NEW YORK, Feb. 22 (UPI) -- Biotechnology companies CV Therapeutics and Isis Pharmaceuticals were presented with the biotech industry's annual "Helix Award" at the Biotechnology Industry Organization's chief executive officer and investor conference.
This year's conference wrapped up Friday at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, after a week of investor pitches by more than 200 biotechnology companies in a annual ritual were chief executive officers and other senior executives present facts and figures to venture capitalist, analyst and other industry experts with the goal of wooing investments of millions of dollars for their respective companies.
The event, now in its fourth year, is staged by the Biotechnology Industry Organization -- Bio.org -- a Washington-based industry organization that represents more than 1,000 biotech companies, the majority U.S. companies, but also many from abroad.
Carl Feldbaum, the president of BIO, said the industry has gained much financial steam as it has matured, and that the decline of the dot-coms has also meant more investment money for the growing research and development-based biotech business.
In awards announced Thursday, Isis Pharmaceuticals received the Helix Award in the "emerging company" category, and CV Therapeutics in the "large-cap category" for outstanding larger companies.
According to BIO, the industry association, the Helix Award is on the top awards for corporate excellence for the international biotechnology industry.
"The award is presented based on leadership in three distinct areas of scientific innovation, company growth and corporate citizenship," said BIO in a statement.
Isis head Stanley T. Crooke, hailed the award as coming after what had been a top year for the company.
"Isis has had a tremendous year with the establishment of several pivotal collaborations with industry leaders, major advances in the clinic and accomplishments in our two divisions, GeneTrove and Ibis Therapeutics," Crooke said. "We are honored that the industry is recognizing the company's achievements and the work of the more than 400 people at Isis."
Louis G. Lange, CEO of CV Therapeutics, praised his company's scientific and clinical research in accepting the Helix Award.
"I am honored to receive this important award on behalf of my colleagues at CV Therapeutics. This recognition from our peers highlights the critical work that our scientists and clinicians accomplish every day," Lange said. "Our company was founded over 10 years ago with a single goal: to find better ways to help patients with cardiovascular disease -- still the number one cause of death in the United States."
The Helix Award, now in its seventh year, is presented annually by the Long Island Life Sciences Initiative and is jointly sponsored by BIO, Stony Brook University and The Center for Biotechnology.
LILSI is a not-for-profit trade association created to address issues of strategic importance to the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, medical device and life science technology-based industries situated in Long Island.
An independent panel of judges reviewed the 2002 submissions, and KPMG LLP, an international professional services firm tabulated the results, according to LILSI.
From a slump in the late '90s, the biotechnology industry has picked up steam again and is looking to potentially boom for 2002.
The industry is big and growing fast. Overall, the biotech industry boasts over 1,200 companies -- 300 of which are publicly traded -- with a total market capitalization of some $350 billion, up more than 156 percent in one year. Annual industry revenues total $22 billion, doubling in less than 10 years.
For 2001, the industry boasted a record year in mergers and acquisitions as many top biotech players -- such as Amgen and MedImmune -- acquired smaller biotechs to compliment existing lines of research and development.
