.

“Access to robust data is essential for advancing our gene therapy programs,” said Sulagna Bhattacharya, CEO of Nanoscope Therapeutics. “Verana Health’s Qdata Retinitis Pigmentosa offers valuable insights into disease progression, patient demographics, and treatment outcomes, enabling us to refine our clinical development strategies. This collaboration enhances our ability to create effective and accessible treatments for patients with RP.”

Verana Health has access to the largest specialty society clinical data registry in medicine through its exclusive partnership with the American Academy of Ophthalmology Intelligent Research in Sight (IRIS®) Registry. Using ophthalmology data combined with deep clinical expertise and advanced AI and machine learning technologies, Verana Health extracts key terms and phrases from clinical notes in EHRs to identify RP patient populations more accurately.

Sujay Jadhav, CEO of Verana Health stated:

“Our collaboration underscores how data-driven insights can provide a detailed understanding of patient outcomes and advance the development of new treatments for inherited retinal diseases.”