ScienceDaily (Feb. 2, 2008) — A new study of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a disease that affects more than nine million Americans, will pave the way for the biopharmaceutical industry to develop better treatments and cures, according to the Foundation Fighting Blindness, which partially funded the research.

"This is the first time that scientists have been able to create an AMD animal model that closely represents the disease in people," said Stephen Rose, Ph.D., Chief Research Officer, Foundation Fighting Blindness. "Though there are some treatments for the wet form of AMD, we still don't have a cure for the condition, and millions of people are still at risk of losing their vision to both the dry and wet forms. This new model will greatly enhance the development of better treatments and potentially a cure."