News Release

Johnson & Johnson names selection committee for Dr. Paul Janssen Award for Biomedical Research

Three Nobel Laureates included on six-member panel of international experts

Grant and Award Announcement

Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development, L.L.C.

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J., Sept. 12, 2005 -- Johnson & Johnson today announced the appointment of a top-level scientific committee of international experts who will serve as the selection committee to nominate and select the inaugural recipient of the Dr. Paul Janssen Award for Biomedical Research. The Award was created to honor Dr. Paul Janssen, or "Dr. Paul" as he was known throughout the scientific community, one of the 20th century's most gifted and passionate scientists who revolutionized modern medicine and inspired a new generation of researchers. At the time of his death in 2003, Dr. Paul's work had produced more than 80 medicines that helped save millions of lives. In addition, he was the founder of Janssen Pharmaceutica, which later became part of the Johnson & Johnson family of companies.

The Award selection committee, nominated by Dr. Per Peterson, chairman, research & development, pharmaceutical group at Johnson & Johnson, Dr. Harlan Weisman, company group chairman, research & development, pharmaceuticals at Johnson & Johnson, and Dr. Theodore Torphy, corporate vice president, science and technology at Johnson & Johnson, includes:

  • Dr. Arvid Carlsson (Sweden), University of Gothenburg, Sweden, 2000 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine
  • Dr. Jean Marie Lehn (France), professor, College de France, 1987 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry.
  • Dr. Hartmut Michel (Germany), director, department of Molecular Membrane Biology, University of Frankfurt, 1988 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry.
  • Dr. Edward Scolnick (United States), former president of Merck Research Laboratories, Merck and Company, now director of the Psychiatry Initiative at the Broad Institute, member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Institute of Medicine.
  • Dr. Sol Snyder (United States), professor and director of the Department of Neuroscience at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, 1978 co-winner of the Albert Lasker Award, 2003 winner of the National Medal of Science.
  • Sir Richard Sykes (United Kingdom), former chief executive officer of GlaxoWellcome, now rector of Imperial College, London, fellow of the Royal Society, honorary fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and a fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences.

"We are very pleased to establish the Dr. Paul Janssen Award for Biomedical Research in recognition of Dr. Paul's many pioneering contributions to the field of medicine, and to have enlisted such a world-renowned selection committee to identify a scientist who perfectly embodies the tradition of his scientific excellence," said Dr. Peterson. "The Dr. Paul Janssen Award seeks to promote, recognize and reward the same passion and creativity that allowed Dr. Paul to move the boundaries of medical science and to touch the lives of millions of people. We are especially proud of the global composition of the search committee, which represents today's rapidly evolving scientific research community."

The Dr. Paul Janssen Award for Biomedical Research aims to extend the legacy of Dr. Paul by honoring the work of an active scientist in academia, industry or a scientific institute. Given every two years, the Award includes a $100,000 prize and will acknowledge the work of an individual who has made a significant, transformational contribution toward the improvement of human health. According to guidelines agreed to by the selection committee, the recipient of the Award will:

  • Be an active scientist (basic or clinical) in academia, industry or a scientific institute who exhibits the standards of innovation, insight and leadership that Dr. Paul exemplified during his career.
  • Have made a significant contribution to biomedical research that has impacted, or has strong potential to impact human health, through the diagnosis, treatment, or prevention of disease.
  • Provide a living example that the study of science and technology can enable an extended, healthy, and productive life.
  • Recognize an individual scientist, but may share the award between two individuals in circumstances in which the contributions of the individuals are viewed as significant and of equal importance.
  • Display a set of ethical values consistent with the values that drive Johnson & Johnson.

The first Award will be presented in September 2006 at the Dr. Paul Janssen Biomedical Research Scientific Symposium and Award Program to be held in Beerse, Belgium, where Janssen Pharmaceutica was first established. The symposium will also commemorate the 80th anniversary of Dr. Paul's birth. In November 2004, to honor Dr. Paul's work in neuroscience, Johnson & Johnson announced a grant of $5 million to Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) to fund a special scholars program focusing on acceleration of drug discovery and therapeutics for brain-related diseases such as schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease and epilepsy. The grant established the Paul Janssen Scholars Program in Translational Neuroscience and the partnership between Johnson & Johnson and CUMC builds a valuable bridge to support the work of translational researchers.

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About Johnson & Johnson Johnson & Johnson is the world's most comprehensive and broadly based manufacturer of health care products, as well as a provider of related services, for the consumer, pharmaceutical, and medical devices and diagnostics markets. The more than 200 Johnson & Johnson operating companies employ approximately 113,800 men and women in 57 countries and sell products throughout the world.


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