PrixGalienUSA Awards 2008
On September 25, 2008, the awards "Prix Galien USA 2008" were presented in New York, which are called the Nobel Prize in the field of pharmaceutical industry and biotechnology. Every year, during this ceremony, organizations, as well as biotechnological and pharmaceutical companies are awarded for outstanding developments in the field of prevention and treatment of such common and dangerous diseases as cancer, HIV/AIDS, hypertension, etc.
At this ceremony, the "Pro Bono Humanum Award" was presented to Sheldon Segal, an outstanding scientist from the US Population Council*, for an innovative, charitable, partnership approach and cooperation in the development and implementation of implantable hormonal systems used for birth control and family planning, which They have contributed to improving the quality of life of more than 8 million women worldwide. This award, which was presented by Elie Wiesel, also recognizes the merits of Judah Folkman from Harvard University, the Rockefeller Brothers Foundation –RBF)**, companies "Dow-Corning"*** and "Wyeth", which have made a significant contribution to this project to improve reproductive health.
Gerald Weissmann, MD, Chairman of the Prix Galien USA Committee, Professor Emeritus at New York University and editor-in-chief of The FASEB Journal, noted in his speech that organizations and companies awarded the Prix Galien USA represent the best of the best, helping to fight such dangerous diseases as cancer and HIV/AIDS, and are an example of how the biopharmaceutical industry can make a person's life better. He also stressed: "We live in conditions of revolutionary discoveries and breakthroughs in the field of biological research, and the presentation of such an award as the Prix Galien USA testifies to the existence of significant results of scientific research and development necessary for the fruits of these research in the field of molecular medicine to be put into practice."
The "Prix Galien USA" awards for 2008 were awarded in the following categories:
– "For the best development in the field of pharmacy" (Best Pharmaceutical Agent) – for the development of the best small Molecule: Selzentry™ (maravirok, Pfizer Inc.), used as part of combined antiretroviral therapy in adult patients who have proven virus replication and who previously unsuccessfully took other antiretroviral drugs means, as well as Isentress® (raltegravir, Merck&Co., Inc.) – the first drug of a new class of DNA integrase inhibitors for the treatment of HIV infection;
– "For the best development in the field of biotechnology" (Best Biotechnology Agent) – the award in this nomination went to Soliris™ (eculizumab, Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc.), the first and recently approved drug in the United States for the treatment of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria – a rare disease that leads to death. In the same nomination, the drug Infuse®/InductOs® (rhBMP-2, dibotermin-?, "Wyeth"), a synthesized morphogenetic protein that affects the acceleration of osteoblast cell division and is used for bone tissue healing in orthopedics and maxillofacial surgery, won;
– "For the successful development of a special therapeutic direction" (Special Therapeutic Development) – the award was received by The Celgene Corporation for Revlimid® (lenalidomide), an oral antitumor drug that helps the immune system fight cancer cells in multiple myeloma.
The prize in the field of biotechnological and pharmaceutical innovations "Prix Galien" was first established in 1970 by the French pharmacist Roland Mehl, and in September 2007 this prize was awarded in the USA. The competition committee consists of 11 people, including Nobel Prize laureates, founders of the largest biotechnology companies and editors of world-famous biological journals.
*The U.S. Population Council deals with reproductive biology and family planning, population and social policy;
**The Rockefeller Brothers Foundation is a philanthropic organization founded in 1940 by five sons and daughter of John D. Rockefeller Jr.;
***Dow-Corning is an American chemical company that has existed since 1943 and is known for its innovative developments in the field of technologies of organosilicon materials (silicones, plastics, etc., used in medicine).
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