Our team

Anu Muona, PhD 
CEO

Anu Muona is a founder and CEO of Aranda. Anu has over 15 years of experience in preclinical drug development in small molecules for various target indications. Prior to founding Aranda, she served as a Head of Cellular and Molecular Biology at Medeia Therapeutics Ltd, the originator of the ADA-308 program, her major responsibility being the pharmacological development of the program. She has also been a member of a team exploring the potential of bone marrow stem cell-based therapy for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease at Medeia. Anu has a strong scientific background in molecular biology and genetics. She received her PhD in molecular biology in the Collagen research unit of the University of Oulu, Finland. She has completed extensive postdoctoral training in stem cell research and its applications in neurodegenerative diseases at the University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio.


Noemí Gutiérrez Valdés, MSc
Project Coordinator

Noemí Gutiérrez Valdés is a Project Coordinator at Aranda. She has over 4 years of experience in biotechnological projects. Noemí is currently finalizing her doctoral degree in Plant Sciences from the University of Helsinki with her thesis on plant-based recombinant proteins for diagnostic and therapeutic applications. During her thesis journey, she has been working as a Research Scientist at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland where she has collaborated in a European initiative with research institutes, universities and SMEs in the area of plant biotechnology for health applications. Noemí holds an MSc in Plant Biotechnology from Wageningen University in the Netherlands. During her MSc thesis, she studied nematode immunomodulators for their use in pharmaceutical technologies. Having worked in both academia and industry gives her expertise in project coordination and leading cross-functional teams. Noemí is responsible for coordinating the preclinical studies with service providers and overseeing that timelines and goals are met.

Mr. Heikki Eronen

Heikki Eronen is a Manager in Company Administration and Finance at Aranda. Previously Heikki served in the same task at Medeia Therapeutics Ltd. Heikki brings over 40 years of experience to Aranda having served different small to medium-sized companies in various administrative and managerial roles. Heikki is a strong talent, especially in accounting and financial planning.