Applied Genetic Technologies Corporation (AGTC) announced that it has entered into a strategic research and development collaboration with Bionic Sight. Through the AGTC-Bionic Sight collaboration, the companies seek to develop a new optogenetic therapy that leverages AGTC's deep experience in gene therapy and ophthalmology and Bionic Sight's innovative neuro-prosthetic device and algorithm for retinal coding. In patients with normal vision, light enters the retina through the photoreceptor cells. These cells then convert the light into electrical signals and pass them through the retina to the brain. The signals are transmitted in a neural code that the brain uses to create images. In patients without functional photoreceptors, the first step is seriously impaired, causing blindness. Using optogenetics to stimulate the remaining healthy cells in the retina and Bionic Sight's neuroprosthetic device to stimulate those cells with the retina's neural code, AGTC and Bionic Sight will seek to restore normal neural signaling in patients with visual deficits or blindness due to retinal disease.