Vergent Bioscience Names Adam Gridley as Chief Executive Officer

Phase 3 clinical trial progress and strengthened leadership team position Vergent for its next phase of growth toward commercialization and pipeline development

Vergent Bioscience, a clinical-stage biotechnology company advancing molecularly targeted intraoperative imaging, today announced the appointment of Adam Gridley as President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Gridley succeeds John Santini, Ph.D., who will transition to the role of Chief Technology Officer, continuing to lead the company’s scientific innovation and long-term technology strategy.

Mr. Gridley brings more than 30 years of commercial and late-stage clinical experience in the biotechnology, medical device and pharmaceutical industries, leading venture capital-backed startups to fully integrated public commercial organizations. He previously held CEO roles at Allay Therapeutics, a drug delivery biotechnology company; Entera Bio, an oral biologics company; and Histogenics, a cell therapy and biologics company. Mr. Gridley has led multiple IPOs, venture-backed fundraisings, and strategic transactions and exits in the US, Europe, and Asia. Previously, Mr. Gridley held several corporate and operational executive roles at Merz Pharma and BioForm Medical (including the sale to Merz). Mr. Gridley is on the board of directors of LifeSprout and Hyalex Orthopaedics, and on the board of advisors for Life Science Cares.

The leadership transition reflects Vergent’s significant progress and growing momentum with its lead product candidate, abenacianine for injection, which is currently enrolling a Phase 3 clinical trial in lung cancer. Abenacianine is designed to illuminate cancer in real time during surgery, enabling surgeons to make more confident intraoperative decisions with the goal of achieving complete oncologic resection. In prior Phase 2 and Phase 2b lung cancer studies, molecular insight with abenacianine improved intraoperative decision-making in 43% and 45% of surgeries, respectively.

“This is an exciting and intentional moment for Vergent,” said Doug Kohrs, board member at Vergent Bioscience. “Dr. Santini has successfully guided the company from early scientific innovation through a critical clinical inflection point, laying a strong foundation for Vergent’s upcoming milestones. As we enter this next phase in our growth, Mr. Gridley brings deep experience building and scaling organizations, along with a proven capability to develop and lead exceptional teams. We are confident in Mr. Gridley’s ability to further strengthen the organization and help position Vergent for worldwide commercial growth and long-term success.”

“I’m incredibly proud of what our team and investigators have achieved to advance abenacianine for lung cancer patients, and I’m equally excited about our planned pipeline expansion,” said John Santini, Ph.D., chief technology officer at Vergent Bioscience. “Mr. Gridley brings the right experience as we move toward commercialization, and I’m looking forward to supporting the advancement of abenacianine as a surgical oncology platform for all tumor types.”

Mr. Gridley added, “Vergent has built a differentiated platform, coupled with flexible dosing that has the potential to change how surgeons see and treat solid tumors across multiple oncology indications. I’m excited to join the team at this important stage and see an opportunity to put this transformative technology into the hands of surgeons to improve surgical outcomes for patients. The ongoing Phase 3 study is advancing rapidly with the goal of a New Drug Application (NDA) submission to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2027. Vergent is uniquely positioned to commercialize abenacianine in lung cancer and will rapidly build out this platform to multiple other oncology applications.”

About Abenacianine for Injection
Invented in Dr. Matt Bogyo’s lab at Stanford University School of Medicine, abenacianine is a tumor-activated intraoperative imaging platform designed to deliver molecular insight during surgery by revealing malignant tissue undetectable under white light. Administered via a short intravenous infusion several hours to several days before surgery, abenacianine binds covalently to cathepsins, a family of proteases overexpressed across a broad range of solid tumors. The agent incorporates the near-infrared (NIR) dye indocyanine green (ICG), which is compatible with commercially available NIR imaging systems widely used in minimally invasive and robotic surgery. This compatibility and dosing flexibility enable seamless integration into existing surgical workflows.

About Vergent Bioscience, Inc.
Vergent Bioscience is a clinical-stage biotechnology company advancing molecularly targeted imaging technologies designed to support surgeons and unlock the full potential of minimally invasive and robotic cancer surgery. Vergent’s lead compound, abenacianine for injection, is a tumor-activated intraoperative imaging agent designed to reveal malignant tissue undetectable under white light – guiding surgical decision-making and enabling complete resections. The company is initially focused on lung cancer, with plans to expand the technology across multiple solid tumor types, including colorectal, breast, prostate, and ovarian cancers.

Vergent Bioscience is a privately held company based in Minneapolis, MN.

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