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These awards are presented annually by LifeSciences British Columbia
to recognize individuals and organizations that have made outstanding
contributions to the development of British Columbia’s life sciences
industry, and to increase public awareness and understanding of life
sciences in the province.
“The strength of the life sciences community in BC is exemplified by this slate of impressive award recipients, who represent the remarkable breadth of talent found across the many sectors in our province,” commented Karimah Es Sabar, President of LifeSciences British Columbia. “We’re delighted to have made our 10th annual awards this year, and that the achievements being made here are so strong and reflective of our diversity in the life sciences. We extend our warmest congratulations to this year’s winners.”
The awards were presented at a gala ceremony April 10th in front of an audience of approximately 600 biotechnology, medical devices and greater life sciences and public policy leaders at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Vancouver. View the photo gallery. About the Recipients:Genome BC Award for Scientific Excellence Dr. Don Riddle Dr. Riddle, Professor in the Michael Smith Laboratories at UBC, is a pre-eminent life sciences scholar focused on C.elegans, a microscopic free-living worm (nematode) that possesses only 959 somatic cells, but shares many of the essential biological characteristics central to human biology. Among his many accomplishments, he is internationally credited with being one of the founding scientists that established the preliminary framework of genetics tools that led to sequencing of the nematode. This early work in genetics and genomics sciences was the precursor and established the paradigm upon which the human genome was modeled. In 2004 he was recruited to become Genome BC’s first Chief Scientific Officer where he developed a scientific strategy for the organization focusing on genomics, proteomics and bioinformatics within the larger scope of biotechnology and life sciences in the province. In addition he fostered the development of a Canadian Proteomics Network and expanded collaborations to include scientists at the University of Northern British Columbia and the University of Victoria. Today the UBC-based Riddle Laboratory is linked to dozens of others around the world including in Scotland, the Netherlands and the United States. Medical Device Company of the Year Award Pyng Medical Corporation is the developer and manufacturer of the
proprietary, award-winning FAST1™ Intraosseous Infusion System. Pyng
was selected in the "2007 TSX Venture 50" Top 10 companies in Life
Sciences based on solid financial metrics for the year ending December
31, 2006. With expanding markets in North America, Europe and Asia,
the FAST1™ has worldwide application for use with hospitals, emergency
medical services and military forces. Pyng has shipped over 120,000
FDA-cleared and CE-marked FAST1 systems to date. Executive of the Year Award Mr. Rieder has led Cardiome Pharma Corp. since 1998 and has driven the development of multiple drug programs, including vernakalant, Cardiome’s lead product candidate for the treatment of atrial fibrillation. Cardiome Pharma Corp. is a product-focused cardiovascular drug development company with two late-stage clinical drug programs focused on atrial arrhythmia (intravenous and oral dosing), a Phase 1 program for GED-aPC, an engineered analog of recombinant human activated Protein C, and a pre-clinical program directed at improving cardiovascular function. Bob Rieder is Cardiome’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. He joined Cardiome in April 1998 as President and Chief Executive Officer. Prior to joining Cardiome he was Vice-President at MDS Ventures Pacific Inc., the Vancouver-based affiliate of MDS Capital Corp, and has served as a director for nine public and private technology companies. Mr. Rieder has also acted as Chief Operating Officer for DBA Telecom Inc., and CEO for Synapse Technologies Inc. Lifetime Achievement Award (two recipients) Dr. Bressler has demonstrated a lifelong commitment to life sciences
research and has a passionate belief in the value of commercializing
intellectual property from universities and research hospitals. During
his tenure as Vice President of Research at the University of British
Columbia (1996-1999), he was actively involved in the growth of the
University Industry Liaison Office, which has become a world leader in
development and management of technology transfer and biotechnology
spin-offs. It is because of his foresight and leadership in this area
that UBC scientists are amongst the nation’s leaders in translational
medical research. Since 1996, he has served as a Board member of
Discovery Parks , and in 2007 was appointed Chair of the Board of
Discovery Parks and Discovery Parks Foundation. Leadership Award Dr. Taylor began his career as an Assistant Professor in Geography
at McMaster University in 1974 after completion of his Ph.D. at the
University of British Columbia. His key career legacy is the
demonstrated value of interdisciplinary inquiry which led to the
creation of several institutes and departments demonstrating that
philosophy. In 1994 and 1995, Dr. Taylor served as McMaster’s acting
Vice-President Research and in that role established the Institute for
Water, Environment, and Health. It is the first and still sole branch
of the United Nations University in Canada. Emerging Life Sciences Company of the Year Award Over the past three years Lignol Energy Corporation, of Burnaby, BC,
has emerged from being a predominantly R&D organization into one
that is approaching commercialization of its unique biorefinery
technology. Lignol’s technology is now at the forefront of the highly
visible and rapidly developing biofuels-from-cellulosic-biomass
industry, which has the strong support and encouragement of governments
and major corporations around the world. |
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