About
There are more than 7,000 diseases with no FDA-approved treatments, yet the FDA is presented with fewer than 60 new treatments to approve each year. That offers scant hope to the 30 million Americans suffering from rare diseases - and one Chicago innovator is doing something about it.Jeff Aronin, the chairman and CEO of Chicago-based Paragon Biosciences, is demonstrating how a combination of financing and strategic support create companies that successfully develop treatments for severe medical conditions. Mr. Aronin has launched several successful portfolio companies, including: Harmony Biosciences, Castle Creek Pharma, Emalex Biosciences, and Skyline Biosciences.
Mr. Aronin’s expertise in novel drug development and venture innovation has made him one of the most impactful and successful leaders in the biosciences sector. Mr. Aronin has transformed the lives of people treated for: complex partial seizures, tonic-clonic seizures, mixed seizure patterns, infantile spasms, Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, Porphyria, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and Huntington's disease.
Previously, Mr. Aronin served as President and CEO of Ovation Pharmaceuticals, which he founded in 2000 and was acquired by Lundbeck in 2009. Mr. Aronin is also founder and co-chairman of MATTER—a health-technology startup incubator with over 220 healthcare companies founded and grown since 2015. Mr. Aronin is a member of The Commercial Club of Chicago and serves on several corporate and civic boards including Discover Financial Services and The Aspen Institute.
