The Galien Foundation Honors Excellence in Scientific Innovation and Humanitarian Efforts at 2016 Prix Galien Awards Gala

NEW YORK, Oct. 28, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Prix Galien USA committee last night honored excellence in the research, development and innovation in the biopharmaceutical and medical industry at its tenth annual Prix Galien Awards Gala, held at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. The Galien awards committee recognized leading efforts in progressing the welfare of humankind in three categories—best pharmaceutical product, best biotechnology product and best medical technology. In a first, the committee extended its recognition to a new awards category - The Discovery of the Decade - with nominees in each of the three categories drawn from the 35 distinguished previous winners of the USA awards since the Prix Galien ceremony debuted ten years ago, in 2007. 

The Prix Galien Awards selection committee is comprised of an unrivaled network of accomplished scientific leaders that includes four Nobel Laureates.

The 2016 Prix Galien USA Awards

In recognition of the development and discovery products that improve the human condition, the selection committee awarded:
Pfizer Inc. for Ibrance® In the category of Best Pharmaceutical Product.
Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation for Cosentyx® in the category of Best Medical Biotechnology Product.
Exact Sciences Corporation for Cologuard® in the category of Best Medical Technology Product.

As a highlight of the evening's proceedings, the Awards Committee presented the

The Discovery of the Decade Awards

The Awards were bestowed on Honors for the Discovery of the Decade to:
Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation for Gleevec® in the category of Best Pharmaceutical Product.
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company for  Yervoy® in the category of Best Biotechnology Product.
Edwards Lifesciences Corporation for Sapien™ in the category of Best Medical Technology Product.

"Strides in biomedical research cannot advance without professionals in the medical field who are constantly innovating and dedicating their lives to improving the welfare of patients everywhere," said Pr. P. Roy Vagelos, Chairman of the Prix Galien USA Committee. "This year's nominees are leaders in the development of disease-altering advancements through biopharmaceutical and medical innovation. " The selection of Ms. Apsell for the Prix Galien Humanitarian award demonstrates our member's commitment to ensuring that these breakthrough innovations are both widely known and taken up convincingly in the real world clinical setting, where the patient is the ultimate beneficiary,. "Vagelos said.

In Introduction of the Ceremony, the 2016 Pro Bono Humanum Award, which recognizes exemplary and innovative efforts in improving the human condition.  This year's recipient is Paula Apsell, an acknowledged leader in science journalism and Senior Executive Producer of the award-winning PBS television program NOVA.

The Galien Awards Committee selected Ms. Apsell in recognition of her early and continuing leadership in making the complexities of science, engineering and medical research accessible to a mass audience.  In its citation for the award, the Committee said " through innovative broadcast and digital programming of the highest journalistic standard, her work has educated, entertained and enlightened successive generations of viewers on the mysteries that underlie our understanding of the natural world. And by turning great science into a good story—a human story –Ms. Apsell shows that scientific literacy is an essential line of defense against the destructive forces of fear, ignorance and blight."

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 be the catalyst for the development of the next generation of innovative treatment 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.
Galien Foundation Media Contact:

Lee Davies/Biopharmaceutical categories   -           
Makovsky                                                                                                  
[email protected]                                                                              
212-508-9651       

Giana Gregga/Medical Technology category
Finn Partners
[email protected]
312-329-3910

SOURCE The Galien Foundation