Hubert Bland and Norman Waters strengthen Allucent’s specialized expertise and integrated support for life cycle drug development

CARY, N.C., Nov. 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Allucent, a global specialty CRO purpose-built for small and mid-sized biopharma companies, today announced the appointments of Hubert Bland, MBChB, FFPM, as chief medical officer (CMO) and Norman Waters, PhD, FASTMH, as therapeutic strategy head for Allucent’s Center of Expertise (ACE) in infectious disease.

As CMO, Hubert will guide medical and safety strategy in partnership with sponsors, working across Allucent’s clinical, regulatory, and therapeutic teams to inform clinical planning and medical decision-making. Norman will lead Allucent’s Infectious Disease ACE, supporting both commercial and government-funded programs. The ACE integrates scientific, regulatory, and operational expertise to address the unique challenges of infectious disease drug development. Allucent’s ACE model also includes Oncology & Hematology, Neuroscience, and Immunology & Inflammation, each with dedicated therapeutic leadership supported by integrated expertise.

“Hubert and Norman each bring distinct expertise and insights to help small and mid-sized biopharma companies navigate drug development,” said Patrick Phillips, COO of Allucent. “Hubert has extensive experience leading medical affairs, pharmacovigilance, and patient safety across global pharmaceutical companies and CROs. His perspective from both sides of drug development will be particularly valuable in helping clients navigate the medical, safety, and regulatory demands of advancing new therapies.”

Phillips continued, “Norman’s experience leading infectious disease product development across a range of indications and modalities, including during his 31-year U.S. Army career, positions him to guide both commercial sponsors and government partners through the scientific and development challenges of advancing vaccines and therapeutics for infectious diseases. More broadly, his appointment underscores our continued focus on delivering the specialized therapeutic expertise our clients need from their CRO partner.”

Hubert Bland, Chief Medical Officer

Hubert brings more than 30 years of experience in medical affairs, pharmacovigilance, patient safety and drug development across CROs, global pharmaceutical companies and academic organizations. Most recently, he served as vice president and UK country medical director at GSK, leading the UK medical affairs organization and overseeing safety governance, regulatory compliance, and operational performance. Previously, as vice president of medical services at a CRO, he directed global medical programs for more than 50 pharmaceutical and biotechnology clients annually, providing medical and safety oversight across clinical development and post-marketing. His experience in both sponsor and CRO settings provides perspective on the challenges of advancing new therapies.

Norman Waters, Therapeutic Strategy Head, Infectious Disease

Norman brings more than 25 years of experience in infectious disease research and product development, including extensive work during his 31-year U.S. Army career. His expertise spans vaccines, therapeutics and emerging infectious disease threats. At Allucent, he is responsible for shaping the Infectious Disease Center of Expertise strategy and developing clinical development and operational approaches across indications, modalities and geographies. Previously, he held senior leadership roles at the Sabin Vaccine Institute, the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Development Activity (USAMMDA), the Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences (AFRIMS) and the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. At Sabin, he led clinical development and operations for Marburg and Sudan virus vaccine programs, including Phase II trials across U.S. and African sites. A retired U.S. Army colonel, Norman has a proven track record of advancing infectious disease products through complex clinical development and coordinating cross-functional teams.

About Allucent

Allucent is a global, tech-enabled, specialty CRO built for small and mid-sized biopharma companies tackling complex science. Allucent’s integrated approach spanning clinical pharmacology, regulatory strategy, quantitative sciences, and global trial operations is delivered by an A-team of former regulators, leading scientists, and senior clinical experts. With 1,100+ studies conducted across 75+ countries and more than 155,000 patients, Allucent’s combination of global reach plus deep expertise across core therapeutic areas and rare indications enables partners to move faster, reduce risk, and reach critical milestones with confidence. Visit Allucent.com for more information.

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Former SEC advisor and Goldman Sachs Managing Director joins Nearwater, bringing 30 years of markets, regulatory and operating leadership as the firm enters its next phase of growth

NEW YORK, Nov. 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Nearwater today announced the appointment of Amar Kuchinad as President. Kuchinad will report to James Peterson, Managing Partner and founder of Nearwater, and will serve as a member of the firm’s senior leadership team. The appointment reflects Nearwater’s continued investment in senior talent as it broadens its platform and deepens its client relationships.

As President, Kuchinad will lead all of Nearwater’s operating and corporate functions, enabling the firm’s business heads to stay focused on clients and on growing the franchise. Working alongside them, he will focus on strengthening the infrastructure, controls and organizational capabilities that support Nearwater’s Risk Retention, Liquid Markets and Capital Markets businesses across the United States, Europe and Canada.

“Amar brings a rare combination of market, regulatory and operating experience,” said James Peterson, Managing Partner of Nearwater. “He has built and led a regulated trading platform, overseen technology, data and risk at a global asset manager, and served as a policy advisor at the SEC. As we expand our business and the breadth of what we deliver for clients, Amar’s leadership will ensure that our platform, infrastructure and controls framework keep pace with our ambitions. Adding a leader of his caliber strengthens our senior team for the growth ahead. We are delighted to welcome him to the firm in this role.”

“Nearwater has built a differentiated franchise to address a complex and highly regulated need in capital markets, and I am incredibly excited to join the team in this capacity,” said Kuchinad. “I look forward to working with James and the entire leadership team to expand the platform and capabilities that will support the firm’s next chapter of growth and allow it to serve clients at even greater scale.”

Kuchinad joins Nearwater from Copper, the digital asset infrastructure and custody firm, where he most recently served as CEO. Previously, he was a Senior Managing Director at Pretium Partners, where he oversaw technology, data, analytics and risk across the firm and its operating subsidiaries.

Earlier in his career, Kuchinad co-founded and served as CEO of Electronifie, an SEC-registered electronic corporate bond trading platform that was later acquired by Trumid. He also served as a Senior Policy Advisor at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and was a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs, where he headed U.S. Portfolio Credit Trading. Kuchinad holds an AB in Applied Mathematics from Harvard University.

About Nearwater

Nearwater is the established leader in developing and delivering innovative, client-driven capital and asset-based financing solutions to the world’s leading banks, asset managers, sponsors and originators. Through its integrated Risk Retention Solutions, Liquid Markets and Capital Markets businesses, Nearwater combines flexible capital, market expertise, structuring capabilities and regulated infrastructure to help clients address funding, liquidity, balance-sheet, and regulatory-capital objectives. Nearwater Capital Markets, Limited is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as a security-based swap dealer, and Nearwater Capital Markets Europe, Limited is a MiFID investment firm regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.

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Mappify, a course scheduling and enrollment analytics platform, will help colleges and universities improve the student registration experience and make more informed scheduling decisions.

CHESTERFIELD, Mo., Nov. 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Thesis America, provider of the Elements student information system (SIS), has acquired Mappify, a platform that helps colleges and universities improve course scheduling for students and gain better insight into enrollment trends.

Mappify gives institutions a public-facing course scheduling tool for students, along with enrollment analytics for registrars, academic leaders, and other higher education decision makers. The platform uses data institutions already maintain in their SIS, making it easier to improve the registration experience and make informed decisions about course offerings.

“Institutions are working hard to give students the courses they need while managing enrollment, faculty, and classroom resources,” said Jason Duggan, CEO of Thesis Elements. “Mappify gives higher ed a practical way to see what’s happening during registration and respond when it matters. It’s a great addition to what we offer, and we’re excited to make it available to more colleges and universities.”

Helping students and institutions make better use of registration data

For students, Mappify makes it easier to find courses and build a schedule that works. Students can check course availability, avoid scheduling conflicts, account for work and other commitments, and explore alternatives when a section fills. Advisors can share recommended schedules directly with students, giving them a useful starting point for conversations about course selection and academic progress.

For institutional leaders, Mappify provides a timelier view of registration. Teams can see which sections are filling, where enrollment is lagging, and which courses may be making it harder for students to get the schedules they need. Enrollment heatmaps, section consolidation tools, and reporting features help institutions evaluate demand and make better-informed decisions about course offerings and resource allocation.

Too often, those issues become clear only after registration has progressed or the term has begun. Mappify helps institutions identify potential problems earlier, when there may still be time to respond.

“A student picking classes is solving a puzzle: work shifts, a commute, a lab that has to line up with a lecture. Most schedule pages leave them to solve it alone. Mappify lets them see what’s open, what conflicts, and what their backup is when a section fills, before registration day and not in the middle of it,” said Travis Cattron, creator of Mappify. “There’s a lot of useful information in an institution’s SIS, but getting that information into a form people can use isn’t always easy. Joining Thesis is an opportunity to bring Mappify to more institutions and keep building on what we’ve started.”

Designed to fit existing systems

Mappify works with data institutions already maintain by using a lightweight export script and API endpoints, eliminating the need for new servers or complex middleware. Institutions can brand the public-facing schedule to match their identity and configure data refreshes to meet their needs, with updates available as often as every minute during peak registration periods.

Most institutions can go live in less than three weeks, according to Mappify, giving colleges a way to introduce new scheduling and analytics capabilities without a lengthy implementation project.

Mappify will be available to Thesis Elements clients as well as a standalone solution for higher education institutions using other student information systems.

About Thesis Elements

Thesis Elements is a cloud-based Student Information System purpose-built for small to midsize institutions. Elements drives operational efficiency with an affordable, user-friendly system that provides critical operations and administration functions to improve student success, enable faster financial aid decisions and easier federal and state reporting, and integrate with an institution’s campus technology ecosystem, including LMS, CRM and ERP systems. Built directly into Elements is Aristotle, an agentic AI layer that lets staff simply ask for what they need — querying, planning, and acting on their own data through natural conversation or automated workflows — turning what used to be long, manual processes into a quick prompt and freeing teams to focus on students, not busywork. With an average implementation time of under 12 months, Elements uses modern technology designed to help future-proof the institution to streamline operations, improve access to essential student data and increase self-service tools for students. Backed by a dedicated user community, Elements evolves based on real-world feedback to better serve the needs of smaller institutions. Founded in 2020, Thesis Elements is a business unit of Thesis America. For more information, visit www.siselements.com.

About Mappify

Mappify helps colleges and universities improve course scheduling and understand enrollment trends. Its platform combines a public course schedule and tools with enrollment analytics that help institutions team evaluate course demand and make informed scheduling decisions. Learn more at www.getmappify.com.

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