Humacyte Appoints Dr. Todd E. Rasmussen as Chief Surgical Officer
- Distinguished vascular surgeon brings decades of clinical experience, innovation, and leadership to new role at cutting-edge biotech manufacturer -
- Appointment brings important surgical experience and perspective to Humacyte's corporate leadership team as clinical adoption of Symvess® ramps up and pipeline indications move toward planned approval -
DURHAM, N.C., May 12, 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 Todd E. Rasmussen, M.D., has joined the company as Chief Surgical Officer.
In this role, Dr. Rasmussen will focus on providing peer-to-peer scientific support, medical education, and technical insights to surgeons and other healthcare providers. He will bring an experienced surgical perspective and leadership to the development of education and clinical support materials aligned with regulatory guidance to optimize the safe, appropriate, and effective implantation of Humacyte products.
"The most meaningful advances in surgery occur when clinicians, scientists, and engineers work together to translate new innovations to the operating room and to the patient's bedside. I've had the privilege of working alongside the team at Humacyte for more than a decade as they created and made available a pioneering, off-the-shelf biologic conduit. I look forward to building on that shared experience and my own as a surgeon to support U.S. and international colleagues in the safe and effective integration of this and similar technologies into clinical practice," said Dr. Rasmussen.
Dr. Rasmussen joins Humacyte with extensive expertise as a vascular surgeon, having completed a 28-year career in the U.S. Air Force during which he deployed multiple times during the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars and led major medical research programs for the Department of Defense. Following his retirement from military service, he joined Mayo Clinic as Professor of Surgery and Consultant in Vascular and Endovascular Surgery. Dr. Rasmussen will continue his clinical, educational, and administrative responsibilities at Mayo Clinic while serving separately as Chief Surgical Officer at Humacyte.
"Todd Rasmussen is one of the trailblazers of modern vascular surgery, and having his experience and global reach as part of our team during this pivotal time for the company will be invaluable," said Laura Niklason, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Humacyte. "Symvess represents a major step forward in our ability to expand durable vascular access options for patients, and bringing on someone who has consistently driven that progress throughout his career will be instrumental in guiding strategy and real-world implementation going forward."
Upon retiring from military service at the rank of Colonel in 2021, Dr. Rasmussen was awarded the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Department of Defense's second-highest non-combat award. He has served as president of the American College of Surgeons Excelsior Surgical Society, has authored more than 350 peer-reviewed publications, edited textbooks in vascular trauma and vascular surgery, and his work has been cited more than 25,000 times. Dr. Rasmussen's innovation and translational research continue to influence the field of surgery and trauma care worldwide.
Mayo Clinic has a financial interest in Humacyte. Mayo Clinic will use any revenue it receives to support its not-for-profit mission in patient care, education and research.
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, 2025 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
