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A new biotech startup, Cirrus Therapeutics, is taking aim at one of the most common causes of blindness—dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD)—by tackling the root biological process of aging itself. Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the company has raised $11 million in seed funding to develop a gene therapy that could rejuvenate the aging retina and potentially reverse vision loss. Unlike current AMD treatments that only slow disease progression, Cirrus’ approach seeks to restore youthful function at the cellular level, targeting the fundamental mechanisms that drive retinal degeneration.
Dry AMD affects more than 200 million people worldwide and progressively damages the macula, the part of the retina responsible for sharp, central vision. There are currently no approved therapies that can restore lost sight. Cirrus’ lead program centers on replenishing a protein called IRAK-M, which helps maintain immune balance in the retina. With age, levels of IRAK-M naturally decline—an effect that is accelerated in AMD—leaving retinal cells vulnerable to inflammation and oxidative stress.
This research builds on discoveries from the lab of University of Bristol ophthalmologist Professor Andrew Dick, Cirrus’ co-founder and Chief Scientific Advisor. His team, in a 2023 Science Translational Medicine paper, identified IRAK-M as a key regulator of retinal health. In preclinical studies, restoring IRAK-M helped protect retinal cells from degeneration, suggesting that the protein acts as a master switch for slowing or even reversing aging-related damage in the eye.
To deliver this therapy, Cirrus uses an adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector to introduce genetic instructions directly into the retina, boosting IRAK-M expression to youthful levels. Cirrus CEO Dr. Ying Kai Chan says the goal is to create a durable, one-time gene therapy that preserves or restores vision. If successful, the approach could not only transform treatment for AMD but also mark a turning point in how gene therapy is applied—shifting from rare genetic disorders to widespread, age-related diseases.
