Christopher P. Molineaux
President
Our Annual Dinner is less than two weeks away and we look forward to the gathering of hundreds of our industry colleagues to reflect on the past year, and to look forward to new opportunities. This year’s dinner, dedicated to the late Frank Baldino will be a night of contemplation, celebration and hope for the future. And will remind us of our industry’s dedication to millions of people worldwide searching for answers to unmet medical needs.
To call 2010 a bittersweet and difficult year for our industry would be an understatement. Companies continued to battle under the lingering national recession, the uncertainty of funding from investment organizations challenged small business growth, and industry leaders faced challenges ranging from regulatory issues to expiring patents. While our industry did experience many bright spots – exciting deals between Knopp Neurosciences and Biogen Idec and between Avid Radiopharmaceuticals and Lilly, to name just two – the year ended on a devastating note with the passing of Dr. Baldino.
In my column last month, I wrote of Frank’s commitment to the immensely successful company he founded more than two decades ago. He was a pillar of the Life Sciences community in our region – and of the biotechnology industry as a whole – fostering a scientific idea from a small start-up into an international leader hailed for its dedication to providing medicines that answer unmet medical needs.
Frank’s passing at such a young age reminds us of another titan of our industry in Pennsylvania we lost far too early: Hubert Schoemaker. Like Frank, Hubert’s life accomplishment was the biotechnology company he grew from a small start-up to a successful company that drew the eye of Johnson & Johnson. His success with Centocor and the guidance he provided countless industry pioneers, left an indelible mark on the biosciences in our region and around the world.
While these brilliant innovators are no longer with us, the lessons they taught us and the way they lived their lives continue to guide our industry. Frank and Hubert were passionate, unflagging optimists who never gave up when facing hurdles. Scientists by trade, both men became business leaders with personalities that attracted the best and brightest to work, learn and grow with them.
This year we dedicate our Annual Dinner to Frank and will confer the Frank Baldino Bioscience CEO of the Year Award. As we have done in years past, we also honor Hubert’s legacy and accomplishments by granting the Hubert J.P. Schoemaker Leadership Award.
CEOs nominated for the newly created Frank Baldino Award are Michael Bozik, M.D., of Knopp Biosciences LLC; Philip P. Gerbino, PharmD, of the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia; and Daniel Skovronksy, M.D., Ph.D., of Avid Radiopharmaceuticals, Inc.
In addition, Dr. Bozik and Dr. Skovronsky will both receive the Deal of the Year Award: Dr. Bozik, to recognize Knopp Biosciences’ restructuring and new relationship with Biogen Idec; and Dr. Skovronsky for Avid’s licensing deal with Lilly.
The Schoemaker Award annually recognizes an outstanding leader in the biosciences who best exemplifies the spirit of innovation in Pennsylvania, and has demonstrated a vision for both the industry and for improving the lives of patients. This year’s candidates are James H. Canavaugh, Ph.D., managing director of HealthCare Ventures LLC; Dennis M. “Mickey” Flynn, former president of Pennsylvania Bio; and Bruce Peacock, venture partner of SV Life Science Advisers LLC.
We will also take this occasion to honor our other award recipients: Dr. Arthur H. Rubenstein, MBBCh, Dean of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and Executive Vice President of the University of Pennsylvania Health System will be awarded the Scientific Achievement Award; The Honorable Allyson Y. Schwartz, U.S. House of Representatives will be granted the Federal Public Official of the Year Award; and The Honorable Jake Corman, Senate of Pennsylvania will be awarded the State Public Official of the Year Award.
I look forward to seeing you March 16th as we celebrate the lives of Hubert and Frank, highlight the accomplishments of our colleagues, and reconnect with old friends. As we look ahead to our dinner and a new year with renewed hope, we should be encouraged by young leaders following the paths blazed by two great visionaries – leaders like Maxine Gowen at Trevena Inc. who is working on G-protein coupled receptors; Maureen Mulvihill at Piezo Resonance Innovations, Inc., who manufactures innovative medical devices to ensure smoother medical procedures; Doug Leinen at BeneLein Technologies who is using microbes as miniature chemical factories to reduce the cost of drug manufacturing; and Sean McDonald at Precision Therapeutics, who is committed to improving outcomes of cancer patients by individualizing therapy through the use of a proprietary and unique live-tissue platform.
These scientist-entrepreneurs represent scores of others in all corners of Pennsylvania who are delivering the future of medicine and patient care…and keeping Pennsylvania on the vanguard of innovation. Come meet them and the rest of the Pennsylvania biosciences community March 16th at our Annual Dinner.
Back to the e-newsletter
