Beacon Therapeutics Launches Clinical Trial for Bilateral Administration of XLRP Gene Therapy

Beacon Therapeutics has dosed the first patient in its Phase 2 LANDSCAPE clinical trial, evaluating the safety of bilateral dosing of laru-zova, its emerging gene therapy for X-linked retinitis pigmentosa (XLRP) caused by mutations in the RPGR gene. The trial is enrolling male patients between the ages of 12 and 50 at sites throughout the US. The first group of patients in the trial will have their second eye dosed between 30 and 60 days after the first eye is dosed. For the second group of patients, the interval between the dosing of each eye will be between seven and 14 days. While the primary goal of the study is to evaluate the safety of bilateral subretinal injections administered over shorter periods of time, the company will also evaluate changes in visual function.

Beacon announced the completion of enrollment for its Phase 2/3 VISTA clinical trial for laru-zova in July 2025. The company expects to report results for VISTA in the second half of 2026. The company reported vision improvements for patients receiving laru-zova in three earlier clinical trials: HORIZON, SKYLINE, and DAWN.

Laru-zova uses an adeno-associated virus (AAV), which works like a container delivery system, to deliver copies of the RPGR gene into the retinal cells of patients. Beacon says that 70-90 percent of XLRP cases are caused by mutations in RPGR. The treatment is administered by a one-time injection underneath the retina.

The Foundation funded preclinical research for the gene therapy that ultimately became laru-zova.