Genentech Awarded Helix Award for Corporate Excellence
The Helix Award is the highest award of corporate excellence for the international biotechnology industry. The award is presented based on leadership in three distinct areas scientific innovation, company growth and corporate citizenship. Past winners The Collaborative Group, of Stony Brook, N.Y.; Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Tarrytown, N.Y.; Biogen Inc. of Cambridge, Mass.; and Immunex of Seattle have all exemplified the true spirit of corporate leadership in the biotechnology industry.
We are honored to receive this award and to know that our efforts to meet unmet medical needs, as well as our leadership in our industry are being recognized in this way, said Arthur D. Levinson, Ph.D., Genentech’s chairman and chief executive officer.
The Helix Award is jointly sponsored by the State University of New York (SUNY) at Stony Brook, the Center for Biotechnology and presented in conjunction with BIO. It is awarded on behalf of Long Island’s biotechnology community. Pioneering research at Long Island’s three major research institutions, SUNY Stony Brook, Cold Spring Harbor and Brookhaven National Laboratory have led to eight Nobel prizes. Long Island’s biotechnology industry is comprised of more than 50 firms and is home to top corporations including OSI Pharmaceuticals, The Collaborative Group, VITEX and Pall Corporation.
The Long Island biotech community is proud to promote the highest standards of achievement among biotech companies, said Clinton T. Rubin, director, Center for Biotechnology.
The Helix Award is open to public and private U.S. or foreign-based biotechnology companies. An independent panel of judges reviewed the submissions, and KPMG LLP; an international professional services firm tabulated the results.
Background on Sponsors
BIO represents more than 900 companies, academic institutions and state biotech associations in 47 states and 26 nations. BIO members are involved in the research and development of health-care, agricultural, industrial and environmental products.
The Center for Biotechnology is a New York State Center for Advanced Technology in Medical Biotechnology. The Center for Biotechnology was established in 1983 as a cooperative research and development partnership between universities, private industry, and New York State. Its goal has been to capitalize on the resources of New York’s medical biotechnology research for the purpose of fuelling economic development in New York State. The Center has an annual economic impact of $86 million in New York state.
The State University of New York (SUNY) at Stony Brook has assumed an important role in the development of Long Island's biotechnology industry through its Center for Biotechnology and the Long Island High Technology Incubator Program. Collectively, they have supported the establishment of more than 70 high technology companies. Eight biosciences companies have graduated from this program. Five are publicly traded with annual revenues in excess of $110 million. Additional information on the university can be accessed at www.sunysb.edu.