Ray Therapeutics Secures $125 Million Series B Financing to Advance Ophthalmic Optogenetic Gene Therapies

On April 21, in Berkeley, California, Ray Therapeutics (RayTx), a leading clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company pioneering differentiated vision restoration therapies for patients with severe retinal degeneration, announced the completion of an upsized, oversubscribed $125 million Series B financing. The round was led by Janus Henderson Investors, with new investors Adage Capital Management, Franklin Templeton, Invus, and Marshall Wace also participating. The financing included strong follow-on support from existing investors 4BIO Capital, Deerfield Management, MRL Ventures Fund (a fund under Merck), Norwest, Novo Holdings A/S, and Platanus.202In January 2022, the company completed a $6 million seed funding round led by 4BIO Capital. In June 2022, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) awarded the company a $4 million grant, and in 2025 it received another.California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM)$8 million grant. Completed $100 million Series A financing in 2023.Resources.（New Frontier! $100 Million Series A Financing to Develop Optogenetic Gene Therapy for Blinding Diseases）

Ray Therapeutics CEO and co-founder Paul Bresge said:"This funding is a decisive endorsement of our vision restoration platform. It highlights the value of our differentiated approach and the clinical and regulatory momentum we have achieved to date. Following the recent RMAT designation by the U.S. FDA for our leading clinical program, we are extremely grateful for the tremendous enthusiasm from leading investors in this financing round. Their proven ability to identify value-creating biopharmaceutical companies solidifies our position at the forefront of innovation in vision restoration. I am thankful for the continued support of our existing investors and welcome our new Series B investors, who are excited to add RayTx to their portfolios. Together, we are committed to delivering life-changing treatments to patients suffering from blindness."

RTx-015 is Ray Therapeutics' leading optogenetic gene therapy currently being evaluated in patients with retinitis pigmentosa. Administered as a single intravitreal injection, it aims to restore functional vision in patients with advanced vision impairment. The second clinical-stage program, RTx-021, aims to restore vision in patients with macular diseases, such as Stargardt disease and geographic atrophy age-related macular degeneration (GA AMD), by targeting retinal bipolar cells.

Janus Henderson Investors portfolio manager Agustin Mohedas said:"We are thrilled to lead this Series B financing and support RayTx in advancing its clinical development across multiple indications. After a period of tracking and investigation, we believe that RayTx’s optogenetics approach offers unique differentiation. RayTx’s platform is not just an incremental improvement; it is a first-in-class technology with the potential to restore patient independence and set a new standard of care for this patient population."