Keynote & Awards Session

8:30 AM – 10:00 AM | North GP Atrium, Club Level

State of the BioPharma Industry: Being Creative, Innovative, and Optimistic for the Future

Keynote & Awards Session:

Join us Wednesday morning to kick off the largest one-day biopharma event in the Northeast! The session will start with an introduction to the ISPE Boston Scholarship Foundation and a ceremony for this year’s Boston Chapter Awards recipients followed by our Keynote.

The Keynote session will focus on the current state and financial trends in the biopharma industry. Speakers will discuss the current challenges and conditions they are seeing in the market – how are established companies creating new revenue streams, how are smaller stage companies sourcing funding and differentiating themselves, and what do speakers see as the outlook for the industry?

Speakers:
Robert Coughlin, Managing Director, JLL
Daniel Couto, Chief Operating Officer, Vedanta Biosciences

Moderator – Kristin Dangelo, Vice President of Business Development and Marketing, BA Sciences

Biographies:

Robert Coughlin, Managing Director, JLL

Mr. Coughlin is a Managing Director at JLL and is the New England’s Life Science Practice Group lead. He specializes in the representation of lab, GMP manufacturing and technology space. Robert delivers creative solutions that align real estate strategies with scientific business objectives.

Robert most recently operated as the President & CEO of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, where his mission was to advance Massachusetts’s leadership in the life sciences to grow the industry. Robert has spent his career in both the public and private sectors. Before joining MassBio, he served as the Undersecretary of Economic Development within Governor Deval Patrick’s administration, where he prioritized both healthcare and economic development issues and was a strong advocate for the life sciences industry in Massachusetts. Prior to that, he was elected as State Representative to the 11th Norfolk district for three terms. Robert has also held senior executive positions in the environmental services, capital management and venture capital industries.

Robert is a graduate of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy where he majored in Marine Engineering and served as an officer in the United States Naval Reserve. In 2011, the American Diabetes Association honored Bob with their Father of the Year Award. In 2012, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation honored Bob with the CF Foundation Volunteer Leadership Award and in 2013 he received the Boston Irish Business Award from the Boston Irish Business Association. In 2014, he was awarded for his leadership in Biotechnology by the Massachusetts Society for Medical Research. He received the NTSAD advocate of the year in 2015 and was named to the Boston Business Journal’s Power 50, Top 50 Most Influential Bostonians. In 2016, he was honored with the Boston Biotech CEO Lifetime Achievement Award. His latest honors include the first-ever awarded Governor Paul Cellucci Fatherhood Award from the Children’s Trust and the Breath of Life Award from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (2017). In 2021, Bob Coughlin received the Henri A. Termeer Memorial Innovator in Health Award from NEHI.

Daniel Couto, Chief Operating Officer, Vedanta Biosciences

Daniel Couto is the Chief Operating Officer of Vedanta Biosciences, a leading Microbiome company. Mr. Couto is an Operations Management Executive with close to 30 years of experience starting and advancing Biopharmaceutical Development and Manufacturing organizations to higher levels of capability, growth and productivity. Mr. Couto has a comprehensive knowledge and hands-on experience leading organizations through improvement initiatives and developing new therapeutic modalities. Mr. Couto is the former SVP of Manufacturing and Operations of ContraFect Corporation, a public company developing new Lysin enzymes for MRSA infections. His previous employment was with Merck Sharp Dohme Biologics UK Ltd. (former Avecia Biologics) where he served as Vice President of Commercial Manufacturing Operations responsible for all late stage and commercial product. Prior to this he was responsible for 7 World Wide Contract Manufacturing sites including API/BDS and Final Fill Finish as he served as Director of Manufacturing for Nuvelo Inc. (San Francisco Bay area). He has been instrumental in 2 BLA submissions for drug approvals, 2 major Pre-Approval Inspection (PAI), and several IND submissions. Mr. Couto holds patents for several novel separation technologies such as Bulk Protein Crystallization, HPTFF, and SMB. Prior to this he served in a number of Sr. Management positions for companies including Genzyme Transgenics Corp. (GTC Biotherapeutics), Advanced Biosystems Corp., ImmuCell Corp., and Sepracor Corp. Mr. Couto received his B.S. Degree in Chemical Engineering with a minor in Economics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.and Business Systems, Continual Improvement.

Kristin Dangelo, Vice President of Business Development and Marketing, BA Sciences

Ms. Dangelo has been BA Sciences for 13 years, currently as the VP of Business Development and Marketing. Prior to that she was with Alpha Analytical for 10 years in Business Development and Organic Chemistry Roles. She is a currently on the Board of Directors for the ISPE Boston Area Chapter. Ms. Dangelo has a BS from Westfield State and an MBA from Southern New Hampshire University.