Team behind gene therapy that restores lost vision win $3 million ‘Oscar of science’ award
Jean Bennett, Albert Maguire and Katherine High won the "Breakthrough prize" for their 25-year-long project.
Dr. Albert Maguire, right, checks the eyes of Misa Kaabali, 8, at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Misa was 4-years-old when he received his gene therapy treatment.
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A married couple who created the first approved gene therapy for blindness have been awarded one of the most advantageous prizes in science. Molecular biologist Jean Bennett and ophthalmologist Albert Maguire will share the $3 million (£2.2m) "Breakthrough prize" for life sciences with physician Katherine High for their 25-year-long project. The therapy, named Luxturna, was approved in the US in 2017.It focuses on individuals born with Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA), a genetic disorder that typically causes total blindness by early adulthood.Clinical trials proved the success of the treatment - with one patient described finally seeing their child’s face for the first time.Bennett, now retired from the University of Pennsylvania, said the developments "overwhelmed" them, adding: “It was one of the most miraculous eureka moments you can imagine.”The first-of-its kind genetic treatment for blindness will cost $850,000 - less than the $1 million price tag that had been expected, but still among the most expensive genetic therapies in the world. Read more: Iran 'far from final agreement' with Trump ahead of second round of talks in PakistanRead more: Suspicious items found near Israeli embassy ‘non-hazardous’, police say
Albert M. Maguire, left, and Jean Bennett arrive at the 12th Breakthrough Prize Ceremony on Saturday, April 18, 2026.
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Bennett and Maguire met at Harvard Medical School when they were paired up to dissect a brain as part of their studies. They later began work on LBA during further research at the University of Pennsylvania. The disease was linked to faults in a gene called RPE65, but the technology to resolve the issue was not yet available. After years of work, Bennett and Maguire developed a gene therapy that worked a functioning version of the gene into retinal cells. Subsequent tests in animals and human trials, developed with Katherine High, showed evidence of restored lost vision - with two dogs that they treated on the way, Venus and Mercury, becoming the couple’s pets.
Katherine A. High arrives at the 12th Breakthrough Prize Ceremony, where she was part of the team who won the esteemed $3million prize.
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Bennett said it was a “tremendously exciting time” for scientific and medical research, but warned that the US administration’s current ongoing attacks on science could “cause damage for generations to come”. The Breakthrough prizes are described by their Silicon Valley founders as the Oscars of science. The awards were handed out on Saturday night at a ceremony in Los Angeles, California. Other life science prizes went to a gene therapy for sickle cell anaemia and beta thalassaemia, and the discovery of genetic drivers of frontotemporal dementia and ALS, a form of motor neurone disease.
