The pledge allocates $775,000 to the RD Fund, to be matched dollar for dollar, and $225,000 to a Foundation Fighting Blindness research grant, advancing methods that can assist patients irrespective of the gene behind their retinal condition

/PRNewswire/ -- The Foundation Fighting Blindness and its venture arm, the RD Fund (Retinal Degeneration Fund), today announced a $1 million pledge from A Race Against Blindness (RAB) to speed gene-agnostic therapeutic methods for inherited retinal diseases. The pledge allocates $775,000 to the RD Fund and $225,000 to a Foundation Fighting Blindness research grant. The $775,000 to the Fund will be matched dollar for dollar through the Gordon and Llura Gund Foundation Challenge, unlocking $1.55 million in impact, a donor match that doubles new and increased gifts to the RD Fund.

A Race Against Blindness was established in 2023 by Dr. Stephen and Kristina Johnston after their son received a diagnosis of retinitis pigmentosa (RP) linked to Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS). Since then, the family-run nonprofit has directed millions of dollars toward research for RP and BBS, emphasizing pediatric inherited retinal diseases and accelerating promising therapies from idea to clinic.

"As parents, we understand families cannot wait for an individual therapy to be created for each of the thousands of mutations that lead to retinitis pigmentosa," said Dr. Stephen Johnston, co-founder of A Race Against Blindness. "Gene-agnostic methods provide hope to the widest possible community, including children with Bardet-Biedl syndrome like our son. By directing our support to the RD Fund and to the Foundation's research, and seeing the Fund portion matched, we can place more resources behind the science that reaches the most families the quickest."

Advancing Gene-Agnostic Approaches Across the RD Fund Portfolio
The $775,000 directed to the RD Fund will back gene-agnostic therapeutic methods across the Fund's portfolio companies, which are creating treatments designed to assist patients regardless of the specific gene mutation causing their disease. The RD Fund deliberately balances its portfolio between gene-specific and gene-agnostic strategies, including neuroprotective and antioxidant methods that slow disease progression and vision-restoration strategies such as optogenetics, which seeks to restore light sensitivity to the retina independent of the underlying gene defect.

One example is Nacuity Pharmaceuticals, a clinical-stage portfolio company developing a neuroprotective, gene-agnostic candidate. Nacuity's lead candidate, NPI-001, is an oral tablet formulation of N-acetylcysteine amide that targets oxidative stress, a process that harms photoreceptors across many forms of retinal degeneration. Rather than fixing a single gene, NPI-001 is designed to increase glutathione, one of the body's most powerful natural antioxidants, to help protect retinal cells regardless of the underlying mutation. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted NPI-001 Fast Track, Breakthrough Therapy, and Orphan Drug designations for the treatment of retinitis pigmentosa.

"The partnership with A Race Against Blindness reflects the conviction the RD Fund was built to reward," said Rusty Kelley, PhD, managing director of the RD Fund. "Their support matched by the Gordon and Llura Gund Foundation, allows us to diversify and strengthen our portfolio of gene-agnostic approaches that could one day benefit the entire retinitis pigmentosa community, including the RP and BBS1 families represented by A Race Against Blindness."

Funding Gene-Agnostic Innovation at the Foundation Fighting Blindness
The remaining $225,000 of the pledge will complete funding for a Foundation Fighting Blindness Career Development Award supporting Dr. Thomas Mendel at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio. The five-year, $375,000 award funds research into a new way to deliver retinal gene therapy that could apply across many inherited retinal diseases.

Dr. Mendel is testing a surgical approach in preclinical models that delivers gene therapy onto the surface of the retina, rather than beneath it, combined with insulin added to the therapy to accelerate its uptake into retinal cells. The approach aims to deliver therapy faster and with less inflammation, without compromising retinal function. Because the delivery method is gene-agnostic, it has the potential to improve treatment for conditions including Bardet-Biedl syndrome, choroideremia, Leber congenital amaurosis, Stargardt disease, Usher syndrome, and multiple forms of retinitis pigmentosa. Dr. Mendel's work is mentored by Andy J. Fischer, PhD, and Cagri Besirli, MD, PhD.

"Some of the most powerful ideas in our field are the broad-reaching ones that can help many patients across the spectrum of inherited retinal diseases," said Amy Laster, PhD, chief scientific officer of the Foundation Fighting Blindness. "Whether through the RD Fund's portfolio or a Foundation-supported researcher like Dr. Mendel, this pledge from A Race Against Blindness accelerates approaches that do not depend on a single gene, and that gives hope to families across the entire community."

As the world's leading private funder of retinal degenerative disease research, the Foundation Fighting Blindness has played a key role in driving the development of more than 60 retinal disease drug candidates now in clinical trials, a track record that made it a natural partner for A Race Against Blindness.

About A Race Against Blindness
A Race Against Blindness is a family-run nonprofit co-founded in 2023 by Dr. Stephen and Kristina Johnston after their son was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa caused by Bardet-Biedl syndrome. Through innovative fundraising and a focus on pediatric inherited retinal diseases, the organization has directed more than $5 million toward research for retinitis pigmentosa and Bardet-Biedl syndrome, working to move promising therapies from concept to clinic with urgency. For more information, visit araceagainstblindness.org.

About the Foundation Fighting Blindness
Established in 1971, the Foundation Fighting Blindness is the world's leading private funding source for retinal degenerative disease research. The Foundation has raised nearly $1 billion toward its mission of accelerating research for preventing, treating, and curing blindness caused by the entire spectrum of retinal degenerative diseases, including retinitis pigmentosa, age-related macular degeneration, Usher syndrome, and Stargardt disease. Visit FightingBlindness.org for more information.

About the RD Fund
The Retinal Degeneration Fund (RD Fund) is a mission-driven venture fund established by the Foundation Fighting Blindness to invest in companies developing innovative therapies for inherited retinal diseases and dry age-related macular degeneration. The RD Fund was designed to bridge the funding gap between discovery research and confirmatory clinical trials. For more information, visit www.RDFund.org.

Media Contact:
Chris Adams
Foundation Fighting Blindness
410-423-0585
[email protected]

SOURCE Foundation Fighting Blindness