July 16, 2026 —
Johnson & Johnson has discontinued development of JNJ-1887, its investigational AAV2-based gene therapy for geographic atrophy, an advanced form of age-related macular degeneration.
The decision followed an assessment of topline data from the Phase 2b Parasol study, a sham-controlled clinical trial evaluating JNJ-1887 in patients with geographic atrophy. Johnson & Johnson said it will apply learnings from the program to its early-stage ophthalmology pipeline.
JNJ-1887, previously known as HMR59, was originally developed by Hemera Biosciences and entered clinical testing in 2017. Johnson & Johnson acquired the asset through its purchase of Hemera in 2020. The Parasol trial began in 2023 and enrolled approximately 305 participants.
The study was designed to evaluate whether a single intravitreal injection of JNJ-1887 could reduce the growth of geographic atrophy lesions over 18 months. Geographic atrophy is a late-stage form of dry age-related macular degeneration that causes progressive loss of retinal cells and can lead to irreversible vision loss.
JNJ-1887 uses an adeno-associated virus serotype 2, or AAV2, vector to express a soluble form of CD59. CD59 is a naturally occurring complement regulator that inhibits formation of the membrane attack complex, an immune effector of the terminal complement pathway. The complement system is believed to play an important role in the development and progression of age-related macular degeneration.
The discontinuation highlights the challenges of developing gene therapies for complex retinal diseases such as geographic atrophy, where disease biology involves multiple pathways and long-term structural outcomes can be difficult to modify.
Other companies continue to pursue gene therapy and complement-targeting strategies for geographic atrophy. Sanofi, for example, is developing SAR446597, a gene therapy candidate targeting C1s in the classical complement pathway and factor Bb in the alternative pathway.
Johnson & Johnson’s pipeline update also confirmed other previously disclosed changes, including removal of botaretigene sparoparvovec following the sale of that rare eye disease gene therapy program to MeiraGTx, as well as removal of two CAR-T cell therapy candidates after the company decided to end their development.
While JNJ-1887 will not move forward, the program may still inform future ophthalmology research, particularly in the areas of AAV delivery, complement biology, and retinal disease trial design.
