# Retinal Degeneration Fund

Retinal Degeneration Fund is a Private Equity based in Raleigh, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Private Equity
- **Headquarters:** Raleigh, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** Raleigh, NC, United States
- **Founded:** 2018
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** retinaldegenerationfund.org
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/rd-fund

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

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.

## Sectors

- Digital Health

## People

- 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

## 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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- [rethink Ventures](https://altss.com/profile/rethink-ventures)
- [Retirable](https://altss.com/profile/retirable)

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Last updated: 2026-08-11T15:07:57.118Z

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