Cirrus Therapeutics Secures $14.7M Seed Financing and SERI Collaboration to Advance Ocular Gene Therapy for Geographic Atrophy
Key Insights
Cirrus Therapeutics (search) raised $14.7 million in seed financing, adding Cedars Sinai Intellectual Property Company (search) to its investor syndicate alongside ClavystBio, Polaris Partners, and SEEDS.
The company announced a collaboration with the Singapore Eye Research Institute (SERI) and Duke-NUS Medical School (search)'s Centre for Vision Research to accelerate ophthalmic therapy development.
Cirrus's lead program is a preclinical AAV ocular gene therapy designed to restore IRAK-M (search) protein, aiming to prevent AMD progression and preserve central vision in geographic atrophy (search) patients.
Cirrus Therapeutics (search), a privately held ocular immunology biotech, announced on August 4, 2026, a collaboration with the Singapore Eye Research Institute (SERI) and Duke-NUS Medical School (search)'s Centre for Vision Research, alongside an expanded investor syndicate that has raised $14.7 million in seed financing to date. The dual announcements position the company to advance its lead program—a novel ocular gene therapy targeting geographic atrophy (search) (GA)—toward clinical development.
The new collaboration, supported by Singapore's National Medical Research Council (NMRC) and the National Health Innovation Centre Singapore (NHIC), aims to accelerate the advancement of innovative ophthalmic technologies for the treatment of blinding diseases. SERI, the research arm of the Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC), ranks first globally by ophthalmology publications per capita and, together with Duke-NUS, conducts research focused on preventing blindness, low vision, and major eye diseases affecting populations in Singapore and Asia.
"We are taking methodical steps to build an ocular immunology company that delivers global impact. Our collaboration with SERI and Duke-NUS exemplifies this strategy in action," said Ying Kai Chan, PhD, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Cirrus Therapeutics (search). "We're also pleased to fortify our investor syndicate with new additions, including strategic investors such as Cedars Sinai Intellectual Property Company (search) as we continue to progress our novel ocular gene and cell therapy candidates toward the clinic."
A Gene Therapy Approach Targeting IRAK-M (search) Restoration
Cirrus's lead program is a preclinical-stage adeno-associated virus (AAV) ocular gene therapy designed to restore IRAK-M (search), a key immune regulator protein expressed in retinal cells. The loss of IRAK-M has been identified as an underlying cause of dry age-related macular degeneration (search) (AMD). By restoring this protein, the therapy aims to prevent AMD progression and preserve central vision in patients with geographic atrophy (search), an advanced stage of AMD.
The company's second program is a preclinical-stage, next-generation RPE cell therapy intended to restore vision in patients with center-involving GA.
Building a Cross-Border Ocular Immunology Platform
The SERI and Duke-NUS collaboration builds on Cirrus's March 2026 announcement of an R&D site in Singapore, which complemented the company's UK science origins and US infrastructure. That expansion also included a strategic partnership with Singapore's Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) to develop impactful ophthalmic therapies.
"The pioneering work by SERI, augmented by Duke-NUS, has contributed to important advances in how eye diseases are understood, treated and prevented in Asia and globally," said Assistant Professor Hwee Goon Tay, PhD, Principal Investigator at SERI and Duke-NUS' Centre for Vision Research, who is leading the collaboration. "Through this collaboration with Cirrus, we hope to accelerate the development of new therapies that can protect or restore sight for people living with serious retinal diseases."
Professor Andrew Dick, MD, Co-founder and Chief Scientific Advisor of Cirrus, as well as Duke Elder Chair and Director of the Institute of Ophthalmology at University College London (UCL) and Head of Academic Unit of Ophthalmology at the University of Bristol, emphasized the strategic importance of the Singapore presence: "Over the past two decades, Singapore has established itself as a high-impact, global R&D hub, with ophthalmologic and retinal diseases being a key highlight. Cirrus' presence and strategic partnerships in Singapore is the type of cross-border collaboration critical for addressing the massive, global unmet need presented by age-related macular degeneration (search) and geographic atrophy (search)."
Investor Backing and Next Steps
The $14.7 million seed financing round includes ClavystBio, Polaris Partners, SEEDS (an investment arm of SG Growth Capital), Cedars Sinai Intellectual Property Company (search), and additional institutional investors. The expanded syndicate provides Cirrus with the financial resources to continue advancing its gene and cell therapy candidates toward the clinic, with a focus on extending the ocular healthspan of patients with chronic blinding diseases.