Juvena Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company whose AI-enabled regenerative biologics are designed to restore tissue function, today announced the appointment of Julie Anne Smith as Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors. Ms. Smith brings more than two decades of executive leadership experience building and leading clinical-stage biopharmaceutical companies in rare disease, neuromuscular, and autoimmune therapeutics.
Ms. Smith joins Juvena as the company’s first-in-class biologic, JUV-161, is enrolling subjects in a Phase 2a atrophy study. JUV-161 holds FDA Orphan Drug Designation for myotonic dystrophy and was discovered using JuvNET, Juvena’s proprietary AI-enabled platform for mapping the therapeutic potential of stem cell-secreted proteins. Juvena is also advancing its platform through a global licensing and multi-target research collaboration with Eli Lilly and Company to advance additional muscle & metabolic health programs using JuvNET. Juvena will be presenting at Morgan Stanley’s 24th Annual Global Healthcare Conference on September 16, 2026.
“Juvena has built something rare: a discovery platform that sits at the intersection of biology, AI, and clinical translation, with an exciting asset already in the clinic,” said Ms. Smith. “I’ve spent my career on therapies that change the trajectory of disease for people with few or no options. JUV-161 can do that for people living with progressive muscle disease.”
“Julie has led clinical-stage companies through pivotal decisions, built teams that attract top talent and partners, and kept the focus on the patients,” said Stephen Juelsgaard, DVM, JD, Independent Director of Juvena Therapeutics. “With Phase 1 completed and our Lilly collaboration adding momentum, this is the right moment to bring in a CEO with Julie’s caliber of leadership, and we are confident she is the right person to take Juvena through this next stage of growth.”
Ms. Smith most recently served as Chief Executive Officer of Nuvig Therapeutics, a clinical-stage autoimmune company. Prior to that, she was President and Chief Executive Officer of ESCAPE Bio, a company focused on precisely targeted therapies for genetic neurodegeneration. Earlier, she served as President and CEO of Raptor Pharmaceuticals, a publicly traded orphan disease company with two approved global medicines, which was acquired by Horizon Pharmaceuticals in 2016. She began her industry career in commercial and operational leadership roles at Enobia Pharma, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Genzyme, and Bristol-Myers Squibb. Ms. Smith currently serves on the board of directors of Stoke Therapeutics and Exelixis.
About Juvena Therapeutics
Juvena Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing regenerative biologics designed to restore tissue function by translating insights from human stem cell biology into engineered therapeutics. The company is advancing a pipeline of programs targeting neuromuscular and age-related diseases, with the goal of delivering disease-modifying treatments for serious unmet medical needs.
For more information, visit www.juvenatherapeutics.com.
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