Worcester Business Journal

12 Worcester Business Journal | May 19, 2025 | wbjournal.com P OW E R 1 0 0 L I F E S C I E N C E S Udit Batra President & CEO Waters Corp., in Milford Employees: About 7,600 Colleges: University of Delaware, Princeton University When Batra joined Waters in late 2020, the com- pany was at a critical stage, in need of a leader to help it regain its top market position. Batra, who at the time was the CEO of a company with $8 billion in sales called MilliporeSigma, was chosen because of his scientific and leadership background; Waters makes analytical instruments, separations technolo- gies, and soware for various sciences. As a former Waters customer, Batra had an understanding of client needs. Since he took over, Waters has been focused on sustaining its momentum commercially, revitalizing innovation, and executing its long-term strate- gy. e company has released more than 40 new products since 2020, including 11 in 2024. Released in 2022, its Xevo TQ Absolute system became its best-selling mass spectrometer in 2024. Growth performance improved every quarter last year, and Waters has found success in delivering total share- holder returns; its TSR was 13% in 2024, which the company said far outperforms its peer average of -2%. e company's employees are spread throughout 100 countries, and about 1,600 are based in Massa- chusetts. Waters has been in Central Massachusetts since it was founded in 1958. - L.F. Victor Ambros Professor of the program in molecular medicine; Silverman professor of natural sciences UMass Chan Medical School, in Worcester Employees: 6,715 total at UMass Chan College: MIT In October, Ambros was awarded the Nobel Prize, marking only the second time anyone from Central Massachusetts won the prestigious honor. Ambros won the Nobel in the physiology or medicine category for his co-discovery of microRNA, short RNA molecules playing an integral role in gene regulation. Ambros shares his Nobel win with Gary Ruvkun of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Ambros, whose discovery about the impact of microRNA was tested on nematodes, said the study of laboratory organisms is fundamental to advancing under- standing of biology. His Nobel win came 18 years aer UMass Chan scientist Craig Mello shared a Nobel win in the same category, also for his research into RNA. Mello's work eventually led to a number of startups and spinoff companies out of UMass Chan, including Phio Pharmaceuticals in Marlborough and Atalanta erapeutics in Boston. Whether or not Ambros' Nobel win will have the same economic im- pact on the Central Massachusetts business community, his work under- lines the importance of the scientific research performed in the region, at a time when the federal government is working to slow the flow of public research funding to organizations like UMass Chan. In May, Ambros was named to the TIME100 list of the most influential people in health in 2025, with the magazine citing the potentially pro- found impact of his work in treating disease, improving agriculture, and addressing pests. - B.K. PHOTO | COURTESY OF UMASS CHAN MEDICAL SCHOOL Maurice Phelan President, Sartorius North America Sartorius, in Marlborough Employees: 13,600 Residence: Marblehead College: National University of Ireland Maynooth Fresh off playing a critical role in the dash to create the vaccines which helped the world tackle the COVID-19 pandemic, Phelan continues to drive Sarto- rius' North American operations forward. A native of Ireland, Phelan first came to America to work on a project with Harvard Medical School. Today, he is the leader of 2,300 Sartorius workers in North America, helping ensure the company remains a leader in the life science space, while enabling the internation- al firm to tap into the best talent and resources Central Massachusetts (and beyond) have to offer. e biggest recent milestone for the German-head- quartered company in America came in November, when the firm opened its 63,000-square-foot, $90-mil- lion Center for Bioprocess Innovation in Marlborough. e facility can hold more than 120 scientists and researchers, serving as a space to increase collaboration with customers and other external partners in a quest to develop the next big gene therapy breakthrough. Phelan's next mountain to climb will be continuing to drive international collaboration and continued prog- ress in helping treat the world's most difficult diseases, in times where trade wars, increasing international strife, and decreased available capital for life science firms are dominating headlines. - E.C. Mike Cloonan President & CEO Sionna Therapeutics, in Waltham Employees: 47 Colleges: College of the Holy Cross, University of Virginia Cloonan is on the frontline of the fight against cystic fibrosis. As the leader of Sionna erapeutics, the Holy Cross graduate is leading efforts to develop novel medicines aiming to deliver relief to those suffering from the life-threatening genetic disease, creating high-value biotech jobs in the process. Originally based in ABI-LAB complex in Natick, the company has had great success in raising funds to support its efforts, with an IPO which resulted in $219.2 million in gross proceeds earlier in 2025. at was just one of multiple nine-figure raises Sionna erapeutics has pulled off, as the firm has raised more than $500 million in the past three years and is now listed on the Nasdaq. e successful capital raises have been matched with meaningful progress toward bringing relief to patients, with clinical trials showing its treatments were well tolerated and achieved target clinical exposures. at success in the laboratory allowed for the company to reach a licensing agreement with bio- tech giant AbbVie in July 2024. Sionna erapeutics graduated from ABI-LAB's lab space in 2022, moving into a new headquarters in Waltham in 2023. - E.C. "Most innovation comes from empowered, collaborative, and talented scientists working within an expanding network mentored by science leaders at all levels." - Jochen Salfeld, AbbVie

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