FibroFind appoints new CEO to lead firm through next phase of growth
FibroFind appoints new CEO to lead firm through next phase of growth
Newcastle, UK, 10th June 2026 - FibroFind, a preclinical Contract Research Organization has appointed Lee Borthwick as CEO, as the company begins its next phase of global growth.
FibroFind provides biopharmaceutical companies with the most human-relevant preclinical testing platform, using precision-cut human tissue slices to provide real confidence of achieving successful clinical outcomes. Its proprietary bioreactor technology preserves native tissue structure and function, enabling controlled, extended study in living human tissue.
Before this appointment, Borthwick, a FibroFind co-founder and translational research expert, was the company’s Chief Scientific Officer. Borthwick has taken on the CEO role from his colleague and co-founder, Jelena Mann, who remains with the business as non-executive director, providing strategic scientific oversight and guidance.
Rapid growth over the last 12 months has seen the business more than double in size from a team of 15 to 32 scientists, technical specialists, and operational experts with deep expertise in chronic disease and human tissue research, with three new senior hires also joining the team.
Mark Chadwick has been appointed as Chief Business Officer, bringing more than 30 years experience across biotech, CRO, and platform technology companies. He is responsible for leading commercial strategy and building partnerships with biopharma clients. Also joining the team is Laurence Provost as Chief Financial Officer. He brings a wealth of experience in private equity-backed and high-growth environments and is responsible for building the firm’s financial and operational infrastructure to support the scaling business. The third senior hire is Andy Black as Chair. With years of industry experience and a track record of scaling a global life sciences service business to a successful exit, Andy will provide the governance and strategic oversight to guide the company’s growth.
Newly appointed CEO, Borthwick 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 CEO 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 recognized 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.”
Since its launch in 2019, Borthwick has been central to the development of FibroFind’s precision-cut tissue platform, and has worked closely with academic partners and industry collaborators to establish its application in drug discovery and preclinical research.
ENDS
About FibroFind
FibroFind is a preclinical CRO that uses intact, viable human tissue cultured with proprietary bioreactor technology to provide biopharmaceutical companies with decision-grade, high-fidelity evidence to ensure that only the most promising treatments reach patients.
Backed by Vespa Capital, their expert teams utilize sophisticated precision-cut tissue slice technology to advance high-potential treatments from target identification and validation through lead optimization, pharmacology and toxicology studies. FibroFind’s unique platform is designed to bridge the translational gap between preclinical prediction and clinical reality.
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