WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) announced today its selection of Congressman Fred Upton (R-MI) as Legislator of the Year for 2010-2011. Representative Upton will receive the award this afternoon as part of the BIO Legislative Day Fly-In.
"Representative Upton is a long-time champion of the biotechnology industry. As Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, he’s been a proponent of issues critical to our nation’s biotech industry such as the creation of a pathway for the approval of biosimilars that protects patient safety and provides incentives for continued innovation," said BIO President and CEO Jim Greenwood.
"As a champion of the biotechnology industry both in Michigan and throughout America, Representative Upton has staunchly supported the creation of a biosimilars pathway that protects patients and incentivizes innovation that ultimately was included in the Affordable Care Act of 2010. We appreciate his consistent support over the last twenty-four years of policies that create an environment to enable this industry to bring new therapies and cures to the American people," said Stephen Rapundalo, Ph.D., MichBio President & CEO.
More than 200 biotechnology industry representatives from 36 states will participate in hundreds of meetings with Members of the House and Senate during the BIO Legislative Day Fly-In. Participants will discuss issues critical to the biotechnology industry including patent reform, increased funding for the Food and Drug Administration and National Institutes of Health, restored eligibility for Small Business Innovation Research grants, and extension of the Therapeutic Discovery Project Program.
Photos of the award presentation are available upon request.
BIO represents more than 1,100 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers and related organizations across the United States and in more than 30 other nations. BIO members are involved in the research and development of innovative healthcare, agricultural, industrial and environmental biotechnology products. BIO also produces the BIO International Convention, the world’s largest gathering of the biotechnology industry, along with industry-leading investor and partnering meetings held around the world.
MichBio is a biosciences industry trade association and the official Michigan affiliate of the Biotechnology Industry Organization, Formed in 1993 as the Michigan Biosciences Industry Association, MichBio is headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and represents the more than 550 bioscience-related companies in the state.