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Optogenetics: From Nobel Prize to Commercial Reality

The 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine went to Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel for optogenetics, the method that switches defined cells on and off with light. Nanoscope's MCO-010 is now under FDA review for retinitis pigmentosa, GenSight has published its PIONEER results in the NEJM, and listed companies from Paris to Shanghai hold stakes in the developers. This piece explains the science, maps the stakes and sizes the market.