The Most Prestigious International Biomedical Industry Research Honor, Prix Galien, Expands to US

Business Wire, Feb 14, 2007

Prix Galien Now Recognizes Outstanding Medical Accomplishments of US Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Companies

Leading Scientists - Including Seven Nobel Laureates - to Assess Submissions

NEW YORK -- Coveted worldwide by pharmaceutical industry researchers and heralded as the "Nobel Prize" for applied medical research and development, Prix Galien is now launching a new award program to recognize US-based scientific innovation in celebration of its 37th anniversary.

"Whether a medical breakthrough helps 50 or 50 million patients, pharma sales are not the only measure for outstanding scientific innovation," said Gerald Weissmann, MD, editor-in-chief, The FASEB Journal, Professor Emeritus of Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, and Prix Galien USA Committee Chair. "Prix Galien is the defining barometer for medical innovation excellence. The US-based biomedical industry has outstanding clinical minds working tirelessly to address many of the world's most pressing medical issues. Prix Galien is the platform to recognize publicly these efforts and accomplishments," he added.

Online submissions (http://submission.prix-galien-usa.com) are welcomed until May 25, 2007. All pharmaceutical products - pharmaceuticals, biologics and devices - that have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration during the past five years (2002 - 2006) are eligible to enter Prix Galien USA 2007. Award recipients will be announced on September 25, 2007, at a black-tie event hosted by New York University at Cipriani in New York City.

Long seen as Europe's top research and development honor in countries where Prix Galien identifies cutting-edge science, the review committee is the unquestioned leading arbiter of medical advances as defined by efficacy, safety, patient benefits and the ability to advance care. The 12 medical leaders appointed to the Prix Galien USA Review Committee include seven Nobel Prize recipients, and hail from Boston University, Memorial Sloan Kettering, New York University, Nobel Foundation - Karolinska Institute, Rockefeller University, Scripps Research Institute and UT Southwestern.

Committee members are:

* Michael S. Brown, M.D., Nobel Laureate - Professor of Molecular Genetics and Internal Medicine, UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas

* Barry S. Coller, M.D. - Vice President for Medical Affairs and Physician-in-Chief, Rockefeller University

* Joseph Goldstein, M.D., Nobel Laureate - Professor of Molecular Genetics and Internal Medicine, UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas

* Paul Greengard, Ph.D., Nobel Laureate - Vincent Astor Professor of Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, Rockefeller University

* Eric R. Kandel, M.D., Nobel Laureate - Professor of Physiology and Cellular Biophysics, Columbia University

* Joshua Lederberg, M.D., Ph.D., Nobel Laureate - Professor Emeritus, Laboratory of Molecular Genetics and Informatics, Rockefeller University

* Richard A. Lerner, M.D. - Lita Annenberg Hazen Professor of Immunochemistry, Chair in Chemistry, Scripps Research Institute

* Paul A. Marks, M.D. - Laboratory Head of Cell Biology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

* Bengt Samuelsson, M.D., Ph.D., Nobel Laureate - Professor Emeritus, Karolinska Institutet, Nobel Foundation

* Jan T. Vilcek, M.D. - Professor of Microbiology, New York University School of Medicine

* Elie Wiesel, Honorary Member, Nobel Laureate - University Professor and Professor of Philosophy and Religion, Boston University

* Gerald Weissmann, M.D., Committee Chair - Professor of Rheumatology and Director of Biotechnology Study Center, New York University School of Medicine

The Prix Galien USA Review Committee will review submissions in the following 10 categories: autoimmune diseases, cardiovascular, central nervous system, infectious diseases, oncology, orphan diseases, primary care, respiratory, vaccines, and women's health. In addition, two awards (selected from the products entered) will honor the best pharmaceutical product and the best biotechnology product impacting the improvement of the human condition.

"While medical insight is often the accomplishment of one exceptional mind, bringing a new medicine to market requires the excellence of many," said Elie Wiesel, author, Nobel Laureate and Prix Galien Honorary Committee Member. "When many band together to improve the health of even one person, it's a miracle of life. These scientific accomplishments are inspiration for millions of others searching for hope and the belief that cures for autoimmune illnesses, heart disease and cancers are possible," he noted.

Throughout the award's 37-year history, mostly European biopharmaceutical companies have won the Prix Galien Award. The leading award recipients include GlaxoSmithKline, Hoffmann-La Roche and Sanofi-Aventis. Now with the Prix Galien USA 2007 program launch, US biopharmaceutical companies can submit and have their innovations evaluated by an outstanding panel of scientists.

About Prix Galien USA

Founded in 1970 by French pharmacist Roland Mehl to recognize his country's outstanding medical accomplishments, the award, named in honor of Galen, the Greek father of medicine and pharmacology, has evolved into Europe's leading honor for medical research and development achievement and is considered an equivalent to the Nobel Prize. With the addition of the United States award (http://www.prix-galien-usa.com), Prix Galien is now in 11 countries. Consistent with the tradition of its founders, national judging panels must include top scientists who are undisputed in their clinical achievements and ability to evaluate cutting-edge medicine. In addition, each year an International Prix Galien is presented to one of the past national winners; winners of the Prix Galien USA 2007 will be eligible for the international award in 2008.