The Galien Foundation Announces 2020 Galien Week of Innovation to Ring in the Annual Galien Forum and Prix Galien Awards

NEW YORK, Oct. 19, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Galien Foundation today announced the 2020 Galien Week of Innovation will take place October 26-30^th to discuss and recognize biomedical and medical technology product achievements leading up to the annual Galien Forum and Prix Galien Awards. Owing to the safety of honored guests each year, the Galien Foundation has planned a unique five-day experience and opportunity to celebrate the year's best products in a new hybrid format.

"This year's Prix Galien is like no other, and we greatly look forward to safely celebrating the works of those at the vanguard of healthcare who seek to transform it," said Sue Desmond-Hellmann, Former CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Chair of the Prix Galien USA and Prix Galien International Committees. "Each year there is great potential for nominees to make an enormous impact on global health, and we will continue to celebrate them responsibly and enthusiastically."

A series of award category-focused webinars will take place in advance of the Galien Forum and Prix Galien Awards, with a focus on medical technology, biotech and pharmaceutical products from Monday, October 26^th through Wednesday, October 28^th. Each webinar will be an opportunity to "Meet the Scientists," comprising of five-to-ten product nominee representatives and moderated Q&A discussions to highlight the scientific journey behind each of the products.

The 2020 Galien Forum and Prix Galien USA Awards Ceremony will be held in a hybrid format (in-person and digital) on Thursday, October 29, at the Alexandria Center for Life Science in New York City and via remote video links. The Galien Foundation is honored to host Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at NIH since 1984 and a principal infectious diseases expert at the forefront of the U.S. response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as a speaker during this year's Galien Forum. The Prix Galien award is among the global health innovation industry's most renowned honors, recognizing outstanding products that improve the human condition. The Prix Galien USA Committee is composed of seventeen renowned leaders from the biomedical industry and academia, including five Nobel Laureates, responsible for evaluating nominees.

"The Awards Committee is thrilled with this year's submissions from some of the brightest minds in our industry," said Michael Rosenblatt, MD, co-chair of the Galien Forum and Chief Medical Officer of Flagship Pioneering in Cambridge, MA. "The physical event is unique this year, and we look forward to meeting and exchanging ideas with others in a virtual capacity. We continue to be amazed by innovations driven by passionate healthcare leaders worldwide."

Webinars leading up to the Galien Forum and Prix Galien Awards will feature remarks from a Prix Galien USA Committee member on current research trends in the sector and reminders about relevant Forum panel(s) on October 29. Additional details about panelists and registration are available here. The Week of Innovation will include:

MedTech Webinars | Monday, October 26^th

• 11AM - 12PM ET: How far are we from achieving the health system world of the connected patient?
• 12PM - 1PM ET: How much are new technologies and engineering efficiencies contributing to progress against the world's biggest killer?
• 1PM - 2PM ET: What is MedTech innovation doing for patients with specialized needs for treatment?
• 2PM - 3PM ET: Presentation of the Nominees in the 2020 Prix Galien Digital Health Category

Biotech Webinars | Tuesday, October 27^th

• 11AM - 12PM ET: Where is the growing science and its link to disease leading us in terms of new treatments for patients with unresolved chronic conditions?
• 12PM - 1:15PM ET: Can the foundational biologic understandings now being brought to cancer care be leveraged to secure a targeted, more personalized approach to other conditions?
• 1:30PM - 2:45PM ET: Will progress in therapies that promise a genetic cure for devastating rare diseases lead to similar innovations in patient access to these high-cost, high-touch treatments?

Pharma Webinars | Wednesday, October 28^th

• 11AM - 12:15PM ET: The ability to claim larger health system productivity benefits from the introduction of chronic disease medicines looms in importance as these therapeutic segments become more crowded and competitive.
• 12:30PM - 1:45PM ET: What are the prospects – and limitations – behind the new approaches to cancer treatments from our increased knowledge of the underlying biology behind tumor growth and proliferation?
• 2PM - 3PM ET: Are there common links in advancing research on hematologic cancers and other rare diseases associated with uncontrolled vascular system inflammation, such as sickle cell anemia?
• 3PM - 4PM ET: Will the coronavirus pandemic finally lead to an upswing in R&D to tackle neglected areas like antibiotic resistance, zoonotic transmission of pathogens and a more globally coordinated approach to infectious diseases overall?

2020 Galien Forum & Prix Galien USA Awards Ceremony | Thursday, October 29^th

• 10:30AM - 3:45PM ET: The Galien Forum will be held in a hybrid format (live and digital) conducted from the Alexandria Center for Life Science and via remote video link.
• 6PM - 7:30PM ET: Winners of the Prix Galien Awards, recognized for outstanding biomedical and medical technology product achievements that improve the human condition in one of the global health innovation industry's most renowned honors, will be announced live and via remote video link from the Alexandria Center for Life Science. Prior to announcing winners in each category at the 2020 Prix Galien USA Ceremony, esteemed female medical students will share remarks on why they each decided to embrace a career in medicine or research.

Media Presentation | Friday, October 30^th

• 10AM ET: Exchanges with leaders from each of the 3 winning products, an update for the 2021 International Prix Galien and Africa Forum, and conclusions and insights from key 2020 Forum panels.

The Roy Vagelos Pro Bono Humanum Award for Global Health Equity will be presented at the annual Prix Galien USA Awards ceremony to William H. Foege, MD, the Emory Emeritus Presidential Distinguished Professor of International Health at Emory University Rollins School of Public Health in Atlanta and a former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director. The award recognizes outstanding achievements in innovative medicines discovery through the application of pharmaceutical science to problems of developing or underserved populations worldwide.

"We're reminded of the necessity of continued innovations in the healthcare industry, now more than ever as we face a global pandemic," said Dr. P. Roy Vagelos, Retired Chairman and CEO, Merck & Co., Inc. Chairman of the Board, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals. "The Prix Galien Committee made a great and timely choice considering the remarkable viral containment, mitigation and public health surveillance techniques Dr. Foege introduced over the past five decades, which continue to be utilized by many of his colleagues and partners during this global crisis."

About the Galien Foundation

The Galien Foundation fosters, recognizes and rewards excellence in scientific innovation to improve the state of human health. Our vision is to catalyze the development of the next generation of innovative treatments and technologies that will impact human health and save lives. The Foundation oversees and directs activities in the USA for the Prix Galien, an international award that recognizes outstanding achievements in improving the human condition through the development of innovative therapies. The Prix Galien was created in France in 1970 in honor of Galen, the father of medical science and modern pharmacology. Worldwide, the Prix Galien is regarded as the equivalent of the Nobel Prize in biopharmaceutical and medical technology research.

For more information, visit www.galienfoundation.org.

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