The SIRION Biotech GmbH, a world leader in virus based technology innovation and gene delivery expert providing custom services to commercial partners worldwide, announced that it signed a two year development agreement with Acucela Inc., a clinical-stage ophthalmology company and wholly-owned subsidiary of Kubota Pharmaceutical Holdings Co., Ltd. committed to translating innovation into a diverse portfolio of drugs and devices to preserve and restore vision for millions of people worldwide, to establish optimized AAV vectors for clinical applications in ocular gene therapy. With this cooperative effort, Acucela bolsters its move into the fast growing gene therapy market to find a genetic cure for retinitis pigmentosa (RP), which is the most common form of inherited retinal degeneration. Key terms of the agreement include milestone payments to SIRION Biotech, with additional royalties to be paid on net sales from resulting products or therapies.