What Juvena Therapeutics does

Juvena Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company founded in 2017 and headquartered in Redwood City, California, developing tissue-restorative biologics for chronic muscle and age-related conditions including Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1, sarcopenia, obesity, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, and fibrotic liver disease. The company operates a proprietary AI-enabled discovery platform called JuvNET that integrates a multi-dimensional protein library mined from human pluripotent stem cell secretomes, in silico mapping of secreted proteins to disease phenotypes, in vitro human cell screening, in vivo pharmacology, and protein engineering, supported by quantitative proteomics, transcriptomics, robotics-enabled high-content imaging, and machine learning/deep learning models. All pipeline assets are sourced from this platform, including the clinical-stage lead JUV-161 (a first-in-class muscle-regenerating fusion protein with FDA Orphan Drug Designation for DM1, currently in Phase 1 trials and being expanded into sarcopenia), the preclinical metabolic program JUV-112 (an obesity biologic acting via lipid metabolism), and earlier-stage programs in IPF and hepatic disease.

Name

Juvena Therapeutics

Legal name

Juvena Therapeutics Inc.

Website

https://juvenatherapeutics.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Juvena Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company that uses its AI-enabled JuvNET platform to engineer tissue-restorative biologics from stem-cell secreted proteins, targeting myopathies and age-related metabolic and degenerative diseases.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Regenerative Biopharmaceuticals

NAICS

Biological Product (except Diagnostic) Manufacturing (325414), Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714)

SIC

Biological Products, (No Disgnostic Substances) (2836)

akta.pro primary industry

Neurology/CNS Gene Therapies (HLAAACAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Gene Therapy for Rare/Monogenic Diseases (HLAAACAE), Gene Therapy CMC/Process Development Platforms (capsid engineering, producer cell lines, plasmids, upstream/downstream) (HLAAACAN)

Keywords

• Tissue-restorative biologics
• AI-enabled biologics discovery
• Regenerative biopharmaceuticals
• Protein engineering platform
• Muscle regeneration therapeutics

Headquarters

HQ city

Redwood City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Research Collaboration and Partnership Milestones: Pharmaceutical partnership milestone payments from research collaborations, exemplified by the Eli Lilly research collaboration agreement valued at over $650 million in potential milestone payments, focused on muscle health, body composition, and metabolic disease. Includes upfront payments, R&D funding, and contingent milestone payments plus potential royalties.
2. Future Biologics Product Sales (Pre-Commercial): Future revenue from commercialization of tissue-restorative biologics (JUV-161 for Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1 and sarcopenia, JUV-112 for obesity/metabolic disease). Currently pre-commercial / clinical-stage with Phase 1 studies underway; no product sales revenue yet.
3. Non-Dilutive Grant Funding: Non-dilutive grant funding from institutions including the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) - $3,906,376 TRAN1 grant - and NIH/National Institute on Aging support to advance lead programs and platform research.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Juvena Therapeutics is a computationally-driven biopharmaceutical company that develops tissue-restorative biologics to treat myopathies and metabolic diseases. The company operates an AI-enabled discovery and development platform (JuvNET) that mines proteins secreted by human stem cells, maps them to disease phenotypes, and engineers novel biologic medicines, with a lead clinical-stage asset (JUV-161) targeting Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1 and sarcopenia, plus preclinical programs in obesity/metabolic disease (JUV-112), idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, and fibrotic liver disease.

Product overview

Juvena Therapeutics offers a platform-plus-pipeline architecture anchored by a single core technology — the AI-enabled JuvNET Platform — from which all of its discrete clinical and preclinical biologic assets are derived. The JuvNET Platform mines thousands of proteins secreted by human stem cells and systematically maps them to specific disease phenotypes using AI, quantitative proteomics, multi-omics, robotics-enabled high-content imaging, and protein engineering to produce tissue-restorative biologics. From this shared platform, Juvena has independently advanced a portfolio of named assets including the clinical-stage lead JUV-161 (a muscle-regenerating fusion protein in Phase 1 for Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1 with FDA Orphan Drug Designation), the preclinical metabolic program JUV-112 (an obesity asset acting via lipid metabolism), and earlier-stage programs in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and fibrotic liver disease. All pipeline assets are discovered and produced through the proprietary JuvNET platform and are targeted at myopathies, metabolic diseases, and broader chronic / age-related degenerative conditions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• JuvNET Platform: Juvena's proprietary AI-enabled end-to-end biologics drug discovery and development platform that maps secreted proteins to specific disease phenotypes, combining in silico, in vitro, in vivo, and protein engineering capabilities.

Products and services

• JuvNET Platform AI-enabled, fully integrated biologics discovery and development platform that mines thousands of proteins secreted by human stem cells, screens their therapeutic potential across disease phenotypes using quantitative proteomics, multi-omics, and robotics-enabled high-content imaging, and engineers novel biologic medicines. Offered to biopharma partners for research collaborations and licensing.
• JUV-161

Quantifiable outcome

• Completed dosing in 5 of 6 SAD cohorts and all MAD cohorts in Phase 1 JUV-161 study by January 2026
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered flagship - flagship biopharma partnership validating platform and core - flagship patient advocacy collaboration for lead indication.

• Eli Lilly and Companyflagship - flagship biopharma partnership validating platformStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2025Research collaboration agreement focused on muscle health, body composition, and metabolic disease, valued at over $650 million in potential milestone payments plus tiered royalties. Leverages Juvena's AI-enabled JuvNET platform and secreted protein discovery capabilities to develop novel therapeutics for muscle and metabolic indications. Featured in Nature Biotechnology for enhancing muscle health and body composition. Eli Lilly also participated in Juvena's $33.5M Series B financing in January 2026.
• Myotonic Dystrophy Foundationcore - flagship patient advocacy collaboration for lead indicationStrategic or Co-development PartnerJuvena works together with the Myotonic Dystrophy Foundation to translate research into tangible clinical benefits for people living with DM1. The collaboration synergizes Juvena's scientific innovations with the Foundation's extensive roots in the Myotonic dystrophy community to enable profound real-world impact. CEO Dr. Tanya Stevenson of MDF endorses Juvena's approach. Joint industry presentations at MDF Annual Conference and regional summits.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• Revolution Medicines: Clinical-stage oncology biotech that grew out of a Tri-Institutional Therapeutics Discovery Institute initiative combining academic drug discovery with computational biology. Comparable as a clinical-stage biotech with strong institutional backing that has used innovative discovery approaches to advance targeted therapeutics — though focused on oncology rather than regenerative biologics.

Direct peers

• Fate Therapeutics: Clinical-stage regenerative medicine biotech developing programmed cellular therapies from induced pluripotent stem cells. Comparable as a clinical-stage company mining stem-cell biology for novel therapeutics, though Fate's modality is cell therapy rather than engineered biologics.
• BioAge Labs: Clinical-stage biotech using AI and omics data to develop therapeutics for age-related diseases, with focus on metabolic and muscle health. Directly comparable given the shared longevity-and-muscle therapeutic focus, AI-platform approach, and clinical stage status.
• Surrozen: Clinical-stage biotech developing tissue-specific regenerative biologics targeting the Wnt pathway. Highly comparable in regenerative-biologics thesis, with overlap in target disease areas (hepatic, ocular) and at least one shared former team member (Priya Handa).
• Insitro: AI-driven drug discovery platform combining machine learning, high-throughput biology, and engineered human disease models to discover novel therapeutics. Directly comparable as a clinical-stage biotech using proprietary AI/ML infrastructure to systematically map biology-to-therapeutics, though Insitro focuses more on small molecules and hepatology/neuroscience rather than biologics.
• Scholar Rock: Clinical-stage biotech developing biologics targeting the TGFβ superfamily for muscle-related and rare diseases, including spinal muscular atrophy and obesity. Comparable as a clinical-stage biologics company pursuing muscle therapeutics — directly relevant given Juvena's JUV-161 sarcopenia program.
• Generate Biomedicines: Generative AI biologics company using machine learning to design novel protein therapeutics de novo. Closest direct peer given the shared thesis that AI can systematically generate or engineer biologics — a precursor and parallel to Juvena's protein-library-plus-AI approach.

Broad incumbents

• Ginkgo Bioworks: Public cell-engineering platform company that programs biological organisms for diverse applications. Comparable as a platform-plus-services biotech using AI and high-throughput biology, though Ginkgo is a much larger, broader, and more diversified incumbent focused on cell engineering rather than protein therapeutics.
• Recursion Pharmaceuticals: Public clinical-stage biotech operating a large-scale AI-enabled drug discovery platform integrating high-throughput biology, chemistry, and ML. Comparable in platform-plus-pipeline architecture, although Recursion is a larger, public, broad-spectrum incumbent with deeper capital and broader indication coverage.
• AbCellera Biologics: Public AI-enabled antibody discovery platform with partnership-based revenue (including major pharma collaborations). Comparable in combining an AI-driven biologics discovery engine with a partnership-centric business model, although AbCellera's focus is antibodies rather than secreted-protein-derived biologics.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/juvena-therapeutics

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds8 records

Investors22 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Juvena Therapeutics