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Our mission

Millions still live with neurodegenerative disease

Effective treatment of neurodegenerative and neurological diseases remains a high unmet need. This problem is only set to grow in size as the population ages; if left unchecked, more than 12 million people will be struggling with neurodegenerative diseases in the United States alone by 2050.

Incidence of neurodegenerative disease in United States. Source: Harvard NeuroDiscovery Center

Brain prevalence infographic
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Leading the advance

For over 12 years, Aruna Bio has been leading the research and manufacturing of neural stem cells in collaboration with some of the world’s leading research organizations.
Today, we are advancing a new class of cell-free biologics – neural exosomes derived from neural stem cells.  Our proprietary neural exosomes naturally target cells in the central nervous system (CNS) and have been shown to deliver therapeutic payloads across the blood/brain barrier in preclinical models.
By leveraging our novel platform to optimize the delivery of RNAs, antibodies, genes and small molecules for our partners, our vision is to significantly improve outcomes for a range of neurological disorders.
A Snail

What is slowing progress
in these diseases?

One of the biggest hurdles scientists and drug developers have faced is being able to deliver effective treatments to their site of action in sufficient quantities to have a meaningful clinical effect. Crossing the blood/brain barrier has required significant advancement in order to make progress in the treatment of these devastating diseases.
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The expertise

At Aruna Bio, we have assembled a team of people who are experts in their particular field. While our skills are diverse (researchers, physicians, manufacturing and commercial experts), we are unified by a shared passion and a clear, singular goal: Neurodegenerative conditions can be controlled, just as many other diseases have been. By creating a completely new platform to treat some of the most challenging diseases, our aim is to bring new hope to millions – for patients, for carers, for families.
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The management team

Aruna management teamMark Sirgo
Chief Executive Officer

• >35 years of pharmaceutical company experience • 13 years as President & CEO, BioDelivery Sciences (NASDAQ: BDSI) • 17 years at GSK including Vice President of Development • EVP, Corporate Development at PPD.

Aruna management teamSteven Stice, PhD
Co-Founder, Chief Scientific Officer

• University of Georgia, Professor & Director, Regenerative Bioscience Center • Co-Founder, Former CSO and CEO of Advanced Cell Technology and Cytogenesis Inc. • 30 years of research work in stem cells and exosomes.

Aruna management teamTracey Worthington-Stice
Co-Founder, Executive Vice President, Manufacturing and Process Development

• >20 years of process development, cell manufacturing and business development experience • Directed first commercialized hPSC neural cell line at Aruna Bio • Expertise in process management.

Aruna management teamAl Medwar
Executive Vice President, Corporate and Commercial Development

• >30 years of Pharma experience in sales, marketing, business development and investor/ public relations • Former SVP, Corporate & Business Development for BioDelivery Sciences • 12 years at GSK in sales and marketing.

Aruna management teamJames Paskawitz
Vice President, Research & Development

• Board-certified neurologist with >29 years of clinical and drug development experience • Former Medical Director at Parexel, Biogen, Vertex and Sage Therapeutics • Clinical trial investigator for neurologic disease.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS
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