Creyon Bio Names Industry Veteran Serge Messerlian as CEO to Drive Growth and Partnerships
Creyon Bio, a biotechnology company pioneering the use of artificial intelligence in oligonucleotide therapy development, has announced a major leadership transition with the appointment of Serge Messerlian as Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. This decision marks a pivotal moment in the company’s growth as it positions itself for a transformative phase of clinical development and expanded strategic collaborations.
Mr. Messerlian brings to Creyon Bio more than two decades of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, with a distinct focus on corporate leadership, therapeutic innovation, and strategic alliance formation. His career spans senior roles at both emerging biotech ventures and large multinational pharmaceutical companies, where he has consistently demonstrated an ability to drive clinical advancement and commercial success across diverse therapeutic areas, including oncology, hematology, immunology, rare diseases, and next-generation therapeutic platforms.
Before accepting the CEO role, Mr. Messerlian had already been closely involved with Creyon Bio, having served as Executive Chairman of the Board and Acting CEO since the fall of 2024. In those roles, he contributed to shaping the company’s strategic direction and was instrumental in reinforcing its commitment to innovation, precision medicine, and next-generation drug development.
“Having worked alongside the incredible team at Creyon Bio as both an investor and a board member, it’s an absolute privilege to now lead the company as CEO,” said Messerlian. “Creyon’s AI-powered oligonucleotide engineering platform stands at the forefront of a new era in RNA-targeted therapeutics. With the FDA’s recent shift toward embracing new approach methodologies that reduce or eliminate reliance on traditional animal testing, we are entering a phase where precision, predictability, and patient-centric design will define the future of drug development.”
Creyon Bio’s core innovation lies in its proprietary oligonucleotide engineering engine, the first and only AI-powered platform of its kind designed to accelerate the development of RNA-targeted oligonucleotide therapies. These short nucleic acid sequences—commonly referred to as oligos—offer significant therapeutic potential for a broad range of diseases. However, their development has historically been limited by challenges related to delivery, tissue specificity, and safety. Creyon’s platform seeks to eliminate these barriers by integrating artificial intelligence, data-driven design, and high-throughput biological modeling to create safer and more effective therapeutics that are customized for specific tissues and disease contexts.
The platform has particular relevance in light of recent regulatory shifts. With the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announcing a move away from traditional animal testing in favor of more predictive and humane new approach methodologies (NAMs), Creyon’s technology is well-aligned with both current scientific advancements and evolving regulatory expectations.
Under Mr. Messerlian’s leadership, Creyon Bio is expected to accelerate its therapeutic pipeline, with the company’s first lead candidate—a therapy targeting a neuromuscular disorder—set to enter clinical development in 2026. The company plans to formally announce the candidate and its target indication later this year. In parallel with internal pipeline development, Creyon is also seeking to expand its strategic partnerships and collaborations, enabling the application of its platform across additional therapeutic areas, including central nervous system (CNS) disorders, autoimmune diseases, and oncology.
“Our dual strategy—to build a wholly owned pipeline while enabling partners to harness our platform for their own programs—is designed to maximize the clinical and commercial impact of our technology,” explained Messerlian. “By pairing our AI-driven design capabilities with deep biological insights, we’re committed to transforming the way oligonucleotide therapies are discovered, developed, and delivered.”
In conjunction with the appointment of Mr. Messerlian, Creyon Bio has also announced that Dr. Kiersten Stead, Managing Partner at DCVC Bio and a long-time investor in the company, has joined its Board of Directors, effective immediately. Dr. Stead brings a unique combination of scientific expertise, investment acumen, and operational leadership to the board, further strengthening Creyon’s governance and strategic planning as it prepares for its next phase of growth.
DCVC Bio, the life sciences-focused venture capital firm where Dr. Stead is a co-founder and Managing Partner, recently closed its third fund at $400 million—an oversubscribed round that reflects strong investor confidence in deep-tech platforms aimed at transforming healthcare. The firm was one of Creyon’s earliest backers, having first invested in the company during its seed stage in 2020.
Dr. Stead is widely respected in the biotechnology and venture capital communities for her focus on enabling breakthrough technologies in therapeutics, synthetic biology, and computational biology. A scientist by training, she has co-founded several successful biotech companies and has served on the boards of numerous high-growth startups in the life sciences sector. Her addition to Creyon’s Board is expected to bring further depth and insight as the company scales its operations and deepens its engagement with investors, collaborators, and regulatory stakeholders.
“Creyon Bio is uniquely positioned to reshape how oligonucleotide therapies are developed—faster, safer, and more precisely,” said Dr. Stead. “It’s incredibly exciting to support this team as they bring an entirely new modality into the clinic, one that aligns with both scientific innovation and shifting regulatory standards. I look forward to working with Serge and the broader team to realize Creyon’s vision of a world where targeted RNA therapeutics can be delivered with unparalleled efficiency and specificity.”
Shaq Vayda, Board Member and Principal at Lux Capital, echoed those sentiments, highlighting the significance of Creyon’s leadership additions at this critical inflection point. “Serge brings the perfect combination of scientific depth, strategic vision, and operational leadership to guide Creyon into its next phase. His successful track record leading therapeutic development and commercialization across both rare and widespread diseases is exactly what the company needs as it looks to scale its platform and build global partnerships,” said Vayda. “We’re equally thrilled to welcome Dr. Stead to the board. Her unique experience as a deep-tech investor and company builder adds invaluable insight and leadership as we move forward.”
Before joining Creyon, Mr. Messerlian served as CEO of Teon Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotech focused on immuno-oncology. Prior to that, he was President of Janssen Oncology, a Johnson & Johnson company, where he led the Creyon Bio development, approval, and commercialization of several groundbreaking cancer treatments. Earlier in his career, Messerlian held senior leadership roles at Actelion (acquired by J&J), Baxalta (acquired by Shire), and Baxter International. His cross-functional expertise spans mergers and acquisitions, business development, pipeline strategy, product launches, and oversight of multibillion-dollar P&L operations.
Creyon Bio is poised to not only initiate its first clinical trials but also redefine the standards for how RNA-based therapies are conceived and brought to patients. With a reinforced executive team, an expanding board of scientific and industry leaders, and a robust AI-powered discovery platform, the company is on a mission to advance Creyon Bio precision therapeutics that offer better outcomes, faster development timelines, and a new frontier of therapeutic possibility.
