{"success":true,"data":{"pressRelease":{"id":"4531","rtpr_id":"nGNX86Wpk8","ticker":"HUMA","exchange":"NASDAQ","all_tickers":["HUMA"],"title":"Humacyte Appoints Jim Mercadante as Chief Commercial Officer","author":"Globe Newswire","published_at":"2026-04-22T12:00:00.505Z","article_body":"– Industry veteran with more than 25 years of experience will lead next\nphase of biotech company’s commercial expansion –\n\n– Seasoned medtech commercial leader brings extensive field-specific success\nin vascular and cardiothoracic surgery markets –\n\n– Appointment strengthens commercial leadership as Symvess® (acellular\ntissue engineered vessel-tyod) market launch accelerates and pipeline advances\ntoward planned BLA filing in dialysis –\n\nDURHAM, N.C., April 22, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Humacyte, Inc. (Nasdaq:\nHUMA), a commercial-stage biotechnology platform company developing\nuniversally implantable, bioengineered human tissues at commercial scale,\ntoday announced the appointment of Jim Mercadante as Chief Commercial Officer.\nMercadante, a veteran commercial executive with more than 25 years of\nexperience in the healthcare and medical technology industries, will oversee\nall aspects of the Company's commercial strategy, including sales, marketing,\nand market access, as Humacyte continues to expand the U.S. launch of Symvess\nand prepares for potential future commercial indications. Mr. Mercadante is a\nseasoned commercial executive with a track record of successful leadership\nacross medical devices, diagnostics, and healthcare technology. Over his\ncareer, he and his teams have launched over 50 new products and delivered\nmillions of dollars in growth for multiple companies.\n\n“Humacyte stands at the forefront of regenerative medicine, and I am honored\nto join the Company at such an exciting time,” said Mercadante. “Symvess\nrepresents a true breakthrough – the first FDA-approved, universally\nimplantable bioengineered tissue – and the potential of the broader ATEV\nplatform across dialysis access, coronary artery bypass grafting, and beyond\nis remarkable. I look forward to working with the innovative men and women at\nHumacyte to accelerate commercial growth and ensure that as many patients as\npossible can benefit from their products.”\n\nMercadante has held senior leadership positions at prominent healthcare\ncompanies, including Abbott, Johnson & Johnson, GE, Terumo, and Rapid AI,\noverseeing and building deep expertise in sales marketing, commercial\noperations, strategic partnerships and national accounts which delivered rapid\nand significant sales growth across both U.S. and international markets. He\nmost recently served as Chief Commercial Officer of Qure.ai, a global provider\nof AI-powered healthcare solutions, where he led global sales and business\ndevelopment strategy.\n\n“We are thrilled to welcome Jim Mercadante to Humacyte,” added Laura\nNiklason, M.D., Ph.D., Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Humacyte. “Jim\nbrings an exceptional combination of deep commercial acumen and a record of\nproven results across complex healthcare markets. His track record building\nhigh-performance teams, executing successful product launches and forging\nstrategic partnerships will accelerate Humacyte’s mission to expand patient\naccess to regenerative vascular solutions. As we continue to expand the market\nadoption of Symvess in the vascular trauma indication, pursue international\nexpansion, and advance our pipeline toward potential additional approved\nindications, Jim's leadership will be instrumental in maximizing the impact of\nour bioengineered tissue platform and bringing these transformative products\nto patients and surgeons who need them.”\n\nSymvess is the Company's first FDA-approved product, indicated for the\ntreatment of extremity vascular trauma. Since its commercial launch, Humacyte\nhas continued to expand access to Symvess through hospital Value Analysis\nCommittee (VAC) approvals, inclusion in the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency's\nElectronic Catalog (ECAT), and international regulatory expansion, including a\nMarketing Authorization Application filing in Israel.\n\nAbout Humacyte\n\nHumacyte, Inc. (Nasdaq: HUMA) is developing a disruptive biotechnology\nplatform to deliver universally implantable bioengineered human tissues,\nadvanced tissue constructs, and organ systems designed to improve the lives of\npatients and transform the practice of medicine. The Company develops and\nmanufactures acellular tissues to treat a wide range of diseases, injuries,\nand chronic conditions. Humacyte’s Biologics License Application for the\nacellular tissue engineered vessel (ATEV) in the vascular trauma indication\nwas approved by the FDA in December 2024. ATEVs are also currently in\nlate-stage clinical trials targeting other vascular applications, including\narteriovenous (AV) access for hemodialysis and peripheral artery disease\n(PAD). Preclinical development is also underway in coronary artery bypass\ngrafts, pediatric heart surgery, treatment of type 1 diabetes, and multiple\nnovel cell and tissue applications. Humacyte’s 6mm ATEV for AV access in\nhemodialysis was the first product candidate to receive the FDA’s\nRegenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy (RMAT) designation and has also\nreceived FDA Fast Track designation. Humacyte’s 6mm ATEV for urgent arterial\nrepair following extremity vascular trauma and for advanced PAD also have\nreceived RMAT designations. The ATEV received priority designation for the\ntreatment of vascular trauma by the U.S. Secretary of Defense. For more\ninformation, visit www.Humacyte.com.\n\nFor uses other than the FDA approval in the extremity vascular trauma\nindication, the ATEV is an investigational product and has not been approved\nfor sale by the FDA or any other regulatory agency.\n\nForward-Looking Statements\nThis press release contains forward-looking statements that are based on\nbeliefs and assumptions and on information currently available. In some cases,\nyou can identify forward-looking statements by the following words: “may,”\n“will,” “could,” “would,” “should,” “expect,”\n“intend,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,”\n“predict,” “project,” “potential,” “continue,” “ongoing”\nor the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology, although not\nall forward-looking statements contain these words. These statements involve\nrisks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause actual results, levels\nof activity, performance, or achievements to be materially different from the\ninformation expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Although\nwe believe that we have a reasonable basis for each forward-looking statement\ncontained in this press release, we caution you that these statements are\nbased on a combination of facts and factors currently known by us and our\nprojections of the future, about which we cannot be certain. Forward-looking\nstatements in this press release include, but are not limited to, our plans\nand ability to commercialize Symvess and, if approved by regulatory\nauthorities, our product candidates, successfully and on our anticipated\ntimelines; the degree of market acceptance of and the availability of\nthird-party coverage and reimbursement for Symvess and, if approved by\nregulatory authorities, our product candidates; our ability to manufacture\nSymvess and, if approved by regulatory authorities, our product candidates in\nsufficient quantities to satisfy our clinical trial and commercial needs; the\nanticipated benefits of our ATEVs relative to existing alternatives; our plans\nand ability to execute product development, process development and\npreclinical development efforts successfully and on our anticipated timelines;\nour ability to design, initiate and successfully complete clinical trials and\nother studies for our product candidates and our plans and expectations\nregarding our ongoing or planned clinical trials; the anticipated\ncharacteristics and performance of our ATEVs; the implementation of our\nbusiness model and strategic plans for our business; our ability to execute\nand achieve the expected benefits of our cost-saving measures and whether our\nefforts will result in further actions or additional asset impairment charges\nthat adversely affect our business; and the timing or likelihood of regulatory\nfilings, acceptances and approvals. We cannot assure you that the\nforward-looking statements in this press release will prove to be accurate.\nThese forward-looking statements are subject to a number of significant risks\nand uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from\nexpected results, including, among others, changes in applicable laws or\nregulations, the possibility that Humacyte may be adversely affected by other\neconomic, business, competitive and/or reputational factors, and other risks\nand uncertainties, including those described under the header “Risk\nFactors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31,\n2025, and in future SEC filings. Most of these factors are outside of\nHumacyte’s control and are difficult to predict. Furthermore, if the\nforward-looking statements prove to be inaccurate, the inaccuracy may be\nmaterial. In light of the significant uncertainties in these forward-looking\nstatements, you should not regard these statements as a representation or\nwarranty by us or any other person that we will achieve our objectives and\nplans in any specified time frame, or at all. Except as required by law, we\nhave no current intention of updating any of the forward-looking statements in\nthis press release. You should, therefore, not rely on these forward-looking\nstatements as representing our views as of any date subsequent to the date of\nthis press release.\n\nHumacyte Investor Contact: \nJoyce Allaire \nLifeSci Advisors LLC \n1-617-435-6602 \njallaire@lifesciadvisors.com \ninvestors@humacyte.com\n\nHumacyte Media Contact: \nRich Luchette \nPrecision Strategies \n+1-202-845-3924 \nrich@precisionstrategies.com \nmedia@humacyte.com\n\n(https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e81aff26-ead8-404d-aebb-159b45c3e7b1)\n\n\n\nGlobeNewswire, Inc. 2026","article_body_html":"","raw_payload":{"data":{"id":"nGNX86Wpk8","title":"Humacyte Appoints Jim Mercadante as Chief Commercial Officer","author":"Globe Newswire","ticker":"HUMA","created":"2026-04-22T12:00:00.505Z","tickers":["HUMA"],"exchange":"NASDAQ","article_body":"– Industry veteran with more than 25 years of experience will lead next\nphase of biotech company’s commercial expansion –\n\n– Seasoned medtech commercial leader brings extensive field-specific success\nin vascular and cardiothoracic surgery markets –\n\n– Appointment strengthens commercial leadership as Symvess® (acellular\ntissue engineered vessel-tyod) market launch accelerates and pipeline advances\ntoward planned BLA filing in dialysis –\n\nDURHAM, N.C., April 22, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Humacyte, Inc. (Nasdaq:\nHUMA), a commercial-stage biotechnology platform company developing\nuniversally implantable, bioengineered human tissues at commercial scale,\ntoday announced the appointment of Jim Mercadante as Chief Commercial Officer.\nMercadante, a veteran commercial executive with more than 25 years of\nexperience in the healthcare and medical technology industries, will oversee\nall aspects of the Company's commercial strategy, including sales, marketing,\nand market access, as Humacyte continues to expand the U.S. launch of Symvess\nand prepares for potential future commercial indications. Mr. Mercadante is a\nseasoned commercial executive with a track record of successful leadership\nacross medical devices, diagnostics, and healthcare technology. Over his\ncareer, he and his teams have launched over 50 new products and delivered\nmillions of dollars in growth for multiple companies.\n\n“Humacyte stands at the forefront of regenerative medicine, and I am honored\nto join the Company at such an exciting time,” said Mercadante. “Symvess\nrepresents a true breakthrough – the first FDA-approved, universally\nimplantable bioengineered tissue – and the potential of the broader ATEV\nplatform across dialysis access, coronary artery bypass grafting, and beyond\nis remarkable. I look forward to working with the innovative men and women at\nHumacyte to accelerate commercial growth and ensure that as many patients as\npossible can benefit from their products.”\n\nMercadante has held senior leadership positions at prominent healthcare\ncompanies, including Abbott, Johnson & Johnson, GE, Terumo, and Rapid AI,\noverseeing and building deep expertise in sales marketing, commercial\noperations, strategic partnerships and national accounts which delivered rapid\nand significant sales growth across both U.S. and international markets. He\nmost recently served as Chief Commercial Officer of Qure.ai, a global provider\nof AI-powered healthcare solutions, where he led global sales and business\ndevelopment strategy.\n\n“We are thrilled to welcome Jim Mercadante to Humacyte,” added Laura\nNiklason, M.D., Ph.D., Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Humacyte. “Jim\nbrings an exceptional combination of deep commercial acumen and a record of\nproven results across complex healthcare markets. His track record building\nhigh-performance teams, executing successful product launches and forging\nstrategic partnerships will accelerate Humacyte’s mission to expand patient\naccess to regenerative vascular solutions. As we continue to expand the market\nadoption of Symvess in the vascular trauma indication, pursue international\nexpansion, and advance our pipeline toward potential additional approved\nindications, Jim's leadership will be instrumental in maximizing the impact of\nour bioengineered tissue platform and bringing these transformative products\nto patients and surgeons who need them.”\n\nSymvess is the Company's first FDA-approved product, indicated for the\ntreatment of extremity vascular trauma. Since its commercial launch, Humacyte\nhas continued to expand access to Symvess through hospital Value Analysis\nCommittee (VAC) approvals, inclusion in the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency's\nElectronic Catalog (ECAT), and international regulatory expansion, including a\nMarketing Authorization Application filing in Israel.\n\nAbout Humacyte\n\nHumacyte, Inc. (Nasdaq: HUMA) is developing a disruptive biotechnology\nplatform to deliver universally implantable bioengineered human tissues,\nadvanced tissue constructs, and organ systems designed to improve the lives of\npatients and transform the practice of medicine. The Company develops and\nmanufactures acellular tissues to treat a wide range of diseases, injuries,\nand chronic conditions. Humacyte’s Biologics License Application for the\nacellular tissue engineered vessel (ATEV) in the vascular trauma indication\nwas approved by the FDA in December 2024. ATEVs are also currently in\nlate-stage clinical trials targeting other vascular applications, including\narteriovenous (AV) access for hemodialysis and peripheral artery disease\n(PAD). Preclinical development is also underway in coronary artery bypass\ngrafts, pediatric heart surgery, treatment of type 1 diabetes, and multiple\nnovel cell and tissue applications. Humacyte’s 6mm ATEV for AV access in\nhemodialysis was the first product candidate to receive the FDA’s\nRegenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy (RMAT) designation and has also\nreceived FDA Fast Track designation. Humacyte’s 6mm ATEV for urgent arterial\nrepair following extremity vascular trauma and for advanced PAD also have\nreceived RMAT designations. The ATEV received priority designation for the\ntreatment of vascular trauma by the U.S. Secretary of Defense. For more\ninformation, visit www.Humacyte.com.\n\nFor uses other than the FDA approval in the extremity vascular trauma\nindication, the ATEV is an investigational product and has not been approved\nfor sale by the FDA or any other regulatory agency.\n\nForward-Looking Statements\nThis press release contains forward-looking statements that are based on\nbeliefs and assumptions and on information currently available. In some cases,\nyou can identify forward-looking statements by the following words: “may,”\n“will,” “could,” “would,” “should,” “expect,”\n“intend,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,”\n“predict,” “project,” “potential,” “continue,” “ongoing”\nor the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology, although not\nall forward-looking statements contain these words. These statements involve\nrisks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause actual results, levels\nof activity, performance, or achievements to be materially different from the\ninformation expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Although\nwe believe that we have a reasonable basis for each forward-looking statement\ncontained in this press release, we caution you that these statements are\nbased on a combination of facts and factors currently known by us and our\nprojections of the future, about which we cannot be certain. Forward-looking\nstatements in this press release include, but are not limited to, our plans\nand ability to commercialize Symvess and, if approved by regulatory\nauthorities, our product candidates, successfully and on our anticipated\ntimelines; the degree of market acceptance of and the availability of\nthird-party coverage and reimbursement for Symvess and, if approved by\nregulatory authorities, our product candidates; our ability to manufacture\nSymvess and, if approved by regulatory authorities, our product candidates in\nsufficient quantities to satisfy our clinical trial and commercial needs; the\nanticipated benefits of our ATEVs relative to existing alternatives; our plans\nand ability to execute product development, process development and\npreclinical development efforts successfully and on our anticipated timelines;\nour ability to design, initiate and successfully complete clinical trials and\nother studies for our product candidates and our plans and expectations\nregarding our ongoing or planned clinical trials; the anticipated\ncharacteristics and performance of our ATEVs; the implementation of our\nbusiness model and strategic plans for our business; our ability to execute\nand achieve the expected benefits of our cost-saving measures and whether our\nefforts will result in further actions or additional asset impairment charges\nthat adversely affect our business; and the timing or likelihood of regulatory\nfilings, acceptances and approvals. We cannot assure you that the\nforward-looking statements in this press release will prove to be accurate.\nThese forward-looking statements are subject to a number of significant risks\nand uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from\nexpected results, including, among others, changes in applicable laws or\nregulations, the possibility that Humacyte may be adversely affected by other\neconomic, business, competitive and/or reputational factors, and other risks\nand uncertainties, including those described under the header “Risk\nFactors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31,\n2025, and in future SEC filings. Most of these factors are outside of\nHumacyte’s control and are difficult to predict. Furthermore, if the\nforward-looking statements prove to be inaccurate, the inaccuracy may be\nmaterial. In light of the significant uncertainties in these forward-looking\nstatements, you should not regard these statements as a representation or\nwarranty by us or any other person that we will achieve our objectives and\nplans in any specified time frame, or at all. Except as required by law, we\nhave no current intention of updating any of the forward-looking statements in\nthis press release. You should, therefore, not rely on these forward-looking\nstatements as representing our views as of any date subsequent to the date of\nthis press release.\n\nHumacyte Investor Contact: \nJoyce Allaire \nLifeSci Advisors LLC \n1-617-435-6602 \njallaire@lifesciadvisors.com \ninvestors@humacyte.com\n\nHumacyte Media Contact: \nRich Luchette \nPrecision Strategies \n+1-202-845-3924 \nrich@precisionstrategies.com \nmedia@humacyte.com\n\n(https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e81aff26-ead8-404d-aebb-159b45c3e7b1)\n\n\n\nGlobeNewswire, Inc. 2026"},"type":"article","timestamp":"2026-04-22T12:00:00.974897612Z","server_sent_at_ms":1776859200974},"received_at":"2026-04-22T12:00:01.027Z","source_url":null},"analysis":{"id":"3186","press_release_id":"4531","analysis_json":{"industry":{"label":"Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences","sector":"Health Care"},"redFlags":[],"eventType":"executive_change","narrative":"Humacyte appointed industry veteran Jim Mercadante as Chief Commercial Officer, tasking him with leading the company's commercial strategy and overseeing sales and marketing.\n\nThe hire comes as Humacyte accelerates the U.S. launch of Symvess, its first FDA-approved bioengineered human tissue for vascular trauma, and prepares for potential future commercial indications.\n\nMercadante brings 25 years of experience and a track record of launching over 50 products, having previously served as CCO at Qure.ai and held leadership roles at Abbott, Johnson & Johnson, and GE.","sentiment":"bullish","agentHooks":{"shouldPost":false,"suggestedAngle":"Seasoned CCO hire signals push for Symvess market penetration."},"keyFigures":{"customDimensions":{"years_experience":25,"products_launched":50}},"quotedText":"Humacyte stands at the forefront of regenerative medicine, and I am honored to join the Company at such an exciting time","namedEntities":{"people":[{"name":"Jim Mercadante","role":"Chief Commercial Officer"},{"name":"Laura Niklason","role":"Founder and Chief Executive Officer"}],"products":["Symvess","acellular tissue engineered vessel"],"companies":[{"name":"Abbott","relationship":"former employer"},{"name":"Johnson & Johnson","relationship":"former employer"},{"name":"GE","relationship":"former employer"},{"name":"Terumo","relationship":"former employer"},{"name":"Rapid AI","relationship":"former employer"},{"name":"Qure.ai","relationship":"former employer"}],"dollarAmounts":[]},"materialImpact":{"score":3,"reasoning":"Hiring a seasoned executive with 25+ years of experience to lead the commercialization of the company's first FDA-approved product (Symvess) is a significant operational milestone that reduces execution risk during a critical growth phase."},"tickerRelevance":{"others":[],"primary":"HUMA"},"eventTypeSecondary":[]},"event_type":"executive_change","event_type_secondary":null,"sentiment":"bullish","material_impact_score":3,"narrative":"Humacyte appointed industry veteran Jim Mercadante as Chief Commercial Officer, tasking him with leading the company's commercial strategy and overseeing sales and marketing.\n\nThe hire comes as Humacyte accelerates the U.S. launch of Symvess, its first FDA-approved bioengineered human tissue for vascular trauma, and prepares for potential future commercial indications.\n\nMercadante brings 25 years of experience and a track record of launching over 50 products, having previously served as CCO at Qure.ai and held leadership roles at Abbott, Johnson & Johnson, and GE.","key_figures":{"customDimensions":{"years_experience":25,"products_launched":50}},"named_entities":{"people":[{"name":"Jim Mercadante","role":"Chief Commercial Officer"},{"name":"Laura Niklason","role":"Founder and Chief Executive Officer"}],"products":["Symvess","acellular tissue engineered vessel"],"companies":[{"name":"Abbott","relationship":"former employer"},{"name":"Johnson & Johnson","relationship":"former employer"},{"name":"GE","relationship":"former employer"},{"name":"Terumo","relationship":"former employer"},{"name":"Rapid AI","relationship":"former employer"},{"name":"Qure.ai","relationship":"former employer"}],"dollarAmounts":[]},"model_name":"glm-4.7","prompt_hash":"sha256:2f2748f0fcc8c4f2","schema_hash":"sha256:ad96b863d7123008","created_at":"2026-04-22T14:09:59.222Z","global_importance":3,"audience_relevance":3,"importance_components":{"method":"backfill-heuristic","signals":{"bodyLong":false,"headlineTier1":false,"tickerCovered":false,"hadSignificance":false},"version":1,"computedAt":"2026-04-27T11:52:54.104Z"}},"durationMs":147421,"modelName":"glm-4.7"}}