• Oxford BioMedica plc, of London, said the U.S.-based Foundation Fighting Blindness granted it a $125,000 award to support the opening of a second trial site in Paris for the UshStat Phase I/IIa study. A gene-based treatment for Usher syndrome Type 1B, UshStat is the third ocular product to enter clinical development under Oxford's collaboration with Sanofi SA, of Paris. The open-label, dose-escalation trial was initiated in February in the U.S., where it will enroll up to 18 patients. The Paris site is expected to open early next year.