RetroSense starts pre-clinical trials, to add positions

Business is moving at RetroSense Therapeutics; the Ann Arbor-based start-up is beginning pre-clinical trials and adding to its staff.The 1.5-year-old company is developing a novel gene therapy to restore vision in retinal degenerative diseases, using technology licensed from Wayne State University. To do this, the start-up is extracting a new gene from blue-green algae that helps make cells more photo sensitive. The company plans to apply this gene to human cells to regenerate photo receptors in the retina.RetroSense Therapeutics recently received a six-figure investment from the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund, along with additional funding from outside private investors. That has allowed the company to add one job, expanding its team to three people. Another hire or two is in the works for later on in the year.The new-found capital has also allowed RetroSense Therapeutics to  begin its pre-clinical trials in earnest. The start-up hopes to finish pre-clinical work by 2013 and commercialize its technology within five years.”[The Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund money] helps us see [pre-clinical trials] all the way through,” says Sean Ainsworth, CEO of RetroSense Therapeutics. “We have been raising some additional capital.”Source: Sean Ainsworth, CEO of RetroSense TherapeuticsWriter: Jon ZemkeRead more about Metro Detroit’s growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.