Reimagining cardio-hematology to leave no patient behind.
Despite decades of innovation, thrombotic and thromboembolic events like acute ischemic stroke, heart attack, and pulmonary embolism continue to outpace current standards of care.
Today, large segments of cardio-hematologic patient communities are left undertreated or entirely untreated due to a paralyzing tradeoff between therapeutic efficacy and quality of life.
Aronora is reimagining what modern medicine can accomplish for patients who require time-sensitive thrombolytic intervention or tailored management of life-threatening risk for thrombosis.
Blood clots are the leading cause of death worldwide.
strokes per year<br />in the United States alone
heart attacks per year<br />in the United States alone
pulmonary embolisms per year<br />in the United States alone
It takes a paradigm shift to make history.
We are developing first-in-class and best-in-class medicines that move beyond managing symptoms to durably transform quality of life.
Our clinical programs are grounded in genetics, purposed for patient-centricity, and designed to rewrite rulebooks governing clinical practice.
Scientific Publications
Advancing a differentiated pipeline of practice-changing clinical programs.
- Discovery Discovery
- IND-Enabling IND
- Phase 1 Ph 1
- Phase 2 Ph 2
- Phase 3 Ph 3
Program
AB002 (factor IIa mimetic) is a first-in-class Protein C activator enzyme being developed for treatment of acute ischemic stroke. This differentiated mechanism of action delivers rapid and targeted thrombolysis, as well as bimodal anti-inflammatory cytoprotection. AB002 is currently the only thrombolytic in clinical development with the potential for universal patient eligibility and administration at any timepoint during the patient journey.
- Discovery
- IND
- Ph 1
- Ph 2
- Ph 3
Program
AB023A2 (gruticibart) is a first-in-class factor XI (FXI) inhibitor designed to bind the Apple 2 (A2) domain of FXI. This differentiated mechanism of action selectively inhibits factor XII–mediated contact activation of FXI, while preserving thrombin-mediated FXI activation that supports fully functional hemostasis. AB023A2 is being developed as a tailored anticoagulant therapy for patient communities at high risk for bleeding.
- Discovery
- IND
- Ph 1
- Ph 2
- Ph 3
Program
AB011A3 is a first-in-class factor XI (FXI) inhibitor designed to bind the Apple 3 (A3) domain of FXI. This differentiated mechanism of action potently inhibits prothrombotic activation of FXI, with preclinical data exhibiting an anticoagulant effect comparable to complete FXI deficiency. AB011A3 is being developed as a tailored anticoagulant therapy for patient communities at low to moderate risk for bleeding.
Rights
- Discovery
- IND
- Ph 1
- Ph 2
- Ph 3
Program
AB054 is a best-in-class factor XII (FXII) inhibitor designed to potently inhibit FXII-mediated thrombin generation and downstream activation of the inflammatory cascade. This mechanism of action regulates the chronic underlying thrombo-inflammatory state of vasculature known to increase risk for mortality across various cardio-hematologic patient communities.
Rights
- Discovery
- IND
- Ph 1
- Ph 2
- Ph 3
Program
AB062 is a first-in-class antisense oligonucleotide designed to inhibit hepatic production of thrombopoietin (TPO), a key regulator of platelet production whose signaling pathway is aberrantly activated in essential thrombocythemia (ET). ET is a chronic myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN) that increases lifetime risk for thrombosis, bleeding, and malignant transformation into other MPNs such as polycythemia vera, myelofibrosis, and acute myeloid leukemia.
Rights
- Discovery
- IND
- Ph 1
- Ph 2
- Ph 3
Led by luminaries with domain expertise in cardio-hematologic drug development.
Erik I. Tucker, Ph.D.
President & Chief Executive Officer
Erik is a founding luminary of the FXI product class and brings more than 20 years of deep research and drug development experience in cardio-hematology. He has guided Aronora from early scientific discoveries through multiple successful clinical trials. Under his leadership, the company has built a robust pipeline and established a reputation for translational excellence and capital-efficient drug development.
Erik is the inventor of three unique FXI inhibitors that have completed early clinical development. He holds more than 90 issued patents, has authored over 60 scientific publications, and was recently elected as a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors.
Erik earned his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) and holds a B.S. from University of Oregon. He also serves as an adjunct faculty member in biomedical engineering and an affiliate member of The Knight Cancer Institute’s Center for Experimental Therapeutics within OHSU’s School of Medicine.
Lekhan Shivashankar
Chief of Staff
Lekhan is an accomplished management consultant with deep expertise in shaping value narratives for cardiovascular biotechnology companies.
Prior to joining Aronora, he founded Renaissance bio, a specialty consulting firm dedicated to storytelling, where he served as an advisor and operating partner to executives at VarmX, Bitterroot Bio, and Kardigan.
Lekhan holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Northeastern University.
Norah G. Verbout, Ph.D.
Vice President of Operations
Norah brings over 15 years of experience in drug development and a track record of operational excellence across research, clinical development, and organizational management. She led the end-to-end advancement of the AB002 program from preclinical evaluation through Phase 2 clinical proof of concept.
Norah has co-authored more than 20 peer-reviewed scientific publications, contributed to successful fundraising initiatives, established strategic industry partnerships, and served as principal investigator on multiple NIH-funded projects. Prior to joining Aronora, she completed her postdoctoral training on mechanisms of inflammation and asthma at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Norah holds a Ph.D. in Physiology and Pharmacology from Oregon Health & Science University and a B.S. in Biology from the Washington State University.
Christina U. Lorentz, Ph.D.
Director of Clinical Development
Christina brings over 12 years of experience in drug development and a track record of guiding programs from early research through successful clinical execution. She led the end-to-end advancement of the AB023A2 program from preclinical evaluation through Phase 2 clinical proof of concept.
Christina has co-authored more than 20 scientific publications, contributed to successful non-dilutive fundraising efforts, established strategic industry partnerships, and served as principal investigator on multiple NIH-funded projects. Prior to joining Aronora, she completed her postdoctoral training at the Weill Cornell Medical College, where she studied the role of proneurotrophins in the remodeling of cardiac microvasculature after myocardial infarction.
Christina holds a Ph.D. in Physiology and Pharmacology from Oregon Health & Science University and a B.S. in Physiology and Neuroscience from the University of California San Diego.
Brandon D. Markway, Ph.D.
Director of CMC
Brandon brings over 10 years of experience in biologic drug development and a track record of leading CMC strategy across all clinical programs in Aronora’s pipeline.
Brandon has co-authored 14 scientific publications, supported on non-dilutive fundraising efforts, helped form strategic industry collaborations, and served as a principal investigator on NIH grants. Prior to joining Aronora, he completed his postdoctoral training on mesenchymal stem cell chondrogenesis and the effects of hypoxia on cartilage biology and pathology at Oregon Health & Science University.
Brandon holds a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Oregon Health & Science University and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Missouri.
Michael Wallisch, Ph.D.
Principal Scientist
Michael brings over 13 years of experience in drug development and a track record of leading scientific validation of all clinical programs in Aronora’s pipeline.
Michael has co-authored more than 20 scientific publications and led work on drug candidates in Aronora’s unique thrombosis models — widely regarded as the industry gold standard for preclinical evaluation of antithrombotic therapies. Prior to joining Aronora, he completed two postdoctoral fellowships at Oregon Health & Science University on the roles of Fanconi Anemia proteins in caretaker gene pathways and on the regulation of the mu opioid receptor in Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
Michael holds a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and an M.S. in Chemistry from the Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg.
Felicia Williams
Business Manager
Felicia brings over 15 years of business management experience, including overseeing finance systems, federal grant and PCAOB audits, and regulatory compliance.
Prior to joining Aronora, she was an adjunct history instructor at Portland State University and the University of Portland. Felicia also served in the US Air Force working in Command & Control, which included managing disasters, as well as a wide range of other emergency situations.
Felicia holds a B.A. in History and English from the University of Portland.
Marschelle Carris
Laboratory Manager
Marschelle is an experienced research professional who oversees laboratory operations and supports clinical execution across all programs in Aronora’s pipeline.
Prior to joining Aronora, Marschelle supported scientific programs across both academic and industry settings.
Marschelle holds a B.S. in Cellular & Molecular Biology from Florida State University.
Grace E. Colón, Ph.D.
Board Chair
Grace is an accomplished entrepreneur and executive with a 30-year career spanning biopharma, genomics, health care, venture capital, and industrial biotechnology. Previously, she was Chief Executive Officer of InCarda Therapeutics, and held senior leadership roles at Gilead Sciences, Intrexon, Affymetrix, McKinsey & Company, and New Science Ventures.
Grace brings substantial governance expertise shaped by service on numerous public, private, and non-profit boards. Her previous board roles include CareDx, ProterixBio (Executive Chair), Paradigm Diagnostics (acquired by Exact Sciences), Cocoon Biotech, and PerceptiMed. She currently serves as board chair of Bloom Sciences and Emm, and on the boards of Voyager Therapeutics, the MIT Corporation, and the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO).
Grace holds undergraduate and doctoral degrees in chemical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, respectively. In 2024, she was elected a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE).
John Glasspool
Board Director
John is a seasoned global biopharmaceutical executive with a distinguished track record of leading organizations through clinical, operational, and strategic inflection points. He currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of VarmX. Prior to joining VarmX, he was the Founding CEO of Anthos Therapeutics (acquired for up to $3.1B by Novartis), where he led the development of abelacimab, a first-in-class dual factor XI/XIa inhibitor.
John previously served as EVP, Head of Corporate Strategy and Customer Operations at Baxalta, Head of Emerging Therapies and Market Development at Baxter International, and in various leadership positions at Novartis, including Head of Vaccines and Diagnostics, Europe, Global Head of Commercial Operations, Pricing and Market Access, and Global Head of Cardiovascular and Metabolism. He currently serves on the boards of Relmada Therapeutics and Promicell Therapeutics. He is also a member of the Emerging Companies Section Governing Board at the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), a Venture Partner at Agent Capital, and a Senior Advisor to the NEWDIGS Project at the Tufts Medicine Center for Biomedical System Design and the MIT Center for Biomedical Innovation.
John holds a B.A. in Politics and International Relations from the University of Staffordshire.
Erik I. Tucker, Ph.D.
Board Director
Erik is a founding luminary of the FXI product class and brings more than 20 years of deep research and drug development experience in cardio-hematology. He has guided Aronora from early scientific discoveries through multiple successful clinical trials. Under his leadership, the company has built a robust pipeline and established a reputation for translational excellence and capital-efficient drug development.
Erik is the inventor of three unique FXI inhibitors that have completed early clinical development. He holds more than 90 issued patents, has authored over 60 scientific publications, and was recently elected as a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors.
Erik earned his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) and holds a B.S. from University of Oregon. He also serves as an adjunct faculty member in biomedical engineering and an affiliate member of The Knight Cancer Institute’s Center for Experimental Therapeutics within OHSU’s School of Medicine.
Jeffrey L. Saver, M.D.
Carol and James Collins Chair, Department of Neurology, UCLA
Founding Director, UCLA Stroke Center
Distinguished Professor and SA Vice Chair for Clinical Research, UCLA
Interim Co-Director, Katherine and Benjamin Kagan Alzheimer’s Disease Treatment Development Program, UCLA
Dr. Saver is a world-renowned neurologist and founding director of the UCLA Stroke Center. He specializes in acute stroke treatment, stroke prevention, brain imaging, and clinical trial design. His research has been pivotal in developing clot retrieval therapy for acute stroke – a treatment now used worldwide. Additionally, he has advanced the field of pre-hospital stroke care by developing tools that enable on-site identification of stroke and initiation of treatment shortly after onset. Dr. Saver has served as a principal investigator for more than 50 clinical studies, including the NIH-NINDS FAST-MAG, SWIFT PRIME, and DAWN trials, all of which have reshaped standards of care for stroke.
Dr. Saver has authored over 800 peer-reviewed publications, three books, and forty book chapters. He serves as Associate Editor at JAMA and sits on the Editorial Board of Circulation. His contributions have been recognized with numerous honors, including the American Heart Association Distinguished Scientist Award, the US Clinical Research Foundation Clinical Research Award, and the World Stroke Organization Lifetime Research Award.
Dr. Saver earned his B.A. from Harvard University and his M.D. from Harvard Medical School. He completed his internship and neurology residency at Brigham and Women's Hospital, followed by fellowships in behavioral neurology and cognitive neuroscience at the University of Iowa and in vascular neurology at Brown University.
David Gailani, M.D.
Professor of Pathology & Microbiology & Immunology, Vanderbilt University
Professor of Medicine, Division of Hematology Oncology, Vanderbilt University
Director, Clinical Coagulation Laboratory at Vanderbilt University Hospital
Ernest W. Goodpasture Chair in Experimental Pathology for Translational Research, Vanderbilt University
Dr. Gailani is a globally recognized expert in coagulation biology and a foundational thought leader in factor XI research. He is currently a Professor of Pathology and Medicine at Vanderbilt University and Director of the Clinical Coagulation Laboratory at Vanderbilt University Hospital.
Dr. Gailani helped redefine the coagulation cascade and championed the development of factor XI inhibitors as a new class of anticoagulants. He is a co-inventor of Aronora’s AB023A2 and AB011A3 FXI programs, which are rooted in his foundational discoveries on contact pathway proteases. His research has been instrumental in shaping modern anticoagulant therapy and his work has contributed to transformational therapeutic advances such as direct oral factor Xa inhibitors.
Dr. Gailani earned his B.A. from Cornell University and his M.D. from the University of Illinois. He completed his residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Iowa and a fellowship in Hematology at Washington University in St. Louis.
Brandi Reeves, M.D.
Associate Professor of Medicine, UNC Chapel Hill
Dr. Reeves is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, where she specializes in myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), bone marrow failure syndromes, lower risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), and clonal hematopoiesis.
Dr. Reeves is a highly accomplished physician-scientist who leads a large team of hematologists with domain expertise in MPNs. Her research program focuses on mechanisms of thrombosis in MPN, where her goal is to provide individualized care through thrombotic risk stratification and tailored treatment strategies.
Dr. Reeves has authored more than 50 peer-reviewed publications and is committed to advancing patient care by supporting the development of novel therapies that move beyond cytoreduction to target the underlying biological drivers of MPNs. Her pioneering research and discoveries have been widely recognized by patients and physicians alike, with her most recent research on AB062 garnering Best Overall Abstract at the 17th International Congress on MPNs.
Dr. Reeves earned her M.D. from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, completed her residency in Internal Medicine at the Mayo Clinic, and her fellowship in Hematology and Oncology at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill.
Scott D. Berkowitz, M.D., FAHA, FACC
Research Professor of Medicine, Cardiology and Hematology, University of Colorado
Clinician-Scientist at CPC Clinical Research
Scott D. Berkowitz, MD is a hematologist, coagulation expert, and clinical research physician on vascular disorders. Dr. Berkowitz has over 30 years of experience in the clinical development of novel antithrombotic medications including LMWHs, oral heparin, argatroban, bivalirudin, GPIIb/IIIa inhibitors, a P2Y12 antagonist, ximelagatran, rivaroxaban, and several early FXIa inhibitor candidates.
From 2000 to 2006, he was a clinical research physician at AstraZeneca LP, where he advanced the clinical development of the first oral direct thrombin inhibitor, ximelagatran. He then joined Bayer AG from 2006 to 2021, where he served as a global clinical leader who was ultimately appointed Chief Scientist for Thrombosis and Vascular Diseases. During his tenure, he was Lead Physician for the oral direct factor Xa inhibitor rivaroxaban (Xarelto®) program, overseeing its clinical development and Bayer’s early antithrombotics portfolio. He and his team completed 16 Phase 3 Xarelto® trials, 13 of which met their statistical efficacy endpoint, leading to 8 different health regulatory approved clinical indications worldwide. His team also successfully completed a full pediatric development program with rivaroxaban, including a 500 pediatric patient Phase 3 clinical trial, which was the largest pediatric Phase 3 trial for an antithrombotic therapy up until that time. From April 2024 to April 2025 Dr. Berkowitz served as a Medical Officer at the FDA in the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Office of New Drugs, Division of Cardiology and Nephrology.
Dr. Berkowitz is an author or co-author of 190 peer-reviewed journal articles, over 145 scientific abstracts, and five book chapters. He has also been elected Fellow of the American College of Physicians (ACP), Fellow of the American Heart Association (AHA) and the Council on Atherosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, and Fellow of the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and is also a member of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), the International Society for Thrombosis and Hemostasis (ISTH), and the Society for Vascular Medicine (SVM).
Dr. Berkowitz earned his M.D. from Jefferson Medical College and completed his internship, residency, and chief residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center/Mercy Hospital. He subsequently completed a clinical fellowship in Hematology/Oncology at Ohio State University and a 3-year postdoctoral research fellowship in Experimental Hemostasis at the Scripps Research Institute.
Joseph Shatzel, M.D., M.C.R.
Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering, OHSU
Dr. Shatzel is an Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), where he focuses on developing innovative strategies for the delivery of anticoagulant and antiplatelet therapies.
A highly accomplished clinician-scientist, Dr. Shatzel has authored more than 90 peer-reviewed publications and multiple book chapters in hematology, reflecting his outstanding productivity and scientific leadership. His work spans clinical research, translational investigation, and therapeutic innovation, establishing him as a rising star in the fields of thrombosis, coagulation, and platelet biology.
Clinically, Dr. Shatzel specializes in treating patients with clotting and bleeding disorders, along with a broad spectrum of hematologic conditions. His commitment to advancing patient care is matched by his academic dedication—he has received multiple teaching awards from OHSU’s Department of Medicine, recognizing his excellence in mentorship, education, and scientific communication.
His research program focuses on the mechanisms of coagulation, platelet disorders, and the development of novel anticoagulants, bridging fundamental science with real-world therapeutic needs.
Dr. Shatzel earned his M.D. from the University at Buffalo, completed his residency in Internal Medicine at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, and his fellowship in Hematology and Medical Oncology at the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute.
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