Humacyte Appoints Rick McElheny as Senior Vice President of Business Development
Rhea-AI Summary
Humacyte (Nasdaq: HUMA) appointed Rick McElheny as Senior Vice President of Business Development effective March 26, 2026. McElheny brings more than 15 years of corporate development and alliance management experience and will lead efforts to expand collaborations to commercialize Humacyte’s bioengineered tissue pipeline.
His prior roles include SVP of Corporate Development at Clearside and founder/VP of corporate development at Vidara, where he led transactions including a $660 million sale and over $250 million in out‑licensing deals.
Positive
- Experienced hire: McElheny brings >15 years in corporate development
- Proven transaction history: Led a $660 million sale of Vidara Therapeutics
- Licensing track record: Oversaw >$250 million in out‑licensing deals at Clearside
Negative
- None.
News Market Reaction – HUMA
In the Mar 26 session, HUMA declined 5.42%, reflecting a notable negative market reaction. Argus tracked a peak move of +4.6% during that session. Argus tracked a trough of -21.8% from its starting point during tracking. Our momentum scanner triggered 13 alerts that day, indicating notable trading interest and price volatility.
Data tracked by StockTitan Argus on the day of publication.
Key Figures
Historical Context
| Date | Event | Sentiment | 24h Move | Catalyst |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 23 | Earnings timing | Positive | +8.6% | Scheduled Q4 and year‑end 2025 results and corporate update webcast. |
| Mar 19 | KSA purchase deal | Positive | -19.4% | Binding Symvess purchase commitment and JV/license talks in Saudi Arabia. |
| Mar 19 | Equity financing | Negative | -19.4% | Pricing of $20M registered direct common stock offering to fund programs. |
| Mar 17 | Regulatory filing | Positive | +3.6% | Marketing Authorization Application for Symvess in Israel for trauma repair. |
| Mar 02 | Investor outreach | Neutral | +0.5% | Participation in major March 2026 healthcare investor conferences. |
24h Move is the share-price change in the day after each event; other market factors may also have contributed.
Recent news often aligned with price direction, with a notable divergence when a positive KSA purchase commitment coincided with a sharp selloff, while financing and regulatory milestones tended to move the stock in the expected direction.
Over recent months, Humacyte has reported several catalysts, including an earnings date announcement on Mar 23, 2026 that preceded an 8.61% rise, and an MAA filing for Symvess in Israel on Mar 17, 2026 with a 3.57% gain. A $20.0 million registered direct offering on Mar 19, 2026 and a KSA purchase commitment the same day both saw a -19.42% move, consistent with dilution concerns but contrary to the positive commercial news. Today’s leadership hire fits into this pattern of building out commercialization and partnership capabilities.
Key Terms
regenerative medicine medical
merger and acquisition financial
out-licensing financial
coronary bypass graft surgery medical
type 1 diabetes medical
bioengineered tissue medical
AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.
- Mr. McElheney brings more than 15 of years’ experience in corporate development and alliance management at biopharma companies. -
- He will work with the Company’s leadership team to expand corporate collaborations to accelerate the development and commercialization of Humacyte’s broad pipeline -
DURHAM, N.C., March 26, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Humacyte, Inc. (Nasdaq: HUMA), a commercial-stage biotechnology platform company developing universally implantable, bioengineered human tissues at commercial scale, today announced that it has appointed Rick McElheny to the role of Senior Vice President of Business Development. Mr. McElheny will work with the Company’s leadership team to expand corporate collaborations to accelerate the development and commercialization of Humacyte ‘s broad regenerative medicine pipeline.
“We are delighted to welcome Rick to our team at such an exciting and transformative moment for the Humacyte,” said Laura Nilason, Founder and Chief Executive Officer. “Discussions with prospective corporate partners highlight the potential value that has been created in our broad bioengineering platform, including cardiovascular applications. Rick’s strong track record in corporate development, his deep experience across strategic partnerships, and his passion for advancing impactful therapies make him an exceptional addition to our leadership team. As we expand the reach of our groundbreaking bioengineered tissues, Rick’s expertise will be instrumental in forging collaborations that help bring our innovations to patients around the world.”
Mr. McElheney brings more than 15 of years’ experience in corporate development and alliance management at a biopharma companies, including success overseeing licensing, strategic partnerships, and preclinical collaborations. Prior to joining Humacyte, he served as Senior Vice President, Corporate Development and Alliance Management at Clearside Biomedical, Inc. and Founder and Vice President of Corporate Development at Vidara Therapeutics. Mr. McElheny has led a number of high-value licensing and merger and acquisition transactions, such as the
“I am thrilled to join Humacyte at this pivotal time, as Humacyte advances its groundbreaking bioengineered tissue platform,” said Mr. McElheny. “Our broad pipeline, including Symvess® and our earlier-stage programs in coronary bypass graft surgery and the BioVascular Pancreas for Type 1 diabetes, create multiple collaboration opportunities. I look forward to working with our team to drive strategic partnerships that accelerate the availability of our innovative products to patients worldwide."
About Humacyte
Humacyte, Inc. (Nasdaq: HUMA) is developing a disruptive biotechnology platform to deliver universally implantable bioengineered human tissues, advanced tissue constructs, and organ systems designed to improve the lives of patients and transform the practice of medicine. The Company develops and manufactures acellular tissues to treat a wide range of diseases, injuries, and chronic conditions. Humacyte’s Biologics License Application for the acellular tissue engineered vessel (ATEV) in the vascular trauma indication was approved by the FDA in December 2024. ATEVs are also currently in late-stage clinical trials targeting other vascular applications, including arteriovenous (AV) access for hemodialysis and peripheral artery disease (PAD). Preclinical development is also underway in coronary artery bypass grafts, pediatric heart surgery, treatment of type 1 diabetes, and multiple novel cell and tissue applications. Humacyte’s 6mm ATEV for AV access in hemodialysis was the first product candidate to receive the FDA’s Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy (RMAT) designation and has also received FDA Fast Track designation. Humacyte’s 6mm ATEV for urgent arterial repair following extremity vascular trauma and for advanced PAD also have received RMAT designations. The ATEV received priority designation for the treatment of vascular trauma by the U.S. Secretary of Defense. For more information, visit www.Humacyte.com.
For uses other than the FDA approval in the extremity vascular trauma indication, the ATEV is an investigational product and has not been approved for sale by the FDA or any other regulatory agency.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that are based on beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the following words: “may,” “will,” “could,” “would,” “should,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “project,” “potential,” “continue,” “ongoing” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. These statements involve risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause actual results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements to be materially different from the information expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Although we believe that we have a reasonable basis for each forward-looking statement contained in this press release, we caution you that these statements are based on a combination of facts and factors currently known by us and our projections of the future, about which we cannot be certain. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, our plans and ability to commercialize Symvess and, if approved by regulatory authorities, our product candidates, successfully and on our anticipated timelines; the degree of market acceptance of and the availability of third-party coverage and reimbursement for Symvess and, if approved by regulatory authorities, our product candidates; our ability to manufacture Symvess and, if approved by regulatory authorities, our product candidates in sufficient quantities to satisfy our clinical trial and commercial needs; the anticipated benefits of our ATEVs relative to existing alternatives; our plans and ability to execute product development, process development and preclinical development efforts successfully and on our anticipated timelines; our ability to design, initiate and successfully complete clinical trials and other studies for our product candidates and our plans and expectations regarding our ongoing or planned clinical trials; the anticipated characteristics and performance of our ATEVs; the implementation of our business model and strategic plans for our business; our ability to execute and achieve the expected benefits of our cost-saving measures and whether our efforts will result in further actions or additional asset impairment charges that adversely affect our business; and the timing or likelihood of regulatory filings, acceptances and approvals. We cannot assure you that the forward-looking statements in this press release will prove to be accurate. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of significant risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expected results, including, among others, changes in applicable laws or regulations, the possibility that Humacyte may be adversely affected by other economic, business, competitive and/or reputational factors, and other risks and uncertainties, including those described under the header “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 and Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2025, each filed by Humacyte with the SEC, and in future SEC filings. Most of these factors are outside of Humacyte’s control and are difficult to predict. Furthermore, if the forward-looking statements prove to be inaccurate, the inaccuracy may be material. In light of the significant uncertainties in these forward-looking statements, you should not regard these statements as a representation or warranty by us or any other person that we will achieve our objectives and plans in any specified time frame, or at all. Except as required by law, we have no current intention of updating any of the forward-looking statements in this press release. You should, therefore, not rely on these forward-looking statements as representing our views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.
Humacyte Investor Contact:
Joyce Allaire
LifeSci Advisors LLC
+1-617-435-6602
jallaire@lifesciadvisors.com
investors@humacyte.com
Humacyte Media Contact:
Rich Luchette
Precision Strategies
+1-202-845-3924
rich@precisionstrategies.com
media@humacyte.com
