|
A Word from Debbie
Hart, President of BioNJ
 Happy New Year.
2010
is already proving to be one of BioNJ’s best
ever.
Hope
you all tuned in earlier today as BioNJ and several industry leaders rang
the “Opening Bell” at the NASDAQ stock exchange. (To see a replay, go to www.NASDAQ.com, and click on the NASDAQ MarketSite tab and then
find the At MarketSite
link.) That exciting milestone
will be followed by the New York City movie premiere of Extraordinary Measures,
which chronicles the triumph of Amicus President and CEO John Crowley
and his family in finding a treatment for his children’s life threatening
disease, and we will cap off the month with our 17th Annual
Dinner Meeting, Awards Program and Networking Event.
I
hope you will begin 2010 by joining your friends and colleagues at our
2010 Annual Meeting on January 28 at the East Brunswick Hilton in East Brunswick.
Following on the success of last year’s meeting, which drew more
than 400 attendees, the BioNJ Annual Meeting Committee has gone all out
to put together a meeting that provides participants with multiple
opportunities to network and learn about the latest developments and
trends that will affect the future of the biotechnology industry.
We
are thrilled that our featured speaker is John H. Johnson, the former
head of ImClone Systems, who is now President
of Global Oncology Business Unit and Senior Vice President at Eli Lilly
and Company. John brings with him
a depth of experience in biotech that few can match and we look forward
to hearing his guidance based on his past experiences and what he sees on
the horizon.
And
because of John’s innumerable contributions to the biotechnology industry
in New Jersey,
we are pleased to announce that he will be honored with the third annual
Dr. Sol J. Barer Award for Vision, Innovation and Leadership. I am also
pleased to announce that the award’s namesake, Dr. Sol J. Barer, Chairman
and CEO of Celgene Corporation will present the
award to John.
And
if that wasn’t enough, we are fortunate to once again welcome The
Honorable James C. Greenwood, President and CEO of the Biotechnology Industry
Organization (BIO) as our Special Guest Speaker. With health care reform still front and
center in the nation’s capitol, Jim’s remarks should provide our guests
with the ultimate Washington
insider’s perspective.
Finally,
I am happy to announce that the 2010 Annual Meeting is “going green.” As
part of this initiative, the Hilton Hotel will use New Jersey-based
products like organic meats, produce and other food products.
You
can read more about the Annual Meeting in the BioNJ Headlines and BioNJ
Calendar sections. We hope to
see you there.
The
new decade also brings a change of administrations in Trenton. We thank outgoing Governor John Corzine for his steadfast support of the industry and
welcome and give our best wishes to incoming Governor Christopher
Christie.
Always
the optimist, I look forward to the next ten years as I believe there are
great things ahead for our industry.
As evidence of that, I point to the recent announcement that Elusys Therapeutics has signed a contract potentially
totaling up to $143 million to complete the final development, commercial
manufacturing and licensure of Anthim, the
company’s anthrax therapeutic. Funding will be provided by the Biomedical
Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), within the Office of
the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response in the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services.
Congratulations
to Elusys President and CEO Elizabeth
Posillico, Ph.D. and her team for a job well done. So well-deserved!
Looking
forward to seeing you all at our Annual Meeting.
Yours
in BioNJ,
Debbie Hart
President
Please
CLICK HERE to return to the Main Page>
|
.jpg)
