DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Colorado’s life science sector gathered on November 9 at the Grand Hyatt in downtown Denver to honor the bioscience companies, researchers and volunteers focused on medical innovations and life-enhancing treatments at the annual Colorado BioScience Association Awards Dinner.
April Giles, President and CEO of Colorado BioScience Association
says:
“The year included major financings, expansions and
partnerships. Two more Colorado bioscience companies went public in
2017, and our sector saw continued FDA advancement with approvals,
orphan drug designations and an NDA.”
Company of the Year: Array Biopharma focuses on the discovery, development and commercialization of targeted small molecule drugs to treat patients afflicted with cancer. Finalists for the award were: miRagen and Sharklet Technologies.
Rising Star of the Year: CereScan combines state-of-the-art brain imaging technologies with a patient-centered model of care to provide the highest level of neurodiagnostics available. Finalists for the honor were: Eximis Surgical and Ocugen.
Additional honorees included:
Colorado Bioscience Institute Leadership Award: Matt Long, Global Systems Process Engineer from Terumo BCT, serves as a mentor and volunteer to visit classrooms to talk about careers in science. He’s worked with more than 25 students in the last four years.
Educator of the Year: Tara Hardman of STEM K-8 Launch School brings lessons learned from the industry to her middle school engineering classroom. She participated in the Institute’s STEM Research Experience for teachers, working at CBSA member companies during the summers.
Volunteer of the Year: Elyse Blazevich, COO, Co-Founder and CFO of Securisyn Medical, acted as an outstanding spokesperson and advocate for the state’s bioscience industry, reaching out personally to policymakers to ensure key legislation made it to the finish line.
Legislators of the Year: Rep. Tracy Kraft-Tharp (D-Arvada) and Rep. Jim Wilson (R-Salida). Both legislators championed programs including the Advanced Industry Investment Tax Credit and the Advanced Industries Accelerator Grant Program.
Business Partner of the Year: Dohmen Life Science Services acts as an advocate for the industry with the leadership of Terry Dagnon, Senior Vice President of Denver Operations. Terry serves on the CBSA board, spearheads new initiatives and leads industry forums.
Chairman’s Award: Zimmer Biomet manufactures orthopedic medical devices to help those with disorders of, or injuries to, bones, joints, or supporting soft tissues. The company’s Zimmer Biomet Spine division operates out of a new 100,000-square-foot headquarters in Westminster combining research, marketing, development, and administrative functions.
Additionally, CBSA and the Boettcher Foundation recognized the 2017 Class of Boettcher Investigators in the Webb-Waring Biomedical Research Awards program during the evening. The program awards early-career investigators at Colorado’s research institutions with $235,000 in grant funding to sustain three years of biomedical research and honors them with the title of Boettcher Investigator.
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