Aro Biotherapeutics, a Philadelphia-based clinical-stage biotechnology company developing targeted short-interfering RNA (siRNA) medicines for diseases with high unmet medical need, has appointed Brett Blackman, Ph.D., Senior Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Business Officer of Valo Health, to its Board of Directors. Blackman brings more than 25 years of experience spanning drug discovery, engineering, and business strategy.
On Aro’s board, Blackman will support the company as it deploys its platform — which uses Centyrins, small engineered proteins, to deliver siRNA medicines to specific tissues — across strategic areas of high commercial interest. Blackman said he was drawn to the strength of Aro’s R&D leadership team and to a platform that can precisely target tissue-specific disease drivers that have historically been hard to reach, pointing also to the clinical proof-of-concept data the platform has already produced.
“We are excited to welcome Dr. Blackman to Aro’s Board of Directors,” said Purnanand Sarma, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Aro Biotherapeutics. “His expertise in turning breakthrough science into successful companies will be invaluable as we expand our platform into new disease areas to bring these medicines to patients.”
About Brett Blackman
I’m excited to join the Aro Biotherapeutics board, having been impressed by the caliber and depth of experience of its R&D leadership team. Aro has built a highly differentiated therapeutic modality platform, one that unlocks the ability to precisely modulate tissue-specific disease targets that have historically been difficult to address. The platform has already demonstrated compelling proof-of-concept validation in the clinic, underscoring its potential to translate into meaningful therapies. I look forward to supporting Aro as it advances full deployment of this platform across strategic areas of high commercial interest,” said Dr. Blackman.
Blackman currently leads corporate operations and strategy, business development, alliance management, portfolio program management, and legal affairs as SVP, COO, and CBO at Valo Health, which he joined in January 2019 as part of its founding team — first as Chief Innovation Officer and Head of Corporate Business Development, becoming COO in 2024. He also serves as a Strategic Advisor to Northpond Ventures and sits on the Board of Directors of the Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute.
Before Valo, starting in 2016, Blackman worked across several Flagship Pioneering companies as a co-founder, operating Chief Scientific Officer, and strategic advisor, including Cogen Immune Medicine (now Repertoire Immune Medicines), Omega Therapeutics (interim CSO), Evelo Biosciences, Kintai Therapeutics (now Senda Biosciences), and Ohana Biosciences.
He began his career as a researcher, developing a cardiovascular surrogate platform technology during training at the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard Medical School, then continuing that work over 16 years at the University of Virginia, including more than a decade as a tenured Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering. That research produced more than ten human disease models and became the core technology behind HemoShear Therapeutics, which he founded in 2008 and led as Chief Scientific Officer until 2015; he holds multiple patents.
Blackman earned a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics from Drexel University and a Ph.D. in Bioengineering from the University of Pennsylvania, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in vascular biology at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
About Aro Biotherapeutics
Aro is building a wholly owned pipeline of therapeutic candidates across a diverse set of diseases using its proprietary Centyrin technology, with Centyrins engineered for efficiency, versatility, and safety. The company is headquartered in Philadelphia.
