Vik Krishnan

Chief Executive Officer Instem

Last Reviewed: September 26, 2026

Executive Summary

Vik Krishnan is Chief Executive Officer of Instem, a life-science software company that sells SaaS platforms for discovery, study management, regulatory submission and clinical trial analytics. Instem was founded in the United Kingdom in 1969 and has been owned by the healthcare investor ARCHIMED since 2023. Krishnan took over from Phil Reason, who was chief executive at the time of that takeover. Since then he has run a buy-and-build strategy: in 2025 Instem bought Strong Tower Solutions, RockStep Solutions, Xybion and Autoscribe Informatics, and in December 2025 it moved its global headquarters to Boston.

Career Highlights

• Chief Executive Officer of Instem, which describes its aim under him as being “the leading SaaS platform in preclinical life sciences.”
• Announced the acquisition of Strong Tower Solutions, a clinical statistical computing environment business, in May 2025.
• Announced the acquisition of RockStep Solutions, maker of the Climb discovery-lab platform, in July 2025, with Climb to be integrated into Instem’s Provantis platform.
• Closed the acquisition of Xybion in July 2025, which he called the creation of a “new Instem” in preclinical R&D.
• Opened Instem’s new global headquarters in the Prudential Center in Boston’s Back Bay in December 2025.
• Director of Instem’s UK parent and operating companies, according to the Companies House register.

Professional Journey

Instem’s own boilerplate describes it as a supplier of SaaS platforms used by life-science and healthcare organisations for data-driven decisions in drug research and development. It began in the United Kingdom in 1969 and still has its UK base at Stone, Staffordshire. In November 2023 the company announced that it had become part of ARCHIMED, a global investment firm that backs only healthcare and life-science businesses. That announcement quoted Phil Reason as chief executive.

Krishnan is Reason’s successor. Instem has not published an announcement of his appointment. The UK Companies House register shows an officer named Vikram Venkatesh Krishnan, a US resident, as a director of Ichor Topco Limited from October 2024. His later directorships cover the rest of the Instem group.

His period as chief executive has been marked by acquisitions. In May 2025 Instem announced the purchase of Strong Tower Solutions. Krishnan said the deal would enable “faster, more effective decision-making with reduced risk in clinical development.” In late July 2025 it announced RockStep Solutions, whose Climb software was to be folded into Instem’s Provantis platform. Krishnan described the aim as “a fully connected, end-to-end environment that spans from early discovery through non-GLP and GLP study management to regulatory submission.” Within days it closed the acquisition of Xybion, and Krishnan said the combination “effectively creates a ‘new Instem’ in the preclinical R&D space.” Autoscribe Informatics also joined the group.

In December 2025 Instem opened a new global headquarters in the Prudential Center in Boston. Krishnan called it “a turning point in Instem’s transformation” and said it was “not just about geography, it’s about focus.” Instem presented the move as a way to be closer to pharmaceutical, biotech and CRO decision-makers in North America.

His career before Instem is not documented in any first-party source reviewed for this profile.

Education

No education record was found in any first-party or primary source.