The latest from small and Emerging Pharma companies featuring Ray Therapeutics and Tortugas Neuroscience. 

For news on the large and mid-sized bio/pharmaceutical companies, see Global Briefs. 

* Ray Therapeutics Raises $125 M To Support Retinal Gene Therapy Programs
* Tortugas Raises $106 M To Advance Neurology and Neuropsychiatric Pipeline

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Ray Therapeutics Raises $125 M To Support Retinal Gene Therapy Programs 
Ray Therapeutics, a Berkeley, California-based clinical-stage bio/pharmaceutical company focused on vision restoration therapies for severe retinal degenerations, has closed a $125-million Series B financing to support its two lead retinal gene-therapy programs. These are RTx-015, Ray Therapeutics’ lead optogenetic gene therapy currently being evaluated in patients with retinitis pigmentosa, and RTx-021, to restore vision to those with macula diseases, such as Stargardt disease and geographic atrophy age-related macular degeneration. 

The round was led by Janus Henderson Investors, with participation from additional new investors Adage Capital Management, Franklin Templeton, Invus, and Marshall Wace. The financing includes strong follow-on support from existing investors MRL Ventures Fund (the therapeutics-focused corporate venture arm of Merck & Co), Novo Holdings, 4BIO Capital, Deerfield Management, Norwest, and Platanus. 

Source: Ray Therapeutics 

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Tortugas Raises $106 M To Advance Neurology and Neuropsychiatric Pipeline 
Tortugas Neuroscience, a Framingham, Massachusetts-based neurology-focused bio/pharma company, has announced that it has raised $106 million in Seed and Series A financings. The funding will support ongoing research and development initiatives, including the completion of Phase II clinical trials for its two lead candidates, TRTL-107, a schizophrenia drug, and TRTL-913, a tinnitus drug. 

Source: Tortugas Neuroscience