Ray Therapeutics Celebrates 2026 Nobel Prize for Foundational Discoveries in Optogenetics

BERKELEY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ray Therapeutics (RayTx) congratulates Drs. Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann, and Georg Nagel on receiving the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discoveries involving light-gated ion channels that helped launch optogenetics. Their pioneering work established new ways to control nerve cell activity with light, laying the foundation for potential therapeutic applications. RayTx also recognizes Dr. Zhuo-Hua Pan, whose groundbreaking research in optogenetic vision restoration underpins the company’s portfolio of investigational therapies.

For RayTx, this is more than a celebration of scientific achievement—it marks a very important milestone for people living with severe retinal degeneration. RayTx is advancing mutation-agnostic optogenetic gene therapies designed to restore visual function by delivering bioengineered, highly light-sensitive proteins to surviving retinal cells through a single intravitreal injection. The Nobel Prize recognition reinforces the promise of the technology behind our mission and strengthens our resolve to move urgently for potential patients with retinitis pigmentosa, Stargardt disease, geographic atrophy, and other blinding retinal diseases.

About Ray Therapeutics

RayTx is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company advancing optogenetic gene therapies to restore vision in people with retinal degenerative diseases. By delivering bioengineered, highly light-sensitive proteins to surviving retinal cells through a single intravitreal injection, RayTx’s approach is designed to improve visual function in people with advanced visual impairment, regardless of the underlying genetic mutation. The Company’s pipeline includes lead program RTx-015, which targets retinal ganglion cells and is being developed for retinitis pigmentosa and other inherited retinal diseases, and RTx-021, which targets retinal bipolar cells and is being developed for Stargardt disease and geographic atrophy. For more information, visit www.raytherapeutics.com and follow RayTx on LinkedIn.