Photoreceptor replacement: a disease-agnostic approach for the treatment of advanced retinal degeneration

Retinal dystrophies such as retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and age-related macular degeneration (AMD) affect millions of individuals worldwide and remain leading causes of irreversible blindness. Photoreceptor transplantation has emerged as a promising and disease-agnostic therapeutic approach for restoring vision in advanced degenerative retinal diseases characterised by the loss of rods and/or cones. This brief review summarises some key areas of progress and future directions for photoreceptor replacement therapy, with consideration given to translating pre-clinical findings to the clinic.