Therapy has successfully allowed red-green color-blind monkeys to see new colors that they have never seen before, we still don’t know what their internal perceptions of those colors are like, or if any psychological side-effects might result from humans suddenly being able to see a new dimension of color. [Note: There have been no indications of psychological distress in the monkeys.] Gene therapy also involves risks associated with the viral vector and therapeutic transgene being injected, and with the surgical procedure itself (subretinal injection). Therefore, the first step in moving the treatment forward will be determining its safety for use in human patients.
Human experiments involving gene therapy must first be reviewed and approved by the National Institute of Health’s (NIH) Office of Recombinant DNA Activities (ORDA)/ Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee (RAC) and by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In addition to approval of an Investigational New Drug Application (IND) from the FDA, approval from an Institutional Review Board (IRB) where the study will take place must also be obtained.
We would also need to recruit subjects who would be willing to be pioneers in the cure for red-green color blindness; that is, willing to accept the risks involved knowing that it may not work.