At the recent 2026 Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI) World Congress held in West Palm Beach, Florida, SmartTRAK met with Immanuel Thangaraj, CEO and co-founder of Serene, to explore a potential breakthrough in osteoarthritis (OA) treatment. Thangaraj explained Serene's distinctive use of Tin-117m microparticles, a radiotherapeutic technology designed to target and eliminate synovial macrophages, thereby disrupting the inflammatory cycle. As Serene begins human clinical trials in Canada, Thangaraj emphasized the product's potential classification as a medical device for OA and its promising prospects as a disease-modifying therapy for chronic joint pain.
To listen to the interview, click on the following video (19:43 min). A link to download a complete transcript of the interview is also provided below.
SmartTRAK: This is David Shepard with SmartTRAK, and I'm here at the 2026 OARSI meeting. I'm here with...
Immanuel Thangaraj: Immanuel Thangaraj.
Immanuel Thangaraj. Excellent. Thank you. And you're the CEO and co-founder of Serene.
IT: That's correct.
Tell me a little bit about yourself, your background, and also about Serene and the product.
IT: Serene is a startup that we started working on at the venture firm that I was involved with for almost 25 years, EW Healthcare Partners (formerly known as Essex Woodlands). When I started to retire from an active role in managing venture funds, I wanted to stay engaged with some of the portfolio companies that we had developed but didn't quite get to the finish line. The most interesting of which is Serene. And it's a project, an investment that has been a significant part of my intellectual focus and interest as a venture capitalist, bringing new modes or new mechanisms to large existing problems. And the radiotherapy world or solutions either in cancer or beyond cancer were relatively thin at the time when we ...
Click the button below to download a complete transcipt of our exclusive interview with Serene CEO Immanuel Thangaraj, who shares with David Shepherd, SmartTRAK's GM/Sr Analyst, Orthobio Regen, how a unique new treatment targets and clears out the exact cells causing joint inflammation and pain. Already successfully used in veterinary medicine without dangerous side effects, this technology is now officially moving into human clinical trials.