# Stewart Campbell

> A. Stewart Campbell, PhD, is the CEO of Vertero Therapeutics, the Woburn, Massachusetts biotech formerly known as Axial Therapeutics. A medicinal chemist by training with more than 30 years in drug discovery, he runs a company built on an unusual bet: that the road to treating Parkinson's disease starts in the gut, not the brain. Campbell joined in 2017, took the top job in February 2021, engineered the 2025 rebrand from Axial to Vertero, and is steering the lead candidate VT-5006, a gut-selective small molecule, into its first clinical trials. He is a co-inventor on more than 20 patent families, including the foundational patents behind the approved graft-versus-host disease drug Rezurock.

- **Role:** Chief Executive Officer at Vertero Therapeutics, Inc.
- **Organizations:** Vertero Therapeutics, Inc., Axial Therapeutics, Corden Pharma, Ancora Pharmaceuticals, Surface Logix, Insmed, Boehringer Ingelheim
- **Education:** BS with Honors in Chemistry, St. Francis Xavier University, PhD in Organic Chemistry, Queen's University (Canada), Postdoctoral research, Duke University
- **Known for:** Co-inventor on more than 20 issued patent families, Co-inventor on the foundational patents for Rezurock (belumosudil), an approved treatment for chronic graft-versus-host disease, Secured multiple rounds of equity financing as CEO, including a $20M Series D

## Career timeline

- **early career** — Started as a medicinal chemist at Boehringer Ingelheim
- **—** — Held leadership roles at Insmed and Surface Logix
- **—** — Led Ancora Pharmaceuticals through its acquisition by Corden Pharma
- **2017** — Joined Axial Therapeutics (later Vertero Therapeutics)
- **2021-02** — Appointed Chief Executive Officer of Axial Therapeutics
- **2021-10** — Company closed $37.25M Series C financing
- **2025-10** — Led rebrand of Axial Therapeutics to Vertero Therapeutics, refocusing on neurodegenerative disease
- **2025** — Company raised $20M Series D; VT-5006 on track to enter Phase 1 in Q4 2025

## Achievements

- Co-inventor on more than 20 issued patent families
- Co-inventor on the foundational patents for Rezurock (belumosudil), an approved treatment for chronic graft-versus-host disease
- Secured multiple rounds of equity financing as CEO, including a $20M Series D
- Led Ancora Pharmaceuticals through its acquisition by Corden Pharma
- Led the 2025 strategic repositioning and rebrand from Axial Therapeutics to Vertero Therapeutics
- Advanced VT-5006, a first-in-class gut-selective small molecule for Parkinson's disease, toward the clinic

## Latest updates

- **2025-10** — Led rebrand of Axial Therapeutics to Vertero Therapeutics, unveiling a strategy focused on neurodegenerative disease and the gut-brain axis.
- **2025-12** — Company appointed Jeffrey Kasten as Chief Business Officer and R. Scott Greer as independent board chair, strengthening leadership as VT-5006 advances.

## Links

- Website: https://vertero.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/a-stewart-campbell-a1992231

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/stewart-campbell
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-07-08