Non-Opioid Pain Therapies
SereNeuro is a preclinical biotech developing therapies for non-opioid pain relief.
About SereNeuro
SereNeuro Therapeutics is a preclinical biotechnology company developing non-opioid therapies for chronic pain. Our programs target chronic osteoarthritis joint pain (SN101) and neuropathic pain (SN102).
Our lead candidate SN101 is a first-in-class induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived therapy. SN101 uses mature iPSC-derived peripheral pain-sensing neurons (nociceptors) and is being developed to treat chronic osteoarthritis joint pain, challenging the traditional logic of pain management.
In the news: ISSCR · ScienceDaily · Medical Xpress · BioSpace · BioBuzz
Pipeline
Two programs targeting chronic pain through distinct non-opioid mechanisms: a disease-modifying cell therapy and an in vivo gene therapy. Both are in preclinical development.
SN101
iPSC-derived nociceptor
IND-enabling
Indication
Chronic Osteoarthritis Joint Pain
Modality
First-in-class iPSC therapy (DMOAD)
Mechanism
Dual mechanism for pain absorption & cartilage preservation
SN102
Gene therapy
Lead optimization
Indication
Trigeminal Neuralgia
Mechanism
Dampening hyperactive nociceptors while preserving normal sensation and motor function
Our Team
Leadership
Scientific Co-founders
Board of Directors
Dan Saragnese, MBA
Common Director
Co-founder and CEO of SereNeuro. He has guided therapeutic candidates from preclinical work into clinical development at venture-backed Stanford and Johns Hopkins spin-outs, including Ashvattha Therapeutics and Graybug Vision (NASDAQ: GRAY). Earlier, he held global operations roles at Catalent through the Blackstone-backed decade that carried it from a Cardinal Health carve-out to its 2014 NYSE listing.
Marc Greenberger
Preferred Director
Spent 14 years at Johnson & Johnson across manufacturing, R&D and brand management before founding Market Performance Group in 2002 and building it into a 450-person omnichannel commerce agency serving Fortune 500 and emerging brands. He tripled revenue and completed seven acquisitions with Insignia Capital before selling MPG to Sentinel Capital Partners in 2024, and still serves on its board.
Margot Connor
Independent Director
Thirty years of healthcare and life sciences leadership, including CEO of RoosterBio, the Frederick, Maryland supplier of stem cell and bioprocess products for regenerative medicine, which she joined as a founding team member in 2015. Senior roles earlier at Lonza, Unilever, FMC and Chr. Hansen, and more than 20 M&A transactions valued at over $1 billion. Board director at Secretome Therapeutics.
Charles C. Edwards II, MD
Board Observer
Director of The Maryland Spine Center at Mercy Medical Center. Patients from the Baltimore region and from across the nation seek Dr. Edwards’ expertise in diagnosing and treating spine conditions.
Katie Bratlie, PhD
Board Observer, Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine
Director of the Innovation Ecosystem at HJF, where she leads the partnerships, strategic initiatives and infrastructure that advance the commercialization of military medical innovations. She previously directed the pharmaceutical technologies funding portfolio within the National Science Foundation’s SBIR/STTR program, and served as a Board Director at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Earlier in her career she was Associate Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering and Materials Science at Iowa State University, researching drug delivery systems and biomaterials for regenerative medicine. PhD in Chemistry from UC Berkeley and an NIH postdoctoral fellowship at MIT.
Sathya Janardhanan
Board Observer, Ecphora Capital
Venture Partner at Ecphora Capital, where he handles deal flow, due diligence and valuations alongside the formation of new funds, and works closely with portfolio companies through the investment and across the company’s lifecycle. He brings over a decade in the biopharmaceutical industry across CMC development and corporate development, most recently as Vice President of Development and Manufacturing at Rise Therapeutics, where he established the CMC team and infrastructure and helped the company enter multiple clinical trials. A chemical engineer by training, he continues to advise companies building commercial manufacturing processes.
Supported By
MSCRF Commercialization Award recipient for stem cell-based products in Maryland
Inaugural tenant at HJF Innovation Labs @ Montgomery County, MD, the Henry M. Jackson Foundation’s dual-use military and civilian biotech incubator
Located at FastForward 1812, a JHTV incubator in Baltimore’s Eager Park
Graduate of the 2025 Advanced Therapies stream at CDL-Toronto
Completed the Nucleate Activator program in 2025
Listed on JETRO’s J-Bridge platform connecting promising overseas companies with Japanese corporate partners