Ray Therapeutics (RayTx), an industry-leading clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company pioneering differentiated vision restoration therapies for those living with severe retinal degenerations, has announced the closing of an upsized and oversubscribed $125 million Series B financing. The round was led by Janus Henderson Investors, with participation from additional new investors Adage Capital Management, Franklin Templeton, Invus, and Marshall Wace. The financing includes strong follow-on support from existing investors 4BIO Capital, Deerfield Management, MRL Ventures Fund (the therapeutics-focused corporate venture arm of Merck & Co), Norwest, Novo Holdings A/S, and Platanus.

Ray Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company advancing optogenetic therapies to restore vision in patients with retinal degenerative diseases. By delivering a bioengineered, highly light-sensitive protein to targeted retinal cells, the approach is designed to improve visual function regardless of the underlying genetic mutation.

RTx-015 is Ray Therapeutics' lead optogenetic gene therapy currently being evaluated in patients with retinitis pigmentosa. Delivered as a single intravitreal injection, the treatment aims to restore functional vision to those with advanced visual impairment.

Ray Therapeutics has a second clinical-stage program, RTx-021, which has been designed to restore vision to those with macula diseases, such as Stargardt disease and geographic atrophy age-related macular degeneration (GA AMD) by targeting retinal bipolar cells.