NEWS

Professor Baratz serves as a distinguished professor of ophthalmology at the Mayo Clinic, one of the leading medical institutions in the United States. Specializing in corneal diseases, he has performed numerous ophthalmic surgeries, including corneal transplants. His groundbreaking research includes findings that the SNP in the TCF4 gene is associated with Fuchs corneal endothelial dystrophy, which accounts for approximately 40% of corneal transplantation cases in the world¹. Furthermore, he discovered that a trinucleotide repeat sequence expansion in the TCF4 gene is present in about 80% of patients with the disease², which has greatly influenced the understanding of the disease’s mechanism and the development of treatments.

Professor Baratz’s role as an advisor to our company is pivotal. His expertise and insights will be instrumental in the development of treatments for Fuchs’ endothelial dystrophy and products related to corneal endothelial regeneration.

1. Baratz KH, Tosakulwong N, Ryu E, et al. E2-2 protein and Fuchs’s corneal dystrophy. N Engl J Med 2010;363:1016-1024.
2. Wieben ED, Aleff RA, Tosakulwong N, et al. A common trinucleotide repeat expansion within the transcription factor 4 (TCF4, E2-2) gene predicts Fuchs corneal dystrophy. PloS one 2012;7:e49083.