Christian Uhrich, Investment Director at M Ventures, joins Vizgen Board of Directors; Chad Brown joins the company as Chief Commercial Officer

Vizgen, Inc., the life sciences company revolutionizing spatial genomics research and driving innovation in spatial multi-omics, today announced two key appointments aimed at advancing the company’s future strategy and execution. Christian Uhrich, investment director at M Ventures − the strategic corporate venture capital arm of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany − has joined Vizgen’s Board of Directors to support the company’s long-term growth strategy following a recent investment. Further, Chad Brown has been named Vizgen’s Chief Commercial Officer (CCO). He brings over 30 years of experience in sales, marketing, and leadership at companies such as NanoString, QIAGEN, and Roche Diagnostics, demonstrating a track record of commercial excellence.

“These additions to our board and leadership team underscore our strong commitment to advancing Vizgen and the field of spatial multi-omics toward their full potential, delivering value for our customers in foundational research and translational medicine. We are very pleased to have the support of M Ventures and, in particular, to benefit from Christian’s expertise in life sciences investments, strategy, and operations as he joins our board. Similarly, Chad brings exceptional commercial acumen and a proven track record of success, joining us at an exciting time as Vizgen enters a broad new product cycle," said Rob Carson, CEO of Vizgen.

Driving Commercial Growth

Chad Brown’s leadership experience spans spatial biology, omics research, clinical trials, clinical diagnostics and various other healthcare technologies. He was Senior V.P., Sales and Marketing at NanoString Technologies, Inc. for five years. Prior to that, he was President, Head of Commercial Operations, North America at QIAGEN N.V. Previously, he spent nearly a decade at Roche Diagnostics, a division of F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., including roles as V.P. of Marketing, Centralized Diagnostics, V.P. of Sales, Centralized Diagnostics, and VP of Sales, Life Sciences.

“I’m extremely excited to join Vizgen as Chief Commercial Officer at a transformational time for the company as well as for the spatial biology industry. The merger of Vizgen and Ultivue has created a powerhouse company that will redefine spatial biology through integrating transcriptomics and proteomics into a complete, clinically relevant multi-omics solution. The new Vizgen is at the forefront of one of the most important segments in life science tools today, and we’re well positioned to serve the science of academia, biopharma, and CRO customers,” said Brown.

Bolstering Strategic Perspective and Syndicate Strength

Christian Uhrich joined M Ventures in 2019 from Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, where he led initiatives in strategy and operations across the Healthcare and Life Science business sectors. Prior to that, he spent over 10 years advising pharmaceutical, biotech, and other industry companies across Europe and the U.S. Today, Christian represents M Ventures on multiple boards globally, spanning various geographies and development stages within the biotech and life science tools sectors.

“Spatial biology and multi-omics offer immense potential across the spectrum from research to clinical applications. It is a privilege to join the Board at Vizgen during such a pivotal time for the company and the field. M Ventures is proud to support Vizgen as the company continues to commercialize its groundbreaking technology platform and build its unique position through a strong intellectual property portfolio,” said Uhrich. “Vizgen’s commitment to pioneering spatial biology multi-omics aligns perfectly with our mission to invest in and empower transformative life sciences companies across research, development, and manufacturing that can revolutionize global healthcare.”

M Ventures’ most recent investment in Vizgen was in late 2024 when the company completed its Series D equity financing. Proceeds from the round will enable full commercialization of next-generation platforms, including the MERSCOPE Ultra^™ instrument, plus the expansion of Vizgen’s genomic and proteomic assay menu.

About Vizgen^®

Vizgen is at the forefront of spatial biology and multi-omics innovation. Through its pioneering MERFISH technology and MERSCOPE^® Platform for in situ single-cell spatial genomics and its high-fidelity InSituPlex^® protein assays and AI-driven STARVUE^™ spatial image analysis technology, Vizgen delivers unmatched tools that enable researchers to uncover deep insights into human biology and achieve breakthroughs in understanding mechanisms of complex diseases, including neurodegenerative disorders and cancer. Vizgen is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and can be found online at www.vizgen.com and www.ultivue.com. Connect on social media Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

About M Ventures

M Ventures is the strategic, corporate venture capital arm of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. From its headquarters in the Netherlands and offices in Germany, USA and Israel, M Ventures invests globally in transformational ideas driven by innovative entrepreneurs. Taking an active role in its portfolio companies, M Ventures teams up with management teams and co-investors to translate scientific discoveries into commercial success. M Ventures focuses on identifying and financing novel solutions to some of the most difficult challenges, through company creation and equity investments in fields that will impact the vitality and sustainability of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany's current and future businesses.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250325110755/en/

“The additions to our board and leadership team underscore our strong commitment to advancing Vizgen and the field of spatial multi-omics toward their full potential, delivering value for our customers in foundational research and translational medicine."