Moderators: Giuseppe Querques , Riccardo Sacconi 

Scientific director: Mario Romano

Course Scientific coordinators: Giuseppe Querques and Riccardo Sacconi

17:30-17:35
Welcome and Introduction
Francesco Bandello

17:35-17:50
Unmet needs in neovascular AMD and DR treatment
Reinier Schlingemann 

The talk will be focus of actual unmet needs in the treatment of AMD and DR, focusing on the burden of injections and fluctuation of VEGF during the treatment that could influence the outcomes.

17:50-18:05
Beyond actual treatments of nAMD and DR: the advantages of gene therapy
Eric Souied
An expert will present the advantages of gene therapy in comparison to actual treatments of nAMD and DR, as a solution of actual unmet needs.

18:05-18:20
The “present” of gene therapy: different types available
'Robert MacLaren
Several types of gene therapy are available. The talk will be focus on different types of gene therapy available to date.

18:20-18:30
Discussion

18:30-18:45
Myths and truths about gene therapy
Dominik Fischer
There are many concerns about this therapy because it is little known. The different doubts and commonplaces will be adressed.

18:45-19:00
Different techniques for delivery of gene therapy: pros & cons
Fabiana D’Esposito
The speaker will be present pro and cons of different techniques for the delivery of gene therapy.

19:00-19:15
Commercially available injectors and pearls and pitfalls of the surgical technique for subretinal delivery of gene therapy.
Paulo Stanga
The speaker will show how to communicate easily using a language suitable for patients, what clinical trials are available, benefits and risks of participating from clinical trials, clinical trial phases and chances of an investigational product reaching commercialisation.

How to communicate about gene therapy: the language of patients.
It is not easy to communicate with patients how a gene therapy works, because it is not well known. The speaker will show how to communicate easily using a language suitable for patients, what clinical trials are available, benefits and risks of participating from clinical trials, clinical trial phases and chances of an investigational product reaching commercialisation.

19:15-19:25
Discussion

19:25-19:30
Take home message and closing remarks