Viral vectors with RDH12 coding regions for treating retinal dystrophies

The USPTO issued Patent US12589136B2 granting exclusive rights to The Regents of the University of Michigan for compositions and methods involving viral vectors with expressible RDH12 coding regions. The patent specifically covers nucleic acids encoding human Retinol Dehydrogenase 12 and viral vectors (CPC: C12N 15/86) for delivering such sequences to treat ophthalmological diseases resulting from RDH12 loss-of-function mutations, including Leber Congenital Amaurosis (A61P 27/02). The application (No. 17818623) was filed August 9, 2022, and contains 12 claims.

Entities engaged in gene therapy research or development of treatments for inherited retinal dystrophies should conduct freedom-to-operate analyses before commercializing similar RDH12-based therapies. Academic institutions and biotech companies working in ocular gene therapy should review this patent portfolio to identify potential licensing needs or design-around strategies. The patent does not impose compliance deadlines but establishes intellectual property rights that may affect competitive positioning in the ophthalmology and rare disease treatment spaces.