/C O R R E C T I O N - The Galien Foundation/

In the news release, The Galien Foundation Announces 2026 Prix Galien Bridges Awards Nominees and Recipient of the Bengt I. Samuelsson "True North" Award, issued 09-Nov-2026 by The Galien Foundation over PR Newswire, we are advised by the company that changes have been made. The complete, corrected release follows, with additional details at the end:

The Galien Foundation Announces 2026 Prix Galien Bridges Awards Nominees and Recipient of the Bengt I. Samuelsson "True North" Award

• Annual awards ceremony honoring groundbreaking innovations, scientific integrity, and cross-border biopharma collaboration across the Nordics+ region will take place December 1, 2026, in Stockholm, Sweden
• Björn Odlander, MD, PhD, Founder and Managing Partner of HealthCap, selected as the recipient of the Bengt I. Samuelsson "True North" Award

NEW YORK and STOCKHOLM, Nov. 9, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Galien Foundation, the premier global institution dedicated to honoring innovators in life sciences, today announced the nominees for the annual Prix Galien Bridges Awards alongside the recipient of the Bengt I. Samuelsson "True North" Award. The formal awards ceremony, which follows the annual Prix Galien Bridges Forum, will take place on December 1, 2026, at the Medicinska Föreningen at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden.

Through the Prix Galien Bridges initiative, The Galien Foundation builds bridges between the Nordic region and five strategic partner countries (Austria, Israel, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain), which together form the Nordics+ ecosystem. The initiative spotlights the region's distinctive strengths and fosters cross-border partnerships that strengthen the science base and attract investment in breakthrough therapeutics and accelerate health innovation.

The Awards Ceremony follows the Prix Galien Bridges Forum, held earlier that day at the Nobel Forum. This year's theme, "More/Better Life? Wisdom Beyond the Hype," asks how a region with some of the world's oldest populations, richest health registries, and strongest prevention cultures should respond to the promise of longevity science: what it can credibly deliver, who should benefit from the region's health data, and where the Nordics+ should lead and invest.

The recipient of this year's Bengt I. Samuelsson "True North" Award is Björn Odlander, MD, PhD, Founder and Managing Partner of HealthCap, a Stockholm-based venture capital firm established in 1996 that invests globally in life sciences. The award honors those who carry forward Professor Samuelsson's example of scientific rigor, humility, and mentorship, and Dr. Odlander's career began in that tradition: trained as a physician, he pursued research in the biochemistry of inflammation in Professor Samuelsson's laboratory at Karolinska Institutet. In 1996 he co-founded HealthCap, which has since helped bring numerous new medicines and medical technologies to patients worldwide.

"This year's nominees range from innovative new treatments for rare diseases to tools that make whole health systems work better, from single labs to collaborations spanning continents," said Mikael Dolsten, MD, PhD, Chair of the Prix Galien Bridges Committee. "Learning the journeys behind these nominations has been a privilege for our jury, and we are grateful to every team that chose to put its work forward and let it showcase the innovation and ingenuity of the 'Nordics+'. We are proud to celebrate these nominees alongside Björn Odlander, who receives the Bengt I. Samuelsson True North Award."

The 2026 Prix Galien Bridges Awards include 45 nominees and products across the following categories: "Best Pharmaceutical Agent," "Best Biotechnology Product," "Best Product for Rare/Orphan Diseases," "Best Medical Technology / AI Advances in Human Health," "Best Enabling Technology for Medical Innovation," "Best Public Sector Innovation," and "Best Bridge-Builder Institution."

To qualify, each candidate must demonstrate a significant advancement or novel approach that meaningfully improves patient outcomes, healthcare delivery, or scientific understanding. Eligible innovations should exemplify the strengths of the Nordic innovation ecosystem or foster collaboration with partner countries—Austria, Israel, The Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain. Consideration is also given to the potential of the innovation to influence future scientific development, establish new paradigms, or create platforms for continued progress in the life sciences.

Best Pharmaceutical Agent (Nominees)

Best Biotechnology Product (Nominees)

Best Product for Rare/Orphan Diseases (Nominees)

Best Medical Technology / AI Advances in Human Health (Nominees)

Best Enabling Technology for Medical Innovation (Nominees)

Best Public Sector Innovation (Nominees)

Best Bridge-Builder Institution (Nominees)

Bruno Cohen, Chairman of The Galien Foundation, commented, "Building meaningful bridges across scientific borders is essential to accelerating discoveries that transform human health. As we celebrate our 2026 nominees and champions of scientific integrity, The Galien Foundation remains dedicated to uniting visionary researchers, institutions, and leaders behind a shared mission: advancing medicine for every community we serve."

Prix Galien Bridges Committee 2026

Mikael DOLSTEN, MD, PhD
Member, Prix Galien USA; Board Member, SOBI, Agilent Technologies, Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Chai Discovery, BenchSci, Immunai, Enveda Biosciences, Element Bio, and Varda Space (Chair)

María José ALONSO, MD, PhD
Professor of Pharmaceutical Technology, University of Santiago de Compostela

Alon CHEN, PhD
President, Weizmann Institute of Science

Emma GUTTMAN-YASSKY, MD, PhD
Chair, Kimberly & Eric J. Waldman Department of Dermatology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Mansoor MIRZA, MD
Chief Medical Officer, Acrivon Therapeutics, Inc.

Aarno PALOTIE, MD, PhD
Research Director of Human Genomics, Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland

Erik RENSTRÖM, PhD
Vice Chancellor, Lund University

John-Arne RØTTINGEN, MD, PhD
CEO, Wellcome

Veronika SEXL, MD, PhD
Rector, University of Innsbruck

Kári STEFANSSON, MD, PhD
Founder, deCODE genetics; Professor of Medicine, University of Iceland

Carl Johan SUNDBERG, MD, PhD
Professor & Vice President, Karolinska Institutet Nord

About The Galien Foundation
The Galien Foundation fosters, recognizes, and rewards excellence in scientific innovation to improve human health. Its vision is to serve as a catalyst for the development of the next generation of treatments and technologies that will transform medical practice and save lives. Established in Paris in 1970 by Roland Mehl in honor of Galen, the father of medical science and modern pharmacology, the Prix Galien is widely regarded as the equivalent of the Nobel Prize in biopharmaceutical research.

Today, the Prix Galien operates through 18 chapters spanning more than 75 countries across Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe. Expansion is currently underway in China, Singapore, and Australia.

In 2025, the Foundation launched the inaugural Prix Galien Bridges Forum and Awards Ceremony at the Nobel Forum in Stockholm, spanning Northern and Southern Europe, Israel, and the Middle East, and the first-ever Patient Summit for Prix Galien USA, reinforcing its commitment to science without borders.

The Nobel Prize and the Prix Galien share a common birthplace in Paris, where Alfred Nobel signed his last will and testament in 1895. However, while the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine recognizes up to three individuals for specific discoveries, the Prix Galien honors the collaborative spirit and multidisciplinary progress that define modern biopharmaceutical innovation.

For more information, visit www.galienfoundation.org.

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Media Contact: 
Kara Bradley
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Correction: Under "Best Enabling Technology for Medical Innovation (Nominees)", the fifth line on the left has been updated from "DFE Pharma/INTO" to "INTO (DFE Pharma/HarroHöfliger/ Sterling)".

SOURCE The Galien Foundation