Give Kids a Chance: Why a “Priority Review Voucher” Could Change the Future for Children at Risk of Vision Loss

When the market won’t move, policy can At A Race Against Blindness , our mission is rooted in one simple truth: children facing progressive vision loss cannot afford for innovation to stall. Through our work with families affected by rare, inherited retinal diseases, we’ve learned that progress isn’t driven by science alone. It’s also shaped by policy—and by whether systems are in place to encourage companies to invest in conditions that affect relatively small populations. Developing a new medicine is expensive. It requires years of research, clinical trials, and regulatory review. For conditions that affect large patient populations, companies can often justify that investment. But for rare pediatric diseases—including many that cause childhood-onset vision loss—the math often doesn’t work. Even when the science is promising and the need is urgent, treatments may be delayed or never developed at all. This is where policy becomes a powerful tool. And it’s why the Give Kids a Chance Act matters so deeply to the vision loss community. The program behind the bill: What is a Priority Re