David Hung, MD of Medivation Named EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ 2014 National Life Sciences Award Winner

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- David Hung, MD, the founder, President and CEO of Medivation, has been named the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™ 2014 National Life Sciences Award winner.

The EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Award, a leading business award for entrepreneurs, encourages entrepreneurial activity and recognizes leaders and visionaries who demonstrate innovation, financial success and personal commitment as they create and build world-class businesses.

Hung was recognized for developing visionary technologies and delivering unprecedented results in the biotech field. He was honored at the Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards gala, the culminating event of the EY Strategic Growth Forum® in Palm Springs, Calif. The Forum is the nation's premier gathering of high-growth, market-leading companies. Awards were given in 10 additional categories.

The EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Award winners were selected by an independent panel of judges and from more than 250 regional award recipients. 

"Dr. David Hung's passion and pledge to bringing groundbreaking solutions for the world's toughest diseases and illnesses in a truly innovative way speaks for itself," said Mike Kacsmar, EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Americas Program Director.  "He leads one of the most visionary biopharmaceutical companies in the world, and we couldn't be more pleased to credit him with this honor."

Passion from the start
Hung realized that he was limited in the number of people he could help in academic medicine. With the unending desire to do more, he left academic medicine for the business world. Prior to Medivation, Hung started another company, Pro-Duct Health, which was also highly successful, turning $22 million of VC funding into $168 million through an acquisition.

As the largest biotech employer in downtown San Francisco, Medivation has achieved great success in identifying drugs that fight and even cure difficult diseases such as breast and prostate cancer, as well as Alzheimer's.

A comeback story worth noting
Despite achieving immense growth and success, that wasn't always the storyline for Medivation. The company nearly went bankrupt after a failed late-stage drug trial. Fast-forward to now, the company is leading the industry by developing revolutionary technologies and overcoming clinical development time limitations to prolong and ultimately save lives.

One such example of this is the company's breakthrough drug, Xtandi. Generally, it takes 17 years and $800 million from laboratory bench to FDA approval for a drug in the pharma industry. Hung and his team successfully managed to receive approval on Xtandi in just seven years. What's more, the drug was then made available to patients in only two weeks, setting yet another industry benchmark.

Today, Medivation has evolved into a global company, employing over 80 chemists in India and more than 20 biologists in Chile, in addition to the hundreds of development employees in San Francisco.

EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2014 National Life Sciences finalists:
In addition to Hung, the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Life Sciences national finalists in the US were: Kevin T. Conroy, President and CEO of Exact Sciences Corporation, based in Madison, Wis.; Ted Schroeder, President and CEO of Cadence Pharmaceuticals, based in San Diego, Calif.; and Dale Wollschleger, President and CEO of ExactCare Pharmacy, based in Valley View, Ohio.

EY Entrepreneur Of The Year^TM 2014 National Overall Award winner
Dr. David Hung of Medivation was also named the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year^TM 2014 National Overall Award winner.

Video and photos
To view photos of all of the Entrepreneur Of The Year winners, please visit ey.com/us/eoy.

Sponsors
Founded and produced by Ernst & Young LLP, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards are nationally sponsored in the US by SAP America and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

About EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™
EY Entrepreneur Of The Year is the world's most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs. The program makes a difference through the way it encourages entrepreneurial activity among those with potential and recognizes the contribution of people who inspire others with their vision, leadership and achievement. As the first and only truly global awards program of its kind, Entrepreneur Of The Year celebrates those who are building and leading successful, growing and dynamic businesses, recognizing them through regional, national and global awards programs in more than 145 cities in more than 60 countries. ey.com/eoy

About EY's Strategic Growth Markets Network
EY's worldwide Strategic Growth Markets Network is dedicated to serving the changing needs of high-growth companies. For more than 30 years, we've helped many of the world's most dynamic and ambitious companies grow into market leaders. Whether working with international mid-cap companies or early stage, venture-backed businesses, our professionals draw upon their extensive experience, insight and global resources to help your business succeed. For more information, please visit us at ey.com/sgm or follow news on Twitter @EY_Growth.

About EY
EY is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. The insights and quality services we deliver help build trust and confidence in the capital markets and in economies the world over. We develop outstanding leaders who team to deliver on our promises to all of our stakeholders. In so doing, we play a critical role in building a better working world for our people, for our clients and for our communities.

EY refers to the global organization, and may refer to one or more, of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. For more information about our organization, please visit ey.com.

This news release has been issued by Ernst & Young LLP, an EY member firm serving clients in the US.

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