Concept Life Sciences Appoints Dr Adrijana Vinter as Chief Executive Officer

Experienced CRO leader brings deep scientific, commercial and operational expertise to lead the company’s next phase of growth

CHAPEL-EN-LE-FRITH, United Kingdom, Oct. 12, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Concept Life Sciences, a leading contract research organisation (CRO) specialising in integrated drug discovery, development and analytical services, today announced the appointment of Dr Adrijana Vinter as Chief Executive Officer. Dr Vinter brings more than 20 years of experience spanning medicinal chemistry research, commercial development and executive leadership in the pharmaceutical and contract research industry sectors. She has a track record of growing and scaling research services businesses, building international client relationships and leading international, multidisciplinary scientific teams.

Most recently, Dr Vinter served as Global Head of Drug Discovery and a member of the Management Board at Selvita, with full responsibility for a drug discovery business generating approximately €50 million in revenue and employing more than 400 people across Europe and the US. Her remit included the scientific and strategic development of integrated discovery services, bringing together chemistry, biology, DMPK, bioinformatics and translational research to support high-quality programmes across global biotech and pharmaceutical clients. Here she also supported the introduction of advanced discovery platforms, including AI-supported discovery, spatial omics and translational models.

Previously, Dr Vinter held Chief Executive Officer and Chief Commercial Officer roles at Fidelta, becoming CEO in 2016. She built its international client base across US and European markets, delivered significant year-on-year revenue growth and led the expansion of its infrastructure, including its laboratory facilities. She also played a key role in Fidelta’s acquisition by Selvita in 2021.

Dr Ian Waddell, Chairman of Concept Life Sciences, commented on the appointment, “I am delighted to welcome Adrijana as Chief Executive Officer. She brings a powerful combination of scientific and commercial expertise and proven experience in growing and leading a drug discovery business. Her extensive network, understanding of our clients’ needs and ability to bring together multidisciplinary teams will be invaluable as we build on our integrated capabilities and develop our international partnerships.

“I would also like to thank Jonathan Critchley for his leadership as Interim Chief Executive Officer. Jonathan will continue as Chief Financial Officer, providing valuable continuity in supporting the company’s next phase of growth.”

Dr Adrijana Vinter, Chief Executive Officer of Concept Life Sciences, commented: “Concept Life Sciences combines deep scientific expertise with a collaborative approach to addressing its clients’ drug discovery and clinical development challenges. The company has demonstrated excellence in chemistry and scale-up as well as significant capabilities and potential in biology and translational science. I am looking forward to working with the team to build on these strengths and further develop our integrated offering.”

Dr Vinter’s earlier scientific career included medicinal chemistry roles at PLIVA, GlaxoSmithKline and Galapagos. Outside her executive responsibilities she is actively involved in governance roles, research consortia, conference leadership and mentoring initiatives. She holds a PhD in Organic Chemistry from the University of Zagreb and an MBA from Cotrugli Business School, Croatia.

About Concept Life Sciences

Concept Life Sciences is a leading CRO delivering integrated drug discovery and development solutions to the global life sciences industry. With over 25 years’ experience, Concept Life Sciences combines deep scientific expertise with a collaborative, insight-driven approach to solving complex R&D challenges across a broad range of therapeutic areas. The company has a track record of translating innovations into viable therapeutics and to date has successfully helped 29 candidates advance to the clinic.

The company provides integrated capabilities across translational biology, chemistry, and analytical services, supporting programmes from concept to clinic across modalities including small molecules, biologics, peptides, and cell and gene therapies. These capabilities have helped its customers advance their drugs from concept to clinic in as little as 32 months, well ahead of the industry average of 60 months.

In 2025, Concept Life Sciences announced the expansion of its main site at Chapel-en-le-Frith providing increased capacity in chemistry, ADMET and screening biology under one roof with over 130 scientists on site. In 2026, it launched a new 500 sq ft facility to expand its assay development and screening capabilities. The company also has state-of-the-art specialist operations in Edinburgh, Dundee, and Sandwich.

In 2026, Concept Life Sciences won the SCI-RSC National Retrosynthesis Competition. For more information visit www.conceptlifesciences.com or follow-us on LinkedIn.

Media contacts

Concept Life Sciences
Clare Whitewoods – Marketing Director
Clare.Whitewoods@conceptlifesciences.com

Scius Communications
Katja Stout
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