RALEIGH, North Carolina, Jan. 6, 2023  — The RD Fund (Retinal Degeneration Fund), the Foundation Fighting Blindness’ venture arm, announces an equity investment in Perceive Biotherapeutics (Perceive Bio), a biotechnology company developing novel treatments, including a gene therapy candidate for dry age-related macular degeneration (dry AMD), including the advanced form (GA).

AMD is the primary cause of blindness in persons aged 55 and over, impacting around 150 million globally and 10 million in the United States.

Perceive Bio has secured USD 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, 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 will last many years.

Perceive Bio also works on innovative neuroprotection medicines with applications in glaucoma and retinitis pigmentosa.

“We are highly impressed with Perceive Bio’s novel approach, which includes a thorough genetic basis for tackling dry AMD and geographic atrophy,” RD Fund managing director Rusty Kelley, Ph.D., adds. “The company’s well-supported assumptions, together with top-tier investors, visionary leadership, and great retinal disease and therapeutic development experience, combine to form a solid investment thesis – one that we feel is well prepared to yield clinically and financially.”

About Perceive Bio:

Perceive Biotherapeutics is developing a broad, diverse pipeline of targets and treatment methods across many therapeutic domains, with ophthalmology as the primary pipeline initiative. Perceive was predicated on compelling research that elucidated two unique protective biologies for treating retinal blindness, which was established through fundamental collaborations in genetic science and target validation.

About the RD fund:

The RD Fund (Retinal Degeneration Fund) is the Foundation Fighting Blindness’ entrepreneurial arm and a significant investor in the retinal disease field. It was founded in 2018 to support the Foundation’s aim of accelerating research into preventions, treatments, and cures for the whole range of blinding retinal illnesses, such as retinitis pigmentosa, macular degeneration, and Usher syndrome. The RD Fund prioritizes mission-related investments in enterprises with projects approaching completion.

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Kshitij does business research and content writing for VCBay. Pursuing BBA from Symbiosis Center Of Management Studies (SCMS) Pune, he is skilled in Financial Modeling, Stock valuation and Microsoft Excel. He is passionate about Entrepreneurship and Finance.

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