Choroideremia Research Foundation funds new CHM studies

The Choroideremia Research Foundation announced a new round of research grants on September 9, 2026, backing four studies aimed at understanding choroideremia and finding ways to slow vision loss. The awards focus on disease variability, natural history, mouse models and therapeutic targets, with support from partners including Foundation Fighting Blindness, CRF Canada and France Choroïdérémie.

Why it matters: - Choroideremia is a rare inherited eye disease with no approved treatments. - The new grants target both the biology of CHM and practical steps toward preserving vision. - The funded work could help improve disease prediction, sharpen clinical trial design and identify new treatment targets.

What happened: - The Choroideremia Research Foundation announced its latest round of scientific research funding on September 9, 2026. - The grants support four CHM studies led by researchers in Belgium, Canada, the U.S. and France. - The projects focus on disease variability, natural history, animal models and therapeutic targets. - Foundation Fighting Blindness is co-funding one study. - CRF Canada and France Choroïdérémie are co-funding another study.

The details: - The MULTIOMICS-CHM study is led by Elfride De Baere and Bart P. Leroy at Ghent University Hospital in Belgium. - That project will use DNA, RNA and protein analysis across thousands of individual cells to study why CHM progresses at very different rates. - Researchers will also examine patient-derived retinal pigment epithelial cells from people with especially mild or severe disease. - The goal is a framework that may help clinicians predict progression, interpret complex genetic findings and identify targets for individualized interventions. - Matthew Benson at the University of Alberta is leading a natural history study of retinal degeneration due to CHM gene mutations. - That study will use a retrospective review of medical records from 1995 to 2025. - The dataset will include visual acuity, visual field and OCT imaging data from about 300 genetically confirmed male patients across the University of Alberta and three additional tertiary centers. - The goal is to build a baseline dataset to help clinicians understand disease progression, inform future trial design and support prospective therapies. - Malia Edwards, Abigail Fahim and Kathleen Boesze-Battaglia are developing new CHM mouse models. - Their study will create conditional knockout mice by targeting different cell types. - The researchers will use imaging, vision testing and retinal structure assessment at different ages to determine which model best matches human CHM. - Vasiliki Kalatzis is leading a study at the Institute for Neurosciences of Montpellier in France. - That project will examine whether dysregulated L-type calcium channels contribute to CHM progression and affect phagocytosis and growth factor secretion. - The study will also develop lab-grown choroid tissue to test whether photoreceptor and choroid damage happens independently or as a secondary effect of retinal pigment epithelial dysfunction. - The work aims to identify pharmacological targets that could slow vision loss while gene therapy remains in development. - Choroideremia affects about 1 in 50,000 people. - Males are usually affected more severely because CHM is X-linked. - Early symptoms typically include night blindness and shrinking visual fields. - An estimated 6,000 people in the U.S. and 10,000 in the European Union live with choroideremia. - No approved treatments currently exist. - CRF was founded in 2000 as an international fundraising and patient advocacy organization focused on CHM research. - The foundation says it has awarded about $6 million in research funding since its inception and is the largest financial supporter of CHM research worldwide. - CRF-funded work has helped produce a CHM animal model, pre-clinical gene therapy vectors and the CRF Biobank for tissue and stem cell samples. - More information is available here.

Between the lines: - The grant portfolio covers both near-term translational work and foundational biology, signaling a strategy to reduce risk across the CHM research pipeline. - A natural history dataset and better animal models are especially important in a rare disease where patient numbers are limited and clinical course can vary widely. - The emphasis on precision medicine reflects an effort to move beyond one-size-fits-all treatment planning for CHM.

What's next: - The funded teams will begin or continue data collection, model development and lab analysis under their respective awards. - Their findings could shape future therapeutic development and help determine which patients are most likely to benefit from specific interventions. - CRF said the grants are part of its ongoing effort to advance understanding and treatment of CHM.

The bottom line: - The new grants expand the CHM research pipeline at a time when no approved therapy exists and better disease models, natural history data and target discovery are all still needed.