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Retinal Degeneration Fund
The Retinal Degeneration Fund (RD Fund) is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit subsidiary of the Foundation Fighting Blindness and serves as its venture arm.
Retinal Degeneration Fund
The Retinal Degeneration Fund (RD Fund) is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit subsidiary of the Foundation Fighting Blindness and serves as its venture arm. It makes mission-related investments to accelerate novel therapeutics for inherited retinal diseases (IRDs) and dry Age-related Macular Degeneration (dry AMD), bridging the funding gap between discovery-stage research and drug development. The Fund is flexible in structuring investments via equity, debt, royalty, and/or project co-funding, and returns all proceeds to the Foundation.
General information
Firm type
Private Equity
Year founded
2018
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Raleigh
Corporate office
Raleigh, NC, United States
Principals
Eugene de Juan
MD — Chair, RD Fund
Jason Morris — Vice Chair
RD Fund
Rusty Kelley
PhD, MBA — Managing Director, RD Fund
Alicia Kemble
PhD — Sr Venture Associate, RD Fund
Grace Warner — Venture Analyst
RD Fund
Anthony P. Adamis
MD — Board of Directors
Jean Bennett
MD, PhD — Board of Directors
Mark S. Blumenkranz
MD, MMS — Board of Directors
Catherine Bowes Rickman
PhD — Board of Directors
Jacque Duncan
MD — Board of Directors
Adrienne Graves
PhD — Board of Directors
Suber S. Huang
MD, MBA, FASRS — Board of Directors
Kelly Lisbakken — Board of Directors
Warren Thaler
MBA — Board of Directors
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
What therapeutic areas does the RD Fund target?
The fund invests exclusively in inherited retinal diseases and dry age-related macular degeneration. Its mandate does not extend to wet AMD, glaucoma, or other ophthalmic indications unless there is a direct mechanistic link to retinal degeneration driven by IRDs or dry AMD pathways.
At what stage does the RD Fund typically invest?
The vehicle targets the critical gap between late-discovery research and early clinical development. Investments are concentrated at the seed and startup equity stages, where capital is needed to move assets from translational science through preclinical proof-of-concept and into first-in-human studies.
Which sectors does the RD Fund explicitly avoid?
The fund does not invest in generalist biotech platforms, non-ophthalmologic therapeutics, or medical devices for non-retinal indications. Its thesis is concentrated entirely on the biology of retinal degeneration, excluding conditions such as glaucoma, cataract, and refractive surgery unless retinal degeneration is the primary disease driver.
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