Our Vision: Creating Hope through Action
Kizuna Foundation is focused today on saving the sight of the Ringel Family siblings and other KIZ-mutated vision loss patients. However, our vision extends far beyond KIZ.
Kizuna Foundation is carving a path for many families to assemble custom gene therapies.
Why We Exist.
Our journey began with a personal mission: finding a treatment for an inherited retinal disease affecting our family. What we discovered along the way is that ultra-rare diseases often lack the necessary resources or attention for drug development. Traditional pharmaceutical models overlook these conditions, leaving millions of patients without options. We estimate >30K retinal disease patients in the US could benefit from our approach. We exist to lower barriers to accessing these therapies by sharing our progress with the community.
Stevie and Natalie Ringel as kids.
Our Vision for the Future.
We envision a world where no diagnosis is a dead end. By combining proven science, strategic partnerships, and a personalized approach, we aim to:
Empower families to pursue treatments.
Build accessible pathways for ultra-rare disease therapies.
Foster collaboration that uplifts an entire community.
Our Guiding Principles.
Precise: We combine proven science with tailored solutions that consider therapeutic impact to patient’s life
Open: Transparency and collaboration are central to our mission, breaking silos to unite families, researchers, and stakeholders.
Equitable: We work to ensure everyone, regardless of financial means or disease rarity, has access to treatments.