Kindeva has named Daniel Couto Executive Vice President, Inhalation & Specialty Drug Delivery. Couto joins the CDMO's executive leadership team with responsibility for the strategy, growth and performance of its global Inhalation & Specialty business, which spans inhalation, nasal, dermal and transdermal drug delivery.
Couto brings more than 30 years of biopharmaceutical experience covering drug development, GMP manufacturing, operations and organizational leadership. He has held senior positions at ContraFect, Merck Sharp & Dohme and Avecia Biologics, and most recently served as Chief Operating Officer of Vedanta Biosciences. At Vedanta, he led a cross-functional organization supporting development, manufacturing and scale-up, during which the company advanced multiple programs through early and late-stage clinical development and completed five IND filings.
Couto arrives as pharmaceutical companies transition established metered-dose inhaler products to next-generation, lower-carbon propellants while continuing to develop new respiratory therapies. He will oversee the Inhalation & Specialty business as Kindeva continues investing in its development and manufacturing capabilities to support those requirements. The business includes MDI development and manufacturing capabilities in the UK and United States, and nasal, dermal and transdermal capabilities in the United States.
CEO David Stevens said Couto understands the challenges product innovators face in taking complex medicines from development through scale-up and commercialization, and brings experience in GMP manufacturing, operational leadership and building high-performing organizations. Couto said he looks forward to strengthening execution and bringing more innovative medicines to patients.