Cirrus Therapeutics expands global footprint to Singapore with ocular immunology business

Cirrus Therapeutics announced several business and pipeline updates to support its growth as a leading global ocular immunology company advancing first-in-class and best-in-class therapies to extend the ocular healthspan of patients with chronic blinding diseases.

• Expands to Singapore and appoints Singapore site head. Complementing its UK science origins and US infrastructure, Cirrus has now established an R&D site in Singapore, further expanding its global footprint and gaining access to Asia-Pacific, one of the world’s fastest-growing biopharma markets. Si Hui Tan, PhD has been appointed as Director, Pipeline and Site Head, Singapore. Dr. Tan most recently led the first-in-class liver regeneration program at Lerna Biopharma, a multi-site biotech where she was also a founding member. Dr. Tan holds a PhD in Cancer Biology from Stanford University.

• Forges A*STAR collaboration to develop cutting edge ophthalmic assets. Related to its Singapore expansion, Cirrus has entered into a strategic partnership with the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore’s lead public sector R&D agency. This multi-million dollar collaboration will accelerate advancement of innovative ophthalmic assets, including Cirrus’ second pipeline program. The collaboration will be led by Associate Professor Xinyi Su, PhD, MBChir, Executive Director of the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB, A*STAR) and Senior Consultant Ophthalmologist, National University Hospital (NUH).
  
  
• Unveils second pipeline program, a novel RPE cell therapy. Cirrus has also unveiled its second pipeline program, a next-generation RPE (retinal pigment epithelium) cell therapy for the treatment of center-involving geographic atrophy (GA). This novel RPE cell therapy could be intrinsically fitter to function and survive in the hostile GA environment. The program’s differentiated profile has the potential for class-leading vision restoration. Cirrus also continues to advance its lead program toward the clinic, a novel ocular gene therapy designed to restore IRAK-M, so as to prevent AMD progression and preserve central vision. Together, these therapeutic programs afford potential treatments covering the different stages of AMD disease.

“Our presence in Singapore well positions us to leverage critical research, clinical development and partnering opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region as we advance groundbreaking cell and gene therapies to address urgent unmet ophthalmic needs around the world,” said Ying Kai Chan, PhD, Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of Cirrus Therapeutics. “We look forward to collaborating with A*STAR IMCB and renowned clinician-scientist Dr. Xinyi Su to accelerate advancement of cutting-edge ocular medicines, including our differentiated next-generation RPE cell therapy.”

“At A*STAR IMCB, we harness biology to develop transformational biotherapeutics and have built a strong track record of developing high-impact innovations. We are excited to build on these strengths with Cirrus by combining our complementary expertise to develop innovative ophthalmic therapies that restore vision and improve patients’ lives,” said Associate Professor Xinyi Su.

“As the global population ages, chronic blinding diseases like AMD demand far better solutions. Cirrus exemplifies the bold science ClavystBio backs to transform these conditions. With a growing presence in US and Singapore as well as strong ties in UK, Cirrus is well positioned to harness cross-border networks and capabilities to become a global leader in ophthalmic therapeutics,” said Khoo Shih, PhD, Chief Executive Officer at ClavystBio.