BOULDER, Colo., April 06, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Renovare Therapeutics, Inc., a privately-held biotechnology company pioneering regenerative therapeutics for osteoarthritis, today announced its formal launch from stealth mode and collaboration with University of Colorado (CU) Boulder, which was awarded a contract of up to $33.5 million in 2024 from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) and recently announced its advancement into the second phase of the award. The non-dilutive funding, delivered under ARPA-H’s Novel Innovations for Tissue Regeneration in Osteoarthritis (NITRO) program, will support the continued development of lead product candidates through IND-enabling and first-in-human Phase 1 safety studies. Renovare will collaborate with CU Boulder to advance these and other novel therapies towards commercialization.
The ARPA-H NITRO program is designed to accelerate breakthrough therapies that restore joint function and quality of life for the more than 32 million Americans affected by osteoarthritis. NITRO is led by ARPA-H Program Manager Dr. Ross Uhrich. In March 2024, NITRO awarded the multi-institutional team of scientists and researchers from CU Boulder, CU Anschutz, and Colorado State University (CSU) up to $33.5 million in funding over five years to create minimally invasive therapeutics that fully regenerate damaged joints. Over the past two years, the team has completed nonclinical research and development on several unique products, leveraging its core technological innovations.
Renovare Therapeutics, Inc. was formed in early 2026 to further develop and commercialize product candidates from the portfolio developed under the NITRO program. These product candidates represent novel approaches to treat osteoarthritis, a degenerative joint disease that results in loss of cartilage and bone tissue and causes debilitating pain, loss of mobility, and reduced quality of life. While current treatments largely provide only symptomatic relief, Renovare’s innovative products aim to be regenerative, potentially halting and reversing disease progression and enabling patients to reclaim active lifestyles.
“This award is a significant milestone for our team, for Renovare, and for the future of osteoarthritis care,” said Dr. Stephanie Bryant, lead Principal Investigator (PI) on the NITRO award and Chief Scientific Officer and founder of Renovare Therapeutics. “We are grateful for ARPA-H’s partnership and confidence in our team’s vision to create therapies that are designed to address the unmet needs of osteoarthritis patients. After spending my academic career developing these technologies, it is thrilling to see them advance toward the clinic where their potential to make a difference in the lives of patients is inspiring.”
Renovare Therapeutics: Platform Technology and OA Pipeline
Renovare Therapeutics, Inc. is a biotech company built on a platform of core technological innovations developed at CU Boulder, CU Anschutz, and CSU. These technologies include controlled drug delivery systems and novel gene therapies to treat inflamed and degenerated joints via intra-articular injection or intravenous infusion, as well as advanced regenerative biomaterials for the treatment of cartilage and/or bone lesions delivered arthroscopically. Renovare boasts an ambitious pipeline of products that have the potential to be customized or combined to treat osteoarthritis patients at any stage of disease, with lead assets advancing towards IND-enabling studies in 2026.
Leadership
Renovare Therapeutics, Inc.’s founders include a Management Team of disease area, domain, and functional experts, as well as a Scientific Advisory Board of osteoarthritis, gene therapy, and cartilage and bone regeneration experts.
Management Team:
- Liz Scott, MBA, Chief Executive Officer: Liz Scott has over twenty years of experience in business executive roles at established and emerging biotech companies, including Genentech, Array Biopharma (acquired by Pfizer), Reata Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Biogen), etc. Liz Scott has guided more than nine new products through clinical development, regulatory approvals, and rapid commercial adoption culminating in over $18 billion in acquisitions and numerous blockbuster launches.
- Stephanie Bryant, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer: Dr. Stephanie Bryant is the lead scientific founder of Renovare, the lead principal investigator (PI) on the ARPA-H NITRO award, and serves as the Provost Endowed Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Director of the Materials Science and Engineering Program, and member of BioFrontiers Institute at the University of Colorado (CU) Boulder. Dr. Bryant’s twenty-five plus years of research on Renovare’s core technologies have yielded authorship of over 145 publications and fifteen U.S. patents issued or pending.
- Karin Payne, PhD, Chief Development Officer: Dr. Payne is a Co-PI on the ARPA-H NITRO award and serves as Associate Professor of Orthopedics and Director of Education for the Colorado Program for Musculoskeletal Research at the University of Colorado Anschutz. Dr. Payne’s decades of research and innovations in cartilage and bone regeneration have been integral to Renovare's preclinical programs.
Scientific Advisory Board:
- Laurie Goodrich, DVM, PhD, Diplomate ACVS: Dr. Goodrich is a board-certified large animal surgeon, Professor of Orthopedics in the Department of Clinical Sciences at Colorado State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, and Director of the Orthopaedic Research Center. Dr. Goodrich holds the Barbara Cox University Chair in Orthopaedics. Dr. Goodrich has dedicated their career to developing innovative therapies for bone and joint healing and bridges biology and clinical veterinary practice, making them a uniquely valuable translational research partner.
- Kelly Santangelo, DVM, PhD, Diplomate ACVP: Dr. Santangelo is a Professor in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology at Colorado State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. A board-certified veterinary pathologist, Dr. Santangelo focuses on the pathogenesis of musculoskeletal conditions in translational animal models, making them a valuable contributor to Renovare’s translational research strategy.
- Mike Zuscik, PhD: Dr. Zuscik is the Mack Clayton Professor of Orthopedics, Vice Chair of Research, and Director of the Colorado Program for Musculoskeletal Research at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. A nationally recognized leader in musculoskeletal biology, Dr. Zuscik has dedicated their career to understanding the mechanisms of joint degeneration and developing disease-modifying therapeutic strategies for osteoarthritis.
Dr. Goodrich and Dr. Zuscik are Co-PIs and Dr. Santangelo is a Senior Investigator on the ARPA-H NITRO award.
“Support from the NITRO program will accelerate our translational pipeline development and empower us to advance potentially transformative solutions for a long-overlooked disease area,” said Liz Scott, Chief Executive Officer of Renovare. “With Renovare’s technologies having broad applicability beyond osteoarthritis, we are excited to build a biotechnology company of significant value to patients, providers, and community stakeholders.”
About Renovare Therapeutics, Inc.
Renovare Therapeutics, Inc. is a privately-held biotechnology company developing regenerative therapies designed to address musculoskeletal diseases based on proprietary core technologies developed at the University of Colorado (CU) Boulder, University of Colorado Anschutz and Colorado State University. Headquartered in Boulder, CO. Renovare’s mission is to advance regenerative therapies that restore function and transform care for patients with osteoarthritis and other conditions with significant unmet medical needs. Renovare boasts platform technologies with broad potential applications and a pipeline of osteoarthritis product candidates advancing towards IND-enabling studies. For additional information, please visit https://renovaretx.com. Follow us on LinkedIn.
Media Contact
Renovare Therapeutics, Inc.
Liz Scott
CEO and Co-founder
Email: Info@renovaretx.com
