Devens, Massachusetts, United States, October 2025 — Veranova, a global leader in the development and manufacturing of specialty and complex active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) for the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors, is pleased to announce the appointment of Joe Torres-Ocasio as Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer (COO).
Joe will lead Veranova’s global operations across its manufacturing network in Europe and North America, and will also oversee the company’s Engineering, Environmental Health & Safety (EHS), and Supply Chain/Operational Excellence functions.
Prior to joining Veranova, he served as Vice President of Global Operations for Catalent’s Biologics division, playing a pivotal role in transforming the performance of several key operations. His career also includes leadership roles at Baxter Healthcare International, where he led the turnaround and growth of critical sites before becoming a regional Vice President. Joe began his career at Amgen as a manufacturing leader, where he spearheaded a high-impact Lean transformation. He later held senior operational roles at Immucor and Therapeutic Proteins International.
Joe holds a dual BS degree in Chemical Engineering and Industrial Biotechnology from Universidad de Puerto Rico, as well as an MBA from Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico.
“Joe’s deep operational expertise and proven leadership track record make him an exceptional addition to our Leadership Team,” said Mike Riley, Chief Executive Officer of Veranova. “His ability to drive transformational change at scale across multiple technologies will be instrumental in driving operational excellence and delivering value to our customers and patients.”
This appointment comes at a pivotal time for Veranova, following a $50 million investment into its Devens, Massachusetts facility aimed at strengthening US-based infrastructure for the production of highly potent compounds, antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), and novel bioconjugates.
About Veranova
Veranova is a global leader in process development and manufacturing of APIs, with a focus on specialty and complex chemistry for small molecules, antibody-drug conjugates, oligonucleotides, and peptides. Veranova is headquartered in Devens, Massachusetts, and has operations in North America and Europe.
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