Dan Couto
Chief Operating Officer Vedanta Biosciences
Daniel Couto is Chief Operating Officer at Vedanta Biosciences, where he leads operational strategy and manufacturing execution for the company’s microbiome-based therapeutics portfolio. With more than 30 years of experience in biopharmaceutical development and manufacturing, he has built and scaled organizations across biologics, novel therapeutic modalities, and commercial production. Prior to Vedanta, he held senior leadership roles at ContraFect Corporation, Merck Sharp & Dohme, and Nuvelo, overseeing global manufacturing operations and regulatory submissions. Daniel has contributed to multiple BLA and IND submissions, led major pre-approval inspections, and holds patents for innovative bioprocessing and separation technologies. He earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and Economics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Seminars
- Addressing fermentation, stabilization and scale-up challenges for non-traditional bacterial taxa to ensure consistent large-scale therapeutic manufacturing
- Designing processes for multi-strain consortia with robust quality control frameworks to manage complexity, variability and production costs effectively
- Implementing early manufacturing strategies aligned with clinical development to avoid delays and ensure readiness for late-stage trials
