ANN ARBOR – The pharmaceutical startup RetroSense Therapeutics LLC said Monday that its Investigational New Drug application for its lead drug candidate, RST-001, has received clearance from the United States Food and Drug Administration.

RetroSense is developing RST-001 for the treatment of retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic condition that leads to the progressive degeneration of rod and cone photoreceptors – the cells found in the retina that sense light – resulting in severe vision loss and blindness.