Bioscience Achievement Awards Presented at CURE Annual Meeting

NEW HAVEN, Conn., April 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Connecticut's premier life science award, the CURE Award for Excellence, was presented to Pfizer, Inc. at the April 27 annual meeting of CURE (Connecticut United for Research Excellence) in New Haven. The award went to Pfizer for its investment in "multiple approaches to treating Alzheimer's Disease." Pfizer has no fewer than seven Alzheimer's clinical projects ongoing and several more programs in earlier stages of development at its Groton research site.

Also presented at the meeting was the CURE Atlas Award for Venture Capital Achievement. It went to Jon Soderstrom of Yale University's Office of Cooperative Research. Since joining the Yale office, which manages the university's intellectual assets, Soderstrom has participated in the formation of more than 25 new ventures, collectively raising over $350 million in professional venture capital.

The CURE New Operations Award was presented to MannKind Corporation, which operates a manufacturing facility in Danbury. The facility includes custom processes for the manufacture and packing of AFREZZA®, the company's promising new insulin therapy, a drug-device combination consisting of a pre-metered dose of insulin powder and an easy-to-use inhaler.

The CURE Education Award was presented to Boehringer Ingelheim, the multinational pharmaceutical company with U.S. headquarters in Ridgefield. The company has funded Boehringer Ingelheim Science Quest, a multifaceted science outreach program aimed at elementary school children. The program includes a state-of-the-art mobile laboratory that will visit schools throughout Connecticut.

Following the award presentations, the audience heard from top health care economist Professor Uwe Reinhardt of Yale and Princeton, who spoke on how the bioscience industries may be affected by the new federal health care legislation.

In opening remarks, Paul Pescatello, president and CEO of CURE, said that during the past year, "The strength of Connecticut R&D has allowed Connecticut biotechs to attract a disproportionate share of venture capital investment, Connecticut pharmas to redouble their investments in new medicines, and Connecticut research institutions to win grants for an array of novel and exciting projects. Connecticut stem cell research serves the public interest and sows the seeds for future entrepreneurial activity. And CURE's direct outreach to the public through our BioScience Explorations programs continues to reach Connecticut kids and teachers with state-of-the-art equipment and cutting edge science."

The CURE Award for Excellence is an annual award given to an individual or organization in recognition of a significant contribution or achievement in Connecticut bioscience. Past winners include Alexion Pharmaceuticals of Cheshire and 454 Life Sciences of Branford.

CURE (http://www.curenet.org) is a statewide coalition of over 100 educational and research institutions, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies and other supporting businesses. It is dedicated to promoting the growth and increasing public understanding of biomedical research and science in Connecticut.

SOURCE CURE (Connecticut United for Research Excellence)