Restore Vision Secures JPY 1.3 Billion in Pre-Series B Financing, Bringing Total Funding to More Than JPY 5.8 Billion Including Grants
Tokyo, Japan, April 15, 2026 -- Restore Vision Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company advancing gene therapies for retinal disorders, today announced that it has secured JPY 1.3 billion in Pre-Series B financing through the issuance of J-KISS-type stock acquisition rights, with participation from five existing investors and four new investors. With this financing, Restore Vision’s cumulative equity financing has reached approximately JPY 3.5 billion. Including grants secured to date, the company’s total funding now exceeds JPY 5.8 billion.
The proceeds from this financing will be used primarily to advance the global development of RV-001, the company’s lead pipeline program, as well as to support research and development activities for its second pipeline program, strengthen its management and administrative functions, and expand its team.
As previously announced on July 28, 2023, Restore Vision was selected as a pharmaceutical startup supported under the Strengthening Program for Pharmaceutical Startup Ecosystem implemented by the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED). Under this program, the company has been awarded approximately JPY 2.15 billion to date. Including other grants and subsidies, Restore Vision has secured approximately JPY 2.3 billion in grants to date. Through this AMED program, the company is also eligible to receive up to an additional JPY 4.5 billion in future support, which is expected to further accelerate the global clinical development of RV-001.
Investors in this financing
Existing investors: Higin Capital Co.,Ltd., Kyoto University Innovation Capital Co., Ltd., JIC Venture Growth Investments Co., Ltd., Japan Science and Technology Agency, and Remiges Ventures Inc.
New investors: Astellas Venture Management LLC, Ajinomoto Group Ventures*, Shionogi & Co., Ltd., and Nippon Venture Capital Co., Ltd.
*) Ajinomoto Group Ventures is the branded name of Ajinomoto Co.’s corporate venture capital (CVC) initiative launched in 2020.
About the Strengthening Program for Pharmaceutical Startup Ecosystem (AMED)
As previously announced by Restore Vision on July 28, 2023, the company was selected under AMED’s Strengthening Program for Pharmaceutical Startup Ecosystem. The program is designed to support the development and commercialization of pharmaceutical startups with investment from registered venture capital firms as a requirement. For details on Restore Vision’s selection, please refer to Restore Vision’s news release dated July 28, 2023.
About RV‑001
RV-001 is Restore Vision’s lead gene therapy product candidate, using adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors with the unique functional gene coding “Chimeric Rhodopsin,” which is a protein-based optical sensor. It is being developed as a treatment designed to restore vision in patients blinded by photoreceptor loss. Restore Vision takes a simple and minimally invasive intravitreal injection approach to deliver the therapeutic gene, which is intended to express chimeric rhodopsin in the remaining interneurons and restore visual function. RV-001 is currently being evaluated in a Phase I/II clinical trial for gene-agnostic retinitis pigmentosa in Japan. This is the world’s first clinical trial of an optogenetic gene therapy using Chimeric Rhodopsin.
About Restore Vision
Restore Vision Inc. is a startup company founded in November 2016 based on promising results of joint research between Keio University School of Medicine and Nagoya Institute of Technology to develop a visual restoration gene therapy for blindness caused by retinal disorders using a clinical application of optogenetics technology.
Restore Vision’s mission is to deliver therapies at light speed to patients waiting for an effective treatment and to end blindness by making cutting-edge gene therapy technology available to all.
Company Overview
Restore Vision Inc.
Yusaku Katada, CEO / Hikaru Miyazaki, COO
Established November 14, 2016
Toranomon Hills Business Tower 15F, 1-17-1 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan
https://restore-vis.com/en/
Contact:
Restore Vision Inc. / Hikaru Miyazaki, COO / contact@restore-vis.com