S2, E3: Ray Therapeutics leveraging optogenetics to tackle vision loss with CEO Paul Bresge and Dr José-Alain Sahel (University of Pittsburgh)

In this episode of Raising Biotech, Surani explores the fascinating world of vision restoration and optogenetics with Ray Therapeutics. The company raised an oversubscribed $100m Series A in May 2023, which was particularly noteworthy during a extremely grim year for fundraising. Surani speaks with CEO and Co-Founder Paul Bresge about how his daughter's retinitis pigmentosa diagnosis drove him to enter the biotech world. He discusses meeting Co-founder Sean Ainsworth and seeing groundbreaking experiments in blind mice from inventor Dr Zhuo-Hua Pan that lead to the formation of Ray. He also talks about what drew investors to Ray's mission, its clear regulatory path forward (first in retinitis pigmentosa patients followed by Stargardt disease and geographic atrophy) and visions for the company's future. Surani is also joined by renowned optogenetics leader Dr José-Alain Sahel, Distinguished Professor, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, to talk about Ray's scientific foundations, early data, theoretical safety/efficacy profile and potential to make a meaningful impact in late-stage retinal disorder patients with close to no vision. Timestamps: 00:35 - Partner segment: Mindgram.ai 01:05 - Background of Ray Therapeutics and focus on late-stage retinal diseases 04:30 - CEO Paul Bresge's backstory, personal motivations to enter the biotech world 07:30 - Formation of Ray Therapeutics in 2021 with Co-founder and Chairman Sean Ainsworth 09:50 - Leveraging breakthrough science from inventor and optogenetics pioneer Dr Zhuo-Hua Pain 11:00 - How Ray was able to attract investors and secure an oversubscribed $100m Series A 16:40 - Dr José-Alain Sahel gives his take on Ray's early data and scientific potential 19:45 - Ray's plans to get the drug into Retinitis Pigmentosa patients and regulatory pathway 26:50 - Safety benchmarks and meaningful efficacy outcome measures 38:20 - Optogenetics competitive landscape and Ray's potential edge 29:00 - Future financing goals and the company's longer term vision This episode is partnered with Mindgram.ai, a research tool powered by AI to better serve the biopharma community. Listeners of the Raising Biotech podcast are able to get an exclusive free trial of Mindgram via this link, using the code: raisingbiotech24 For any comments, questions, feedback or suggestions you can connect directly with Surani Fernando on LinkedIn or email: [email protected] Music composed by: Yrii Semchyshyn (Coma Media) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.