Inherited Retinal Diseases (IRDs) were once considered untreatable, leaving patients and families facing the certainty of progressive vision loss. Today, advances in gene therapy are changing that reality, offering new possibilities to preserve and restore vision. This session brings together leaders advancing ocular gene therapies alongside patients who have participated in or received investigational treatments, highlighting how scientific innovation and lived experience are converging to shape the next era of care. The discussion will explore emerging therapeutic approaches, durability and re-dosing challenges, manufacturing at scale, and - most importantly - the essential role patients play as partners in research, trial design, and the path toward treatments that meaningfully improve lives.