2010 Prix Galien USA Candidates Announced: Best in Biopharmaceutical and Medical Technology

NEW YORK, July 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Honoring biomedical advances impacting both individual lives and public health in the past decade, the Prix Galien USA committee today announced the 2010 final candidates for the 4th annual Prix Galien Awards competition. The Award Ceremony, held at the Museum of Natural History in New York City, September 28, 2010, is among the most prestigious prizes for biopharmaceutical and medical technology research and development.

"This year's nominees for the Prix Galien USA show that when basic science is applied to the problems of human disease, cures result," said Gerald Weissmann, M.D., Prix Galien USA committee chair, New York University professor emeritus and editor-in-chief of The FASEB Journal. "Pharmaceutical research and development is a team effort: the candidates we honor show how industry in the service of science improves the human condition."

Final candidates for the Prix Galien USA 2010 Awards are:

As in past years, the committee will judge candidates as Best Pharmaceutical Agent, Best Biotechnology Product, and Best Medical Technology approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) during the past 10 years.

"This award is a recognition for the driven scientists whose long hours of work at laboratory benches and in clinical trial administration have resulted in better health and quality of life for all of us," said Elie Wiesel, Nobel Laureate and Prix Galien USA committee member.  "Prix Galien celebrates contributions that so often go unrecognized."

The 2010 candidates range from the first-ever therapy for a rare genetic disorder causing brain tumor growth, to a diagnostic test able to identify multiple respiratory infections from a single patient sample – and from the first child-friendly formulation of an effective antimalarial, to a severe pain medication formulated to deter abuse by nesting a neutralizing substance at its core.  In 2009, the Prix Galien USA committee honored life sciences companies for innovations in cancer and blood platelet disorders, including Novartis Oncology (GLEEVEC®), Amgen (Nplate®), GlaxoSmithKline (PROMACTA®) and Veridex (CellSearch® CTC Test).

Support for the Prix Galien Awards is provided by: Oracle, DDB Healthcare, Deloitte, Alexandria Real Estate, Inventiv Health, DJE Science (a unit of Edelman), Kendle, City of Lyon, Saint Joseph's University and SAS.

The Prix Galien Award recognizes the technical, scientific and clinical research skills necessary to develop innovative medicines and devices such as these, and is considered the industry's highest accolade, equivalent to the Nobel Prize. Prix Galien was first established in 1970 by French pharmacist Roland Mehl and was inaugurated in the United States in September 2007. The Prix Galien USA award committee comprises 11 individuals including Nobel Laureates, founders of major biotech companies and editors of world-renowned biology journals.

For details about the Prix Galien - USA award and committee, visit www.galienfoundation.org.

SOURCE Galien Foundation