Nanoscope Therapeutics Announces Publication of New Study Highlighting Functional Vision Assessment in Retinal Disease

Study underscores tools to accurately capture functional improvements and patient experience in retinal degeneration

Mar. 23, 2026 at 11:48am

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Nanoscope Therapeutics, a biotechnology company developing novel therapies for retinal degeneration, has announced the publication of a peer-reviewed observational study in Documenta Ophthalmologica. The study highlights the use of the Multi-luminance Shape Discrimination Test (MLSDT) as a reliable and valid performance-based assessment of visual ability in individuals with severe visual impairment, such as those with retinitis pigmentosa (RP). The findings also show that Nanoscope's lead therapy, MCO-010, demonstrated clinically meaningful and statistically significant improvements in vision in RP patients with severe vision loss in a recent clinical trial.

Why it matters

The study underscores the need for testing tools that can accurately capture functional improvements and patient experience in retinal degeneration, beyond just best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA). These new assessment methods can help clinicians and treating physicians feel more confident in evaluating the real-world impact of emerging therapies for patients suffering from loss of vision due to rod and cone function loss.

The details

The observational study involved 35 subjects, 25 with severe vision loss due to RP and 10 with normal vision. The study provided supportive evidence for the reliability and validity of the MLSDT as a performance-based assessment of visual ability in individuals with severe visual impairment. In addition to BCVA, the RESTORE Ph2b/3 clinical trial of Nanoscope's MCO-010 therapy also assessed patients' functional vision using MLSDT as a secondary endpoint. At Week 52, the majority of MCO-010-treated patients improved by 2 or more luminance levels in MLSDT, a clinically meaningful magnitude. MCO-010 is the first therapy to demonstrate clinically meaningful and statistically significant improvements in vision in patients with RP having severe vision loss in a randomized, sham-controlled, registrational trial.

  • The study findings were published online at Springer Nature on March 23, 2026.
  • Nanoscope's RESTORE Ph2b/3 clinical trial of MCO-010 assessed patients' functional vision using MLSDT as a secondary endpoint.

The players

Nanoscope Therapeutics, Inc.

A biotechnology company committed to developing and commercializing novel, disease-agnostic therapies for patients with photoreceptor loss and vision impairment due to retinal degeneration.

Samarendra Mohanty, Ph.D.

The senior author and Chief Scientific Officer at Nanoscope Therapeutics.

Samuel Barone, M.D.

The Chief Medical Officer at Nanoscope Therapeutics.

MCO-010

Nanoscope's lead therapy, a one-time, in-office, intravitreal disease-agnostic therapy platform designed to restore vision in patients with photoreceptor degeneration, including Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), Stargardt disease (SD), and geographic atrophy (GA).

Multi-luminance Shape Discrimination Test (MLSDT)

A performance-based assessment of visual ability in individuals with severe visual impairment.

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What they’re saying

“While best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) has long been the gold standard in ophthalmology, it can be supplemented with new ways to assess how patients with severe vision loss navigate their daily lives.”

— Samarendra Mohanty, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer at Nanoscope Therapeutics

“While Nanoscope continues to lead through its development of ground-breaking optogenetic therapies, this observational study shows our commitment to partnering with the retina community on how therapeutic success is measured.”

— Samuel Barone, M.D., Chief Medical Officer at Nanoscope Therapeutics

What’s next

Nanoscope plans to initiate a Phase 3 registrational trial for its MCO-010 therapy in Stargardt disease in 2026.

The takeaway

This study highlights Nanoscope's commitment to developing innovative therapies and partnering with the retina community to establish new ways of assessing functional vision improvements that can better capture the real-world impact for patients suffering from severe vision loss due to retinal degeneration.