FibroFind appoints chief executive as growth accelerates

Newcastle-based contract research organisation FibroFind has appointed co-founder Lee Borthwick as chief executive as the business enters its next phase of international growth.

Lee, who previously served as chief scientific officer, succeeds co-founder Jelena Mann, who remains with the company as a non-executive director. 

Since launching FibroFind in 2019, Lee has played a central role in developing the company's human tissue-based preclinical testing platform for biopharmaceutical companies.

Lee said: “As a co-founder of FibroFind, from its origins as a university spin-out to its transition as a standalone entity, it has been quite the journey. 

“Taking on the role as chief executive is an important next step for me and the business as we embark on the next stage of our growth trajectory. 

“I will lead the business to ensure our scientific ambition translates into reliable, high-quality programs that clients can depend on to support their most important development decisions. 

“My focus over the next 12 months will be to help scale the business and our operations to serve the needs of our growing client base and be recognised as the global benchmark for human-relevant evidence in discovery and preclinical decision-making. 

“I’m extremely proud of how far we’ve come as a team to date, and now Mark, Laurence, and Andy have joined we are all set to bolster that growth to the next level and help ensure the most promising treatments reach patients.”

The leadership transition comes during a period of rapid expansion for the business, which has more than doubled its workforce over the past year from 15 to 32 employees.

Alongside Lee’s appointment, FibroFind has strengthened its senior team with the recruitment of Mark Chadwick as chief business officer, Laurence Provost as chief financial officer and Andy Black as chair.

The appointments support FibroFind’s ambitions to scale globally as demand grows for its human tissue research platform, which helps biopharmaceutical companies improve confidence in preclinical drug testing and clinical outcomes.

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