During his time as a Blavatnik Fellow, Ying Kai Chan co-founded Cirrus Therapeutics, a company developing first-in-class and best-in-classs ocular medicines, which just recently celebrated an $11 million seed raise. We spoke with Kai about his path to HBS, the Fellowship’s role in shaping his entrepreneurial journey, and what’s ahead for Cirrus.

Can you tell us what brought you to Harvard Business School and what drew you to the Blavatnik Fellowship in particular?

Previously, I served as Chief Scientific Officer of venture-backed Ally Therapeutics and trained at Harvard Medical School as an immunologist. I was drawn to the Blavatnik Fellowship in Life Science Entrepreneurship as it offered a unique convergence between the spheres of business and life sciences.

How did your time at HBS and the Fellowship shape your perspective on entrepreneurship and innovation in biotech?

I was able to fortify my organizational leadership skills and deepen my business acuity while staying anchored to the mission of improving human health. It was the ideal environment to learn, grow, and prepare to translate scientific innovation into impactful medicines.

Were there specific courses, mentors, or experiences at HBS that influenced how you built or now lead Cirrus Therapeutics?

One course that stands out even a decade later is Commercializing Science, taught then by Professor Vicki Sato, the founding faculty chair of the Blavatnik Fellowship. I was curious about entrepreneurship, and Vicki opened my mind to the possibility of building enduring companies, capable of developing transformative medicines. This ultimately inspired me to take a leap of faith into the risk and reward of translating new science into medicines. Cirrus Therapeutics is built on that foundation, leveraging innovative first-in-class biology to treat blinding diseases.

Mentorship was equally formative. The Fellowship’s Personal Advisory Board model gave each Fellow access to a diverse set of expert advisors. I was fortunate to be mentored by Rosana Kapeller, CEO of Rome Therapeutics and founding CSO of Nimbus Therapeutics. As I transitioned from the CSO role to the CEO role, my capabilities expanded and my mindset became more strategic. Rosana’s guidance during that period was invaluable in my growth.

How did the idea for Cirrus first come about, and what problem were you hoping to solve in the field of ocular health?

Through various life experiences, I was struck by how profoundly debilitating vision loss is. Vision is our primary mode of interacting with the world; without it, people can struggle to be connected and to navigate everyday life. I had a neighbor who was blind, and could only recognize me by my voice. This underscored the daily challenges patients face.

During this period, I was drawn to the work of Professor Andrew Dick, a renowned physician-scientist in ocular immunology and Director of the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology. His dedication to patients and his lab’s innovative research motivated me to explore how these scientific insights could be developed to the benefit of patients in need. Our desire to help people, combined with unfolding scientific innovation led us to co-found Cirrus with a simple but ambitious goal: to help patients see better—or even see again.

Your team recently announced an $11 million seed round — congratulations! What does this milestone represent for Cirrus at this stage?

This milestone is deeply impactful to our team. It enables us to forge ahead with our mission to advance therapies targeting blindness, by moving our program toward the clinic while expanding our broader pipeline. We are focusing on leveraging innovative science to develop gene and cell therapies for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and other chronic blinding diseases. AMD is the leading cause of vision loss in adults over 50, and the unmet medical need remains significant.

Our lead program, currently in preclinical stage, is a novel adeno-associated virus or ‘AAV’ ocular gene therapy designed to address an underlying cause of dry AMD: the loss of IRAK-M, a key immune regulator expressed in retinal cells.

What have been some of the biggest challenges or learnings you’ve encountered moving from the lab to leading a startup?

Throughout this journey, one key learning has been that teamwork must remain central to every objective. It’s like rowing in the Charles River. If any of our team members row out of sync, it is actively working against progress. But with trust and communication, we can all row in unison, and that’s how big goals can be attained.

A significant challenge has been the pullback from funding early-stage, novel assets in favor of later-stage or lower-risk programs in the biotech space. Yet the biggest unmet needs, which will be compounded by an aging population—will require bold new science, not incremental advances. We are thrilled to raise new financing for early-stage novel science. If we want to deliver transformative medicines to patients, not just incremental improvements, there must be support to fuel this growth.

Looking ahead, what’s next for Cirrus Therapeutics as you advance your lead program toward the clinic?

We are advancing our lead program through IND-enabling studies and preparing for clinical development. In parallel, we are expanding our pipeline of next-generation ocular medicines and building our team to incorporate complementary scientific and operational expertise. These efforts will position us to move multiple programs forward with precision and speed.

Finally, what advice would you give to current or aspiring Blavatnik Fellows who are thinking about launching their own ventures?

Embrace the uncertainty. Building a new venture from the ground up can feel daunting, but along with uncertainty, there is the opportunity to shape something meaningful—your team, your technology, and your mission.

Surround yourself with the right people, both inside and outside the company. During critical junctures, whether it is a period of extreme difficulty, or a key decision needs to be made with incomplete information, a trusted advisor might just provide a dose of courage or the gut check you need.

The Blavatnik Fellowship in Life Science Entrepreneurship will be accepting applications February 2–28, 2026. The program is open to HBS alumni, Harvard-affiliated PhDs, MDs, and researchers– as they build companies from high-potential, data-driven scientific technologies while developing entrepreneurial capabilities. Learn more about the Fellowship and the application process: https://www.hbs.edu/healthcare/for-alumni/blavatnik-fellowship/