The RD Fund (Retinal Degeneration Fund), the Foundation Fighting Blindness’ venture arm, announces an equity investment in Perceive rd(Perceive Bio), a biotechnology company developing novel treatments, leading with a gene therapy candidate for dry age-related macular degeneration (dry AMD), including the advanced form, geogra (GA).
AMD is the primary cause of blindness in persons aged 55 and up, impacting around 150 million people globally and 10 million in the United States.
Perceive Bio has raised $78 million in Series B funding led by Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, Inc. (JJDC), with existing Series A investment Deerfield Management, as well as new investors Braidwell LP and Catalio Capital Management, LP, and the RD Fund, joining the RD Fund.
The company’s new gene therapy, which is related to risk alleles for dry AMD and GA, targets complement system control, which is part of the innate immune system. The treatment will be administered with a single intravitreal injection and is expected to last for many years.
Perceive Bio is also working on innovative neuroprotection medicines with applications in glaucoma and retinitis pigmentosa.
The RD Fund (Retinal Degeneration Fund) is the venture arm of the Foundation Fighting Blindness, and a leading investor in the retinal disease space. It was established in 2018 to serve the Foundation’s mission to rapidly drive research toward preventions, treatments, and cures for the entire spectrum of blinding retinal diseases including: retinitis pigmentosa, macular degeneration, and Usher syndrome.
Established in 1971, the Foundation Fighting Blindness is the world’s leading private funding source for retinal degenerative disease research. The Foundation has raised more than $891 million toward its mission of accelerating research for preventing, treating, and curing blindness caused by the entire spectrum of blinding retinal diseases including: retinitis pigmentosa, macular degeneration, and Usher syndrome.
Perceive Biotherapeutics is advancing a deep and diversified pipeline of targets and treatment modalities in multiple therapeutic verticals, with lead pipeline programs in ophthalmology. Perceive was founded on compelling research elucidating two novel protective biologies for treating retinal blindness, developed from foundational collaborations in genetic science and target validation.
