The Galien Foundation Announces Prix Galien USA Awards Committee, Chaired by Dr. P. Roy Vagelos

NEW YORK, April 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Galien Foundation announced today the membership of its Awards Committee.  The Committee is responsible for awarding the prestigious Prix Galien USA Awards, an annual recognition of innovation in biopharmaceuticals and medical technologies.

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Dr. P. Roy Vagelos, Chairman of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and retired Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Merck, has been named Chair of the Committee. Joining him is a group of distinguished medical scientists, including several Nobel Prize and Lasker Award recipients. The committee comprises: Drs. Richard Axel (Columbia University); Michael Brown (UT Southwestern); Laurie Glimcher (Weill Cornell Medical College); Joseph Goldstein (UT Southwestern); Paul Marks (Memorial Sloan Kettering Institute); Bengt Samuelsson (Karolinska Institute), and Marc Tessier-Lavigne (Rockefeller University).

"As a past honoree and now as Chair of the Prix Galien Awards Committee, I am honored to champion this global tradition of recognizing outstanding biomedical achievement that can improve the human condition through new treatments and technologies that advance health," said Dr. Vagelos. "Scientists come to the table with a passion to improve lives and alleviate suffering. Having seen firsthand their endeavors, we recognize the importance of honoring those achievements." 

The annual Prix Galien USA Awards recognize outstanding achievement in improving the human condition through the development of innovative medical treatments and drug therapies. The 2012 Awards Ceremony will be held on October 16th in New York City. Awards will be bestowed for products in the following categories:

1. Best Pharmaceutical Agent,
2. Best Biotechnology Product,
3. Best Medical Technology. 

Companies seeking consideration for a Prix Galien USA Award can submit candidates online at www.prix-galien-usa.com. The ceremony will also include special honors to select individuals who have served to better humanity -- titled the Pro Bono Humanum Award presented by Professor Elie Wiesel, Peace Nobel Laureate, Honorary member of the Committee.

Award Committee members include:

• Prof. Richard AXEL, M.D., Nobel Laureate, Co-director, the Kavli Institute for Brain Science, Columbia University Medical Center, New York.
• Prof. Michael S. BROWN, M.D., Nobel Laureate, Professor of Molecular Genetics and Internal Medicine UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.
• Prof. Laurie GLIMCHER, M.D., Cornell Provost for Medical Affairs and Dean of the Medical College, New York.
• Prof. Joseph GOLDSTEIN, M.D., Nobel Laureate, Professor of Molecular Genetics and Internal Medicine, UT, Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.
• Prof. Paul A. MARKS, M.D., Laboratory Head  of Cell Biology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, President, Emeritus, MSKCC.
• Prof. Bengt SAMUELSSON, M.D., Ph.D., Nobel Laureate, Former President of Karolinska Institute and Former chairman of the Nobel Foundation.
• Prof. Marc TESSIER-LAVIGNE, Ph.D., President, The Rockefeller University, New York, Professor Laboratory of Brain Development and Repair.
• Prof. P. Roy VAGELOS, M.D., Chairman of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and retired Chairman and Chief Executive Officer  at Merck.
• Prof. Elie WIESEL, Peace Nobel Laureate, Boston University. Honorary Member

Additional information about Committee Members and the Prix Galien Awards is available on the Galien Forum website, www.galienfoundation.org.

About the Awards

The Prix Galien Awards were created to honor medical research and pharmacology for outstanding efforts to improve the human condition though approval of innovative treatments and medicines. The winners are selected by a preeminent scientific and learned committee that included several Nobel Laureates. Past product award recipients include: Prevnar 13® (Pfizer 2011), Stelara® (Janssen 2011), Prolia®/XGEVA® (Amgen 2011), Coartem® (Novartis 2010), RotaTeq® (Merck 2010), xTAG® (Luminex 2010), Gleevec® (Novartis 2009), Nplate® (Amgen 2009), Promacta® (GSK 2009), Cellsearch® (Veridex 2009), Isentress® (Merck 2009), Selzentry® (Pfizer 2008), Soliris® (Alexion 2008), Infuse® (Wyeth 2008), Revlimid® (Celgene 2008), Januvia® (Merck 2007), Chantix® (Pfizer 2007), Humira® (Abbott 2007) and Gardasil® (Merck 2007). 

The Pro Bono Humanum Award recognizes exemplary efforts by individuals and organizations in helping mankind. The award will be presented by Professor Elie Wiesel, a Nobel Prize Laureate. Previous winners of the award include: Professor Paul Farmer (2011), President Bill Clinton and Philippe Douste-Blazy (2010); Professors Barry Bloom and Jeffrey Sachs (2009), Sheldon Segal and the Population Council (2008); and Dr. P. Roy Vagelos (2007). 

For more information visit www.galienfoundation.org. 

SOURCE Prix Galien USA