# Joanna Stanicka

> Joanna Stanicka is the co-founder, president and CEO of Axonis Therapeutics, a Boston clinical-stage biotech developing first-in-class oral medicines that target the brain chloride transporter KCC2 to treat epilepsy, neuropathic pain and spinal cord injury. A Harvard-trained neuroscientist who began her career in cancer biology in Ireland, she moved from the bench to the boardroom, taking Axonis from a Boston Children's Hospital discovery to a company that raised a $115 million Series A in 2024 and pushed its lead drug, AXN-027, into first-in-human trials.

- **Role:** Co-founder, President & CEO at Axonis Therapeutics
- **Organizations:** Axonis Therapeutics, Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation (Scientific Advisory Board), Boston Children's Hospital / Harvard Medical School (former), University College Cork (former)
- **From:** Poland
- **Nationality:** Polish
- **Education:** B.Sc. (undergraduate studies), University College Cork, Ph.D. in Cancer Biology, University College Cork, Postdoctoral research, neuroscience (Zhigang He lab), Harvard Medical School / Boston Children's Hospital
- **Known for:** Co-founded and leads Axonis Therapeutics as President and CEO, Raised more than $157 million in total funding, including a $115M Series A (2024) and $34M+ seed, Secured ~$8.7M in non-dilutive funding from the NIH and U.S. Department of Defense

## Career timeline

- **Pre-2019** — Postdoctoral research fellow in Zhigang He's lab at Boston Children's Hospital / Harvard Medical School, studying CNS repair and neuroregeneration
- **2019** — Co-founded Axonis Therapeutics with Shane Hegarty, Corey Goodman and Bob Yant; joined as Chief Scientific Officer and was promoted to CEO within six months
- **2024** — Led Axonis to a $115 million Series A financing co-led by Cormorant Asset Management and venBio Partners; AXN-027 entered first-in-human trials

## Achievements

- Co-founded and leads Axonis Therapeutics as President and CEO
- Raised more than $157 million in total funding, including a $115M Series A (2024) and $34M+ seed
- Secured ~$8.7M in non-dilutive funding from the NIH and U.S. Department of Defense
- Co-inventor on six patents
- Advanced lead candidate AXN-027, a first-in-class oral KCC2 potentiator, into first-in-human trials
- MassChallenge Winner (2019)
- MassNextGen CEO Award (2020)
- Golden Tickets from Boehringer Ingelheim (2019), Astellas Pharma (2020) and Lundbeck (2024)

## Latest updates

- **2024-10** — Axonis closed an oversubscribed $115 million Series A financing to advance AXN-027 through clinical proof-of-concept.
- **2024** — Lead candidate AXN-027, a first-in-class oral KCC2 potentiator, entered first-in-human trials for epilepsy and pain.

## Links

- Website: https://axonis.us
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/joanna-stanicka-9b1a2448
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/axonis_us
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/axonis-664425177347897

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/joanna-stanicka
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-07-16