Opus Genetics has announced a funding agreement with the Retinal Degeneration (RD) Fund, the venture philanthropy arm of the Foundation Fighting Blindness, to support the preclinical development of its OPGx-MERTK gene therapy program. The agreement provides up to $2 million in nondilutive financing aimed at accelerating treatment development for retinitis pigmentosa caused by mutations in the MERTK gene—a rare inherited retinal disease (IRD) for which no approved therapies currently exist.

The OPGx-MERTK program is designed to treat MERTK-associated IRD, a rod-cone dystrophy that is characterized by early macular atrophy and progressive vision loss. The disease affects an estimated 600 individuals in the United States.

OPGx-MERTK is a gene therapy candidate based on an adeno-associated virus vector, a delivery platform that is frequently used for ocular gene therapy. The newly secured funding is expected to support preclinical work leading up to Investigational New Drug-enabling studies, which are a key step in progressing toward human clinical trials.

The agreement also draws upon the expertise of gene therapy pioneers Drs. Jean Bennett and Tomas Aleman, who are affiliated with Opus, along with broader support from the Foundation Fighting Blindness community.

With the addition of this funding, Opus projects that its current cash resources will support operations into the second half of 2026.