Search     Contact 
ABOUT BAYBIOGET INVOLVEDEVENT CENTERMEMBER CENTERINFORMATION CENTER










MEDIA CENTER

BayBio Pantheon

Avastin Avastin® by Genentech - 2005 Outstanding Product
Avastin® (Bevacizumab) is the first FDA approved therapy designed to inhibit angiogenesis, the process by which new blood vessels develop and carry vital nutrients to a tumor. Avastin is approved for use in combination with chemotherapy as a treatment for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.

Scott Beardsley Scott A. Beardsley - 2004 Industry Financing Excellence
Scott Beardsley is a Managing Director and leads Piper Jaffray’s Biopharmaceutical investment banking practice. Prior to joining Piper Jaffray in 1999, Scott was a member of the Health Care Group at Montgomery Securities where he focused primarily on Biopharmaceutical companies. From 1989 until 1985, Scott worked in the Investment Banking Departments at both Kidder, Peabody & Co. Incorporated and JP Morgan. Scott earned his MBA at The Anderson Graduate School of Management at UCLA and has a BS in Management with an emphasis in Finance from Colorado State University.

Herbert W. Boyer Herbert W. Boyer, Ph.D. - 2005 Lifetime Achievement
Herbert W. Boyer has served as a director of Genentech since he co-founded the company in 1976 with Robert A. Swanson, a venture capitalist. He also was a vice president of the company from 1976 to 1990. A biochemist and genetic engineer, Boyer has demonstrated the usefulness of recombinant DNA technology to economically produce medicines, which laid the groundwork for Genentech's development. In addition to his role at Genentech, Boyer was a professor at the University of California at San Francisco and an investigator for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. At the time Genentech was formed, Boyer was a professor of biochemistry and biophysics at UCSF as well as the director of the graduate program in genetics. He has taught in the microbiology department as well. Boyer received his Bachelor or Science in biology and chemistry in 1958 from St. Vincent College in Pennsylvania. He received his Master of Science and Ph.D. in 1960 and 1963 respectively, from the University of Pittsburgh.

Kirk Brown J. Kirk Brown - 2007 Public Support
Kirk Brown teaches International Baccalaureate Biology and Biotechnology at Tracy High School in Tracy, California. He founded the Agricultural/Scientific Academy at Tracy High School, and has worked on science education projects with the California Department of Education, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), San Joaquin County Office of Education, Access Excellence (Genentech), the Exploratorium and has an on-going partnership with Bio-Rad Laboratories. Currently, Kirk is one of the lead instructors at the Edward Teller Education Center. Kirk has worked at the District level writing new K-12 goals, desired learnings and benchmarks that integrate the National and State standards. He was on the Board of Directors for the Independent Citizen’s Committee for Children and on several other biotechnology advisory boards. Kirk has been named teacher of the year and has won numerous awards including the Milken National Educator Award, California’s Outstanding Biology Teacher for 2003 by the National Association of Biology Teachers, and the Carlston Family Foundation Outstanding Teachers of America Award.

Ronald E. Cape Ronald E. Cape, Ph.D. - 2006 Lifetime Achievement
Ronald E. Cape, Ph.D. has worked in the biotechnology industry for more than 30 years and currently serves as a consultant for several public and private biotechnology companies. He co-founded Cetus Corporation in 1971 and served as its chairman for 20 years and Chief Executive Officer for 13 years until Cetus merged with Chiron Corporation in 1991. Dr. Cape was a founding member of the Industrial Biotechnology Association (now the Biotechnology Industry Organization, or BIO), where he served as President from 1983 until l985. Dr. Cape is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Academy of Microbiology and the American Association for the Advancement of Science and has served as a board member of a number of arts and charitable organizations, including the San Francisco Opera. He has also served on the boards of Princeton University, Rockefeller University, the Whitehead Institute at MIT, and the Board of Regents at the National Library of Medicine, NIH. He holds an A.B. degree from Princeton University, an M.B.A. degree from Harvard University and a Ph.D. degree in biochemistry from McGill University.

 ChemoCentryx ChemoCentryx, Inc. - 2006 Outstanding Partnering
ChemoCentryx is a privately held clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing orally-administered therapeutics that target the chemokine and chemoattractant systems, a complex network of chemokine ligands and receptors that regulate inflammation. ChemoCentryx has generated, internally, a broad portfolio of clinical and preclinical stage programs to address autoimmune diseases, inflammatory disorders and cancer. In August 2006, ChemoCentryx and GlaxoSmithKline entered into a worldwide strategic alliance to discover, develop and commercialize up to six novel medicines targeting four chemokine and chemoattractant receptors for a variety of inflammatory disorders.

Joseph DeRisi Joseph DeRisi, Ph.D. - 2005 Scientific Achievement
Joseph DeRisi, PhD, is a scientific polymath who delights in tinkering with new technology, moves readily among disciplines, shares what he knows as widely as possible, and dives fearlessly into new scientific challenges. A faculty affiliate with the California Institute for Quantitative Biomedical Research (QB3), he has custom-built microarrays, new tools for exploring the activity of genes, and used them to make major advances in understanding such infectious diseases as SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) and malaria. A self-described “viral hunter,” DeRisi is applying the microarray to studies of diseases that wreak havoc on people’s lives. An advocate of making scientific findings freely accessible to scientists around the world, many of whom can’t afford the fees associated with traditional scientific journals, DeRisi supports free, open-access scientific journals. In the same vein, he has posted instructions on his website for making microarrays, and given several workshops on their construction.

 Exelixis Exelixis, Inc. - 2007 Rising Star
Exelixis, Inc. is a development-stage biotechnology company dedicated to the discovery and development of novel small molecule therapeutics for the treatment of cancer and other serious diseases. The company is leveraging its fully integrated drug discovery platform to fuel the growth of its development pipeline, which is primarily focused on cancer. Exelixis’ uncommonly rich pipeline includes fourteen compounds in clinical development for cancer and renal disease with many more advancing to the clinic. Exelixis has established strategic corporate alliances with major pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, including GSK, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Genentech, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals and Daiichi-Sankyo. Based in South San Francisco, California, Exelixis has over 700 dedicated employees who share a commitment to making a positive difference in the lives of patients.

Exubera Exubera® - 2006 Outstanding Product
Exubera® (insulin human [rDNA origin]) Inhalation Powder, co-developed by Nektar Therapeutics and Pfizer Inc, is the first insulin, and first ever biotechnology-based medicine to treat a systemic disorder, that can be administered without an injection. Exubera® is a fast-acting powder formulation of human insulin. It is inhaled into the lungs through the mouth before meals through a simple-to-use, hand-held inhalation inhaler which does not require batteries or electricity. It is the only inhaled insulin to be approved for use in clinical practice in the European Union, U.S., Brazil and Mexico, and it is pending approval in several other countries. Nektar developed the core technologies -- including the inhaler, powdered insulin formulation, and manufacturing techniques -- that make this breakthrough product work. Exubera clinical development and commercialization will be carried out by Pfizer. Exubera® is a registered trademark of Pfizer Inc.

 Thomas Fogarty Thomas J. Fogarty, M.D. - 2007 Lifetime Achievement
Dr. Thomas J. Fogarty is an internationally recognized cardiovascular surgeon, inventor, entrepreneur, and vintner. He has been involved with a wide spectrum of innovations in business and technology, serving as founder/co-founder, and Chairman/Board Member of over 33 various business and research companies, based on devices designed and developed by Fogarty Engineering, Inc. During the past 40 years, he has acquired over 100 surgical patents, including the “industry standard” Fogarty balloon embolectomy catheter and the widely used Aneurx Stent Graft that replaces open-heart abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) surgery. Dr. Fogarty is the recipient of countless awards and honors; most significantly, he is the recipient of the Jacobson Innovation Award of the American College of Surgeons, the 2000 Lemelson-MIT prize for Invention and Innovation and was inducted into the Inventors Hall of Fame in December 2001.

 Genomic Health Genomic Health, Inc. - 2007 Outstanding Company
Genomic Health, Inc. (Nasdaq: GHDX) is a life sciences company focused on the development and commercialization of genomic-based clinical laboratory services for cancer that allow physicians and patients to make individualized treatment decisions. The company was founded in 2000 and is located in Redwood City, California. In 2004, Genomic Health launched its first test, Oncotype DX™, which is the first diagnostic multi-gene expression test service commercially available that has clinical evidence validating its ability to predict the likelihood of breast cancer recurrence, the likelihood of breast cancer survival and the likelihood of chemotherapy benefit. Oncotype DX has been extensively evaluated in multiple independent studies involving more than 2,600 breast cancer patients, including a large validation study published in The New England Journal of Medicine and a chemotherapy benefit study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. To date, over 6,000 physicians have ordered a cumulative total of more than 33,000 tests and approximately 145 million lives are now covered by reimbursement contracts and agreements.

Gilead Sciences, Inc. Gilead Sciences, Inc. - 2005 Outstanding Company
Gilead Sciences is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and commercializes innovative therapeutics in areas of unmet medical need. The company’s mission is to advance the care of patients suffering from life-threatening diseases worldwide. Headquartered in Foster City, California, Gilead has operations and approximately 1800 employees in North America, Europe and Australia. Gilead’s products include treatments for HIV, chronic hepatitis B, life-threatening fungal infections and influenza. Recognizing the global need represented by a growing HIV/AIDS epidemic, Gilead introduced Gilead Access Program to provide its antiretrovirals Truvada and Viread® at no-profit pricing to countries in Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean. Earlier this year Gilead expanded the program.

Independent Citizens Oversight Committee Independent Citizens Oversight Committee - 2005 Outstanding Public Support
The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine was established in early 2005 with the passage of Proposition 71, the California Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative. The statewide ballot measure, which provided $3 billion in funding for stem cell research at California universities and research institutions, was approved by California voters on November 2, 2004, and called for the establishment of a new state agency to make grants and provide loans for stem cell research, research facilities and other vital research opportunities. The Independent Citizens Oversight Committee is the 29-member governing board for the Institute. The ICOC members are public officials, appointed on the basis of their experience earned in California's leading public universities, non-profit academic and research institutions, patient advocacy groups and the biotechnology industry.

 Jay Keasling Jay Keasling, Ph.D. - 2007 Visionary Award
Jay Keasling is a professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering and the Department of Bioengineering at University of California, Berkeley, a senior faculty scientist and Director of the Physical Biosciences Division at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and Director of the Synthetic Biology Engineering Research Center. Keasling is Chief Executive Officer of the Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI), a partnership between three national laboratories (Lawrence Berkelely National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratory), major public and private universities (UC Berkeley, UC Davis, Stanford), industry, and federal agencies. This institute will develop the basic science and technology to create an array of environmentally friendly biofuels using plant biomass and microbes. JBEI will focus its scientific effort in three key areas: feedstock production, deconstruction, and fuels synthesis. JBEI will employ an opportunistic “start-up company” approach, partnering with industry, to develop new science and technologies that address the most challenging steps in industrial bioenergy processing.

Gene Mullin Assembly Member Gene Mullin - 2004 Outstanding Public Support
Gene Mullin was elected to the California State Assembly, 19th District, on November 5, 2002, following seven years as a South San Francisco City Councilmember, two of which he served as Mayor. Gene Mullin's distinguished public service career began in 1972 with an appointment to the South San Francisco Planning Commission. His long history in the 19th District began in 1967 at South San Francisco High School, where he taught government and coached basketball for 32 years. He is most often described by his former students as “my favorite teacher.”

Gavin Newsom San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom - 2004 Outstanding Public Support
Gavin Newsom was elected the 42nd Mayor of the City and County of San Francisco on December 9, 2003 and sworn into office on January 8, 2004 by his father, the Honorable William Newsom.Mayor Newsom is a fourth generation San Franciscan who has dedicated his political career to improving the City. He was elected three times to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and served on the Board from 1997 until 2004. Before embarking on his career in public service, Mayor Newsom was a successful small businessman. He grew up in the Bay Area and graduated from Santa Clara University in 1989 with a BA in Political Science.

 Novo A/S Novo A/S - 2006 International Achievement
The Novo Group consists of three independently operating entities, each headquartered in Denmark: Novo Nordisk A/S; a publicly listed, focused healthcare company and a world leader in diabetes care. The company has the broadest diabetes product portfolio in the industry, including the most advanced products within the area of insulin delivery systems. Novozymes A/S; a publicly listed, biotech-based world leader in enzymes and microorganisms, which, using nature's own technologies, continuously expand the frontiers of biological solutions to improve industrial performance in all areas. Novo A/S; a private holding and investment company wholly owned by the Novo Nordisk Foundation with more than $8 billion under management, including significant shareholdings in Novo Nordisk and Novozymes, and a broad portfolio of venture investments in more than 40 exciting Life Science Companies.

 OneWorld Health Paromomycin IM Injection - 2007 Outstanding Product
The Institute for OneWorld Health completed a Phase III pivotal clinical study in India for Paromomycin IM injection as a new treatment for visceral leishmaniasis. In August 2006, Paromomycin IM injection received regulatory approval by the Drug-Controller General of India, and in May, 2007, the drug was designated by the World Health Organization (WHO) for inclusion on its Model List for Essential Medicines. Phase III research related to Paromomycin IM Injection was published in the June 2007 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine. The article, “Injectable Paromomycin for Visceral Leishmaniasis in India,” was authored by the Principal Investigators in the Phase III clinical trial. Founded in 2000, the Institute for OneWorld Health is the first non-profit pharmaceutical company in the US. Its mission is to develop safe, effective and affordable new medicines for people with infectious diseases in the developing world. OneWorld Health conceives, implements and manages complex drug development projects for neglected diseases.

Plexxikon Plexxikon, Inc. - 2005 Outstanding Partnering
In late 2004 Plexxikon entered into multi-product collaboration with Wyeth Pharmaceuticals. The collaboration is focused on Plexxikon’s PPAR (Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor) compounds and discovery program. The main focus is on the development of Plexxikon’s clinical lead, PLX204, as well as several other novel small molecule drugs targeting the PPAR family of nuclear receptors, for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and other metabolic disorders. In parallel, Plexxikon and Wyeth are jointly developing Plexxikon’s most advanced PPAR compound, PLX204 for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. The agreement included payments to Plexxikon of over $22 million, the potential for further milestone payments totaling nearly $350 million, and royalties on future product sales. Wyeth also will provide a loan to fund Plexxikon’s share of clinical development under a co-development and co-funding option for any collaboration product.

George B. Rathmann George B. Rathmann, Ph.D. - 2004 Lifetime Achievement
George B. Rathmann is a recognized leader in the biotechnology industry for his scientific and executive achievements. His entrepreneurial achievements include co-founding Amgen, Inc. in 1980 and founding ICOS Corporation in 1991. In both corporations he served in multiple executive roles from 1980 through 2000. Prior to serving as Chief Executive Officer, President and Chairman of the Board at these companies, Dr. Rathmann held research and management positions with Abbott Laboratories, Litton Medical Systems, Inc. and the 3M Company. Since 1982, he has served as an Officer and Board Member of BIO and was Chairman from 1986-1988. He is an Officer and Board Member of the National Science and Technology Medals Foundation and serves on the Board of Trustees of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the Keystone Center. Dr. Rathmann received his B.S. in Physical Chemistry from Northwestern University, and his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from Princeton University. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the American Chemical Society.

Roche Molecular Diagnostics Roche Molecular Diagnostics - 2006 Outstanding Company
Roche Molecular Diagnostics (RMD) designs, develops, and manufactures ovative testing products in the areas of virology, blood screening, genomics, oncology, sexually transmitted disease, and microbiology for use by researchers, hospitals, and laboratories worldwide. A business area of Roche Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland), RMD is the world’s leading provider of molecular diagnostic tests. The company maintains corporate headquarters in Pleasanton, California and employs nearly 1,200 people at sites in the US, Germany, and Switzerland. Since its founding in 1991, RMD has become the recognized leader in the commercialization and ongoing development of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology, a Nobel-prize winning technology that is recognized as one of the most important scientific developments of our generation.

 William J. Rutter William J. Rutter, Ph.D. - 2006 Lifetime Achievement
Dr. Rutter is Chairman and CEO of Synergenics, LLC, Chairman Emeritus of Chiron Corporation and Herzstein Professor of Biochemistry Emeritus at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Dr. Rutter previously served as a founder and Chairman of Chiron Corporation and member of the Board of Director of Ciba-Greigy/Novartis. He was instrumental in building Chiron into a global biotech power house. In his academic career, Dr. Rutter was chairman of the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of California, San Francisco and helped develop UCSF into a preeminent scientific institution. The department played a key role in developing recombinant DNA technology and genetic engineering. Dr. Rutter has published more than 380 scientific articles and holds more than 25 patents. In 1999, Dr. Rutter founded Synergenics, LLC, which operates a consortium of commonly-owned but independent biotech companies offering an innovative and cost-effective approach to start-ups in the life sciences industry. Synergenics companies include: iMetrikus, Epitomics, Humabs, ReLia Diagnostic Systems, Synco-BioPartners, Ventria BioSciences, Investigen, Pathologica, Picobella, Poetic Genetics and Synamem.

David and Alice Schwartz David and Alice Schwartz - 2007 Lifetime Achievement
Husband and wife team David and Alice Schwartz co-founded Hercules-based Bio-Rad Laboratories in 1952. Under their guidance, the company has maintained a spirit of entrepreneurial adventure and evolved into a global enterprise, manufacturing and distributing a broad range of products for the life science research and clinical diagnostics markets. Today, Bio-Rad has offices and manufacturing sites located around the globe. Bio-Rad is renowned worldwide among hospitals, universities, major research institutions, as well as biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. It serves more than 85,000 research and industry customers worldwide through its global network of operations. The company employs over 5,000 people globally and has grown to over $1 billion in revenues. Together, Dave and Alice have devoted their lives to Bio-Rad. Through the years, the company has earned a reputation for providing innovative and useful products that serve the needs of its customers.

 Chris Somerville Chris Somerville, Ph.D. - 2007 Visionary Award
Chris Somerville is the Director of the Carnegie Institution for Science, Department of Plant Biology, a professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Stanford University and a visiting scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Somerville is an acting director of the Energy Biosciences Institute (EBI), a new research and development organization that will bring advanced knowledge in biology, physical sciences, engineering, and environmental and social sciences to bear on problems related to global energy production, particularly the development of next-generation, carbon-neutral transportation fuels. EBI represents a collaboration between the University of California, Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and BP, which will support the Institute with a 10-year $500 million grant.

Robert Swanson Robert Swanson - 2005 Lifetime Achievement
Robert Swanson co-founded the Genentech in 1976 with Dr. Herbert Boyer, a biochemist at the University of California at San Francisco. Swanson, then a 29-year-old venture capitalist, approached Boyer about the possibility of developing biotechnology and marketing useful products using recombinant DNA technology. Swanson served as a director and as chief executive officer of Genentech until February 1990 when he was named chairman of the board, a position he held until his retirement in December 1996. Swanson passed away in December 1999. Prior to forming Genentech, Swanson was a partner with Kleiner & Perkins venture capital partnership in San Francisco, and from 1970 to 1974, he was an investment officer with Citicorp Venture Capital Ltd. Swanson earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a Master of Science in Management from MIT's Sloan School of Management.

 Alejandro Zaffaroni Alejandro Zaffaroni, Ph.D. - 2004 Lifetime Achievement
A native of Montevideo, Uruguay, Dr. Zaffaroni received his B.Sc. from the University of Montevideo, and his Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Rochester. In 1951 he joined Syntex Corporation in Mexico, where his pioneering work on the development of the birth control pill transformed Syntex into a major pharmaceutical company. Eventually Dr. Zaffaroni was named President of Syntex Laboratories and President of the Syntex Research Institute, which became headquartered in the United States. Dr. Alejandro Zaffaroni has established many biotechnology companies throughout his distinguished career: ALZA Corporation, DNAX Ltd., Affymax, Affymetrix, Symyx, Maxygen, SurroMed, and Alexza among many others. Dr. Zaffaroni is recognized as a leading contributor to Bay Area bioscience. He is credited with more than 70 patents and in 1995 received the National Medal of Technology from President Clinton, the highest award that the United States bestows in the field.


BayBio 395 Oyster Point Blvd. Suite 117 South San Francisco CA 94080 Tel: (650)871-7101