Interview with Paula Cerqueira, VP of Scientific Strategy
Sania Therapeutics is developing a next-generation gene therapy platform focused on treating neurological symptoms driven by dysfunctional neural circuits. At RESI London, the company was recognized as a Third-Place winner in the Innovator’s Pitch Challenge and received the highest score from the judging panel, underscoring strong investor interest in its controllable and circuit-specific approach to gene therapy. In this interview, Sania Therapeutics shares its therapeutic focus, differentiated platform, and how participation in RESI has helped shape ongoing conversations with investors and strategic partners.
 Paula Cerqueira |
 Caitlin Dolegowski |
Caitlin Dolegowski (CD): For those just discovering Sania Therapeutics, how do you describe your company and therapeutic focus?
Paula Cerqueira (PC): Sania Therapeutics is developing a new class of controllable gene therapies designed to treat neurological symptoms driven by dysfunctional neural circuits. Our platform combines localized, low-dose AAV delivery that selectively targets specific neuronal subpopulations with patient-controlled activation, allowing us to precisely modulate hyperactive neurons, improving symptoms without adversely and permanently altering normal neural function.
Our initial therapeutic target is a motor circuit disorder: spasticity. Our broader goal is to expand into additional motor and sensory indications where current treatment options are limited, invasive, or poorly tolerated.
CD: What unmet medical need are you addressing, and what differentiates your approach?
PC: Millions of people live with debilitating neurological symptoms such as spasticity and pain disorders, yet existing treatments are often temporary, blunt, or invasive. Oral drugs frequently cause systemic side effects, while interventions like Botox or implanted devices require repeated procedures and provide limited relief. Despite the scale of this unmet need, there has been little meaningful innovation in this area for more than a decade.
Sania’s approach is differentiated in two key ways. First, our proprietary platform enables selective targeting of the neural circuits that drive disease using localized, low-dose AAV delivery. This approach is intended to support a safer, more sustainable, and more scalable path for gene therapy than traditional systemic delivery.
Second, our therapy is controllable. Patients can adjust the therapeutic effect using an oral activator, allowing symptom modulation over time. This puts patients in control while enabling precise and flexible therapeutic regulation.
Our mission at Sania is to bring gene therapy into everyday clinical use by meaningfully improving the lives of people living with neurological conditions. While this is an ambitious goal, for patients who struggle daily with basic activities such as holding a child, we believe this approach has the potential to be truly transformative.
CD: What was your experience participating in the Innovator’s Pitch Challenge at RESI London?
PC: Participating in the Innovator’s Pitch Challenge at RESI London was an extremely valuable experience. The format encouraged clarity and discipline in how we communicated both our science and long-term vision, and the audience questions reflected a high level of engagement from investors and industry leaders.
Being recognized as a Third Place (First Place among judges in our session) winner among a strong and diverse group of companies was particularly meaningful, and it reinforced that there is a strong interest in approaches that rethink how gene therapy can be applied beyond ultra-rare indications.
CD: How has the RESI platform influenced conversations with investors or strategic partners?
PC: RESI offered a valuable opportunity to present our work to a broad set of investors and strategic partners and to test our messaging with a highly informed audience. While many groups are understandably focused on later-stage opportunities, the platform helped us refine our positioning and identify areas of alignment for future conversations as the company progresses.
Following the Innovator’s Pitch Challenge, we also initiated early, informal conversations that we expect to build on as the company continues to mature.
CD: Where does Sania Therapeutics currently stand in terms of fundraising or partnerships?
PC: Sania Therapeutics is currently focused on advancing its lead spasticity program and platform toward key preclinical and IND-enabling milestones, while continuing to expand the broader platform supporting multiple motor and sensory indications.
In parallel, we are building relationships with investors and strategic partners aligned with our long-term vision. As the platform matures and data advances, we expect to raise funding to support clinical entry of our lead program and the continued development of additional programs enabled by the platform, and we welcome conversations with groups interested in engaging early.
CD: What upcoming milestones are most important for the company?
PC: Our near-term focus is on advancing our lead spasticity program across regulatory and manufacturing activities and initiating IND-enabling studies in 2026. Reaching that point will significantly de-risk the program and position us well as we move this innovative approach toward the clinic.
In parallel, we are making meaningful progress on platform development to support expansion into additional motor and sensory indications. A key goal for the team this year is to validate our first sensory capsid in vivo, leveraging the same delivery and control principles demonstrated in our lead program.
Applications are now open for the Innovator’s Pitch Challenge at RESI Europe. Life science and health tech companies seeking targeted feedback from a dedicated group of coordinated investors are encouraged to apply to participate in interactive pitching, partnering, and one-to-one meetings at RESI Europe.
| Apply to Pitch at RESI Europe 2026 |
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