Congratulations! Professor Georg Nagel, Scientific Advisor to Zhongmou Medical, has been awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

From the late 1990s to the early 2000s, scientists including Professor Hegemann and Professor Nagel studied microbial photoreception mechanisms and discovered and characterized light-gated ion channels such as Channelrhodopsin. This discovery enabled scientists to precisely control cellular activity using light and became an important foundation for the development of optogenetics. Since then, optogenetics has gradually moved from basic research toward exploration of therapeutic applications.

Today, scientists are exploring the use of photosensitive proteins to confer light responsiveness on cells that are not naturally photosensitive, providing new therapeutic approaches for diseases that have been difficult to address with conventional treatment methods. From “using light to control cells” to “using light to restore vision,” this scientific journey spanning more than two decades is entering a new stage.

As a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of Augelux Therapeutics, Professor Nagel and Augelux Therapeutics have continued to follow the development of optogenetics and photosensitive protein-related technologies.

Augelux Therapeutics focuses on the translational application of optogenetics and gene therapy technologies in ophthalmic diseases, and is committed to further translating cutting-edge basic research achievements in optogenetics into therapeutic solutions that address unmet clinical needs.

Among these efforts, Augelux Therapeutics’s optogenetic gene therapy program ZM-02 represents an important exploration of translating this scientific concept into clinical application. From the early discovery of photosensitive proteins, to the establishment of the optogenetics technology platform, and now to the exploration of using photosensitive proteins to restore vision, this process reflects the long-term and profound synergy among basic science, engineering technology, and clinical medicine.

Augelux Therapeutics’s core product ZM-02 is being developed for advanced retinitis pigmentosa.

In the first-in-human MOON clinical trial (NCT06292650), following a single intravitreal injection of ZM-02 and follow-up through Week 52, the treatment demonstrated good safety and tolerability. All six treated subjects showed improvement in visual acuity from baseline, with 83.3% achieving a clinically meaningful improvement of at least 0.3 LogMAR in best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA); the mean improvement at Week 52 was 0.61 LogMAR.

ZM-02 received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Orphan Drug Designation in October 2024; the international multicenter randomized controlled Phase I/II PRISM clinical trial (NCT07282457) was approved by the FDA in November 2025; in August 2026, ZM-02 received approval from the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) to conduct a drug clinical trial and was authorized to initiate a registration clinical trial in China.

In addition, the company’s optogenetic gene therapy program AGX-08 for geographic atrophy (GA) has been approved by a hospital ethics committee and is preparing for clinical research. Augelux Therapeutics has established a full-chain R&D system covering photosensitive protein design and engineering, optimization of gene delivery vectors, and evaluation of ophthalmic gene therapies, and continues to advance candidate pipelines with proprietary intellectual property.

More than two decades ago, scientists discovered and studied light-gated ion channels and subsequently developed optogenetics; today, this important breakthrough in basic science has received the highest recognition of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. At the same time, optogenetics is moving beyond the laboratory. From “using light to control cells” to “using light to restore vision,” basic science is connecting with patients in a new way.

As a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of Augelux Therapeutics, Professor Georg Nagel has also continued to provide scientific guidance for R&D related to optogenetics and vision restoration.

Hiteck Biological once again extends its most sincere congratulations to Professor Georg Nagel, Professor Peter Hegemann, and Professor Karl Deisseroth!

We look forward to continued breakthroughs in cutting-edge science represented by optogenetics, and to Augelux Therapeutics’s continued efforts to advance the clinical translation of vision restoration technologies and bring new hope for treatment to more patients with severe retinal diseases.

Starting from a beam of light, exploring the possibility of seeing the world again.

Dr. Georg Nagel, born on August 24, 1953, in Weingarten, Germany, is currently a Professor of Molecular Plant Physiology at Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (Department of Molecular Plant Physiology and Biophysics) and a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of Augelux Therapeutics. He studied biology and biophysics at the University of Konstanz and received his Ph.D. from Goethe University Frankfurt in 1988, during which time he conducted research at the Max Planck Institute of Biophysics. He subsequently conducted postdoctoral research at Yale University and Rockefeller University in the United States. From 1992 to 2004, he led an independent research group at the Max Planck Institute of Biophysics, and in 2004 he joined Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg. Professor Nagel and Professor Peter Hegemann jointly discovered Channelrhodopsin, pioneering the field of optogenetics. He has received numerous prestigious honors, including the Wiley Prize in Biomedical Sciences (2010), the Karl Heinz Beckurts Prize (2010), the Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine (2013), The Brain Prize (2013), the Rumford Prize of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2019), and the Shaw Prize in Life Science and Medicine (2020). He was also elected a member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) in 2015.

Professor Georg Nagel