Worcester Business Journal

4 Worcester Business Journal | April 6, 2026 | wbjournal.com Worcester Business Journal (ISSN#1063-6595) is published bi- weekly, 24x per year, including 4 special issues in May, September, October, and December by New England Business Media, 446 Main St, Suite 201, Worcester, MA 01608. Periodicals postage paid at Worcester, MA. Copyright 2026. All rights reserved. Postmaster: Please send address changes to: Worcester Business Journal, 446 Main St, Suite 201, Worcester, MA 01608. Subscriptions: Annual subscriptions are available for $100.00. For more information, please email circulation@nebusinessmedia.com or contact our circulation department at 508-755-8004 x242. Advertising: For advertising information, please call Kris Prosser at 508-755-8004 ext. 286. Worcester Business Journal accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or materials and in general does not return them to the sender. Worcester Business Journal 446 Main St, Suite 201, Worcester, MA 01608 508-755-8004 tel. • www.wbjournal.com Worcester Business Journal WBJ A division of: Editor, Brad Kane, bkane@wbjournal.com Managing Editor, Eric Casey, ecasey@wbjournal.com (real estate, banking & finance) Staff Writer Mica Kanner-Mascolo, mkannermascolo@wbjournal.com (manufacturing, health care, education) Contributors Sloane M. Perron, Sara Bedigian, Emily Micucci, Livia Gershon Photographers Matt Wright, Edd Cote, Christine Peterson Research Director, Stephanie Meagher, smeagher@nebusinessmedia.com Research Assistant, Heide Martin, hmartin@nebusinessmedia.com Production Director, Kira Beaudoin, kbeaudoin@wbjournal.com General Manager Kris Prosser, kprosser@wbjournal.com Senior Accounts Manager Christine Juetten, cjuetten@wbjournal.com Accounts Manager Timothy Doyle tdoyle@wbjournal.com Special Product Manager Regina Stillings rstillings@nebusinessmedia.com Human Resources Manager, Tracy Rodwill, trodwill@nebusinessmedia.com Director of Finance, Sara Ward, sward@nebusinessmedia.com Accounting Clerk, Rae Rogers, rrogers@nebusinessmedia.com Event Coordinator, Patty Harris, pattyh@wbjournal.com Director of Audience Development and Operations, Leah Allen, lallen@nebusinessmedia.com Business Office Assistant, Nicole Dunn, ndunn@nebusinessmedia.com Publisher and CEO, Tom Curtin tcurtin@hartfordbusinessjournal.com Chief Operating Officer, Andrea Tetzlaff atetzlaff@mainebiz.biz Publisher Emeritus, Peter Stanton pstanton@nebusinessmedia.com VNA Care selects former Nashoba Valley Medical Center president as next CEO VNA Care has named Salvatore Perla as president and CEO of the Worcester-based network of palliative and hospice care providers. Perla will assume his new role on April 6, VNA announced on March 30. He comes to the system having most recently served as healthcare director for Synergetics, a New Hampshire-based global management consulting company. "Beyond his operational and strategic expertise, Sal is a dynamic, people-first leader who throughout his career has prioritized helping patients stay healthy at home through community-based care," Smeeta Teckchandani, chair of VNA Care's board of directors, said in a statement. Perla replaces Stephen Gut, who as- sumed the role in an interim capacity af- ter Todd Rose retired from the position in March 2025, said Jackson Murphy, a spokesman for VNA Care. Perla previously served as the president of Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer from 2014 until 2018 before moving on to become president at Norwood Hospital. Norwood Hos- pital closed in June 2020 when a flood caused severe damage to the facility, and NVMC shuttered in August 2024 aer its operator, Dallas-based Steward Health Care, filed for bankruptcy. Before joining Synergetics, Perla served as the interim CEO at Lower Keys Medical Center in Florida and previously worked for 13 years at Mil- ford Regional Medical Center as its vice president of operations. Perla graduated with his bachelor's degree from Northeastern University in Boston, his master's degree from Framingham State University, and his doctorate from Capella University, an online university based in Minnesota. In 2024, VNA Care generated $49.96 million in revenue and held $35.56 million in assets, according to nonprofit financial tracker GuideStar. Walmart closes Worcester fulfillment center Walmart has closed its fulfillment center near Route 146 in Worcester, with the 90 impacted employees being given the opportunity to transfer to other company locations. e center, located in a former Sam's Club store at 1 Tobias Boland Way, closed on March 30. Impacted employees who wish to remain with the company will receive a $7,500 incentive to transfer to open roles at other fulfillment centers, while those who leave are eligible for severance pay, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act filing March 27. Walmart closed the site in 2018 as part of a wider closing of Sam's Club locations across the country. It reopened a year later as a fulfillment center for online orders. RK Centers of Needham purchased the site for $18 million in 2014, accord- ing to City of Worcester property re- cords. e 138,075-square-foot building was constructed in 2011. e site received a 2026 assessment of $15.76 million, with the land accounting for $4.81 million of the value. After terminated deal, Framingham biopharma firm finds new merger partner Aer plans for a previous merger were called off earlier in March, Framing- ham biopharma firm Pulmatrix has announced plans to merge with Eos SENOLYTIX, a Houston-based biotech company. e deal, announced in a March 26 press release, will see Pulmatrix acquire Eos, with the combined company operating under the Eos SENOLYTIX name and traded on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the ticker EOSX. Connected to the merger, the two firms have entered into a definitive agreement which will see Florida-based Rapha Capital Management provide $19 million in financing. "We believe this transaction provides Pulmatrix stockholders the opportunity to participate in the future growth of a company developing a differentiat- ed platform addressing diseases with significant unmet medical need," Peter Ludlum, CEO of Pulmatrix, said in the press release. "Eos's innovative approach to targeting mitochondrial dysfunction and senescent cells represents a compel- ling scientific and strategic opportunity that builds on the recent approval of Forzinitytm (elamipretide), the first FDA-approved mitochondrial-targeted therapeutic." e combined company will seek to become a leader in the field of geother- apeutics, which are medicines which target the root biological causes of aging. Eos is working on a treatment to combat age-related decline by improving body composition through the increase of lean mass while simultaneously reducing harmful fats. e company says the treatment will lead to more healthy weight loss than existing treatment options on the market. e merger is expected to close by the middle of this year. Pulmatrix stock- holders are expected to own about 6% of the combined company, while Eos investors will own the other 94%. Established in 2003, Pulmatrix has specialized in the development of inhaled therapeutics to treat conditions. e company had planned to merge with San Diego-based drug developer Cullgen, but that merger was called off aer Cullgen announced it would be acquired by fellow San Diego-based firm Gyre erapeutics. Eos was founded in 2017 with the goal of improving health span and increasing lifespan, according to Pitchdeck. Lifeward completes $47M acquisition of NY protein drug therapy firm Lifeward has completed a roughly $47-million deal to acquire a protein drug delivery technology from New York-based Oramed Pharmaceuti- cals, issuing equity and other securities representing nearly half of the Marlbor- ough-based company. Lifeward issued a combination of or- dinary shares, warrants, and convertible notes to purchase Oramed subsidiary Oratech Pharmaceuticals, according to a March 25 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Oratech's technology protects proteins in medica- tions and enhances their absorption by the body's intestinal wall. In January, Lifeward said it planned to sell up to 49.99% of the company for ap- proximately $47 million through forms of payment such as equity, convertible notes, and milestone-based funding. Lifeward issued 2.26 million shares, 1.3 million warrants, and $10 million in convertible notes in exchange for Oratech. Lifeward did not disclose the total value of the combined payment, the percentage of the company sold, or how much funding it now has access to. Salvatore Perla

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