Slone Partners Recruits Chief Business Officer for Vertero Therapeutics
December 18, 2025 – Life sciences-focused search firm Slone Partners has assisted in the recruitment of Jeffrey S. Kasten as chief business officer of Vertero Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company breaking barriers in neurodegenerative disease treatment. “Jeffrey Kasten brings a deep and diversified business development and strategic management skill set to Vertero as the company expands its portfolio of therapies designed to help physicians better manage neurodegenerative diseases and help patients live longer, more productive lives,” said Sona Stroud, senior vice president, executive search, and partner at Slone Partners. “He will be an excellent addition to the company’s leadership team and a valuable partner in its efforts to develop new partnerships and execute successful new product rollouts.”
“I am thrilled to welcome Jeff to the Vertero team,” said Stewart Campbell, CEO of Vertero. “His strategic acumen and track record of successfully cultivating partnerships and advancing pipeline growth are impressive and highly relevant to our mission. Jeff is not only a great cultural addition to our team, he also brings an important perspective to help sharpen our strategic development focus as we work to make an impact on patients and their families affected by neurodegenerative diseases.”
Mr. Kasten brings more than two decades of experience in the life sciences industry spanning corporate strategy, portfolio strategy, and business development across leading biopharmaceutical organizations. Prior to Vertero, he served as vice president of corporate/portfolio strategy and business development at Sage Therapeutics, where he helped shape enterprise strategy, optimize portfolio decisions, and advance key external growth initiatives.
Before Sage, he spent 11 years at Biogen in senior commercial and strategic marketing roles, providing commercial leadership across early- and late-stage pipeline assets and steering commercial assessments that informed key business development initiatives. Mr. Kasten began his career at Bain & Company, where he advised clients across a wide range of industries including biopharma, with time allocated to the Bain Private Equity Group. He later joined Putnam Associates to focus exclusively on strategic consulting projects in biopharmaceuticals, deepening his expertise in commercial and portfolio strategy.
In his new role with Vertero, Mr. Kasten is responsible for driving business development, strategic partnerships, corporate and portfolio strategy, and commercialization planning. His leadership will support the advancement of the company’s pipeline focused on neurodegenerative diseases, with its lead program for Parkinson’s disease, VT-5006, now in a Phase 1 clinical study.
“This is a perfect time to join Vertero as it launches its first-in-human clinical studies for what could be a groundbreaking therapy for neurodegenerative diseases,” said Mr. Kasten. “Vertero’s approach is truly innovative. While I have worked with many drugs that treat the symptoms of neurological diseases, I am excited to advance a program that could profoundly modify the trajectory of the disease. I look forward to working with this talented team of dedicated professionals whose expertise is matched only by their passion to deliver transformational therapies to patients with urgent unmet needs.”
Related: Slone Partners Recruits Chief Medical Officer for Carisma Therapeutics
Vertero Therapeutics is a clinical-stage company pioneering science beyond the brain to treat neurodegenerative diseases at their source. Vertero’s development pipeline of differentiated therapies targets the peripheral nervous system to delay onset and slow progression of challenging conditions such as Parkinson’s disease.
Nationally Recognized Search Firm
Slone Partners is a nationally recognized senior-level recruitment provider that specializes in delivering executive, management, and leadership talent for the diagnostic, biopharmaceutical, healthcare information technology, and laboratory testing industries. The firm has offices in Boston, New York, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco. Recently, Slone Partners was included among Hunt Scanlon Media’s “Top 50 Healthcare & Life Sciences Search Firms.”
Slone Partners Recruits CEO for the Personalized Medicine Coalition
Slone Partners has assisted in the recruitment of Amy Nicole Nayar as the new president and CEO of the Personalized Medicine Coalition (PMC) in South Riding, VA. “We are excited about this placement as part of our long term partnership with the talented PMC team,” said Leslie Loveless, managing partner and CEO of Slone Partners. “I cannot overstate the critical nature of PMC’s work educating patients and decisionmakers on how personalized medicine can make healthcare far more efficient and effective, and we are honored to partner with them to achieve even greater success in the coming years.”
In 2000, Adam Slone founded Slone Partners and acted as CEO from 2000 to 2016. He remains chairman today. His industry knowledge and extensive contacts have enabled Slone Partners to place thousands of executives and industry professionals. Today, Mr. Slone remains engaged with Slone Partners, with a specific focus in strategy, finance, M&A advisement, and business development in Boston and California.
Leslie Loveless has nearly 20 years of healthcare industry and executive search experience to Slone Partners. She joined the firm in 2007, became COO in 2014 and CEO in 2016. At Slone Partners, Ms. Loveless acts as the leader of the organization as well as the head of the executive search team. Her involvement with clients and candidates enables her to understand the key motivations of each. As CEO, Ms. Loveless’ focus extends to cultivating new business partnerships and expanding relationships with existing clients. Through her leadership, life sciences and biotechnology have emerged as the primary client base for Slone Partners.
With more than 20 years of experience in healthcare and life sciences, Ms. Stroud has extensive market knowledge and a track record of key executive and leadership placements across multiple verticals and a wide array of companies. Before joining Slone Partners in 2011, she spent nearly a decade with Pfizer.
Related: Slone Partners Recruits Chief Business Officer for 1910 Genetics
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
