PHILADELPHIA and WASHINGTON, D.C.—8 May 2007—Chemical Heritage Foundation (CHF) and the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) will present the ninth annual Biotechnology Heritage Award to Ronald Cape, cofounder of Cetus Corporation. Cape is a true visionary, a pioneer, and an entrepreneur gifted with considerable research and business skills. The award, sponsored by Invitrogen Corporation, will be presented at the 2007 BIO International Convention in Boston.
"Cetus Corporation is widely recognized as the first biotechnology company," said James C. Greenwood, president of BIO. "Ron Cape saw the potential of biotechnology even before recombinant DNA. He helped to create a new kind of company and with it launched the creation of a whole new industry."
About Ronald E. Cape
Cape, a partner at PureTech Ventures in Boston , cofounded Cetus in 1971 and served as its chairman for 20 years and CEO for 13 years, until Cetus merged with Chiron Corporation in 1991. Cetus was a pioneer in genetic engineering, developing a technology that was ultimately awarded a Nobel Prize. Cape was the founding chairman of Darwin Molecular Corporation, which was later sold to Chiroscience plc. He serves on the board of EntreMed, Inc. and Neurobiological Technologies, Inc. He also serves as a director for several privately held companies. Cape was a founding member of the Industrial Biotechnology Association (now BIO), where he served as president from 1983 to 1985. He 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.
About the Biotechnology Heritage Award
The Biotechnology Heritage Award is presented yearly at a special ceremony during the BIO Annual International Convention to honor individuals who have contributed significantly to the growth of biotechnology through discovery, innovation, commercialization, and/or public understanding. In honoring these individuals, the Chemical Heritage Foundation and the Biotechnology Industry Organization seek to encourage emulation, inspire achievement, and promote public understanding of modern science, industry, and economics in this rapid-growth area.
The award complements the mission of both organizations by advancing their mutual goals of educating the public, nourishing a sense of pride and community within the industry, and developing the record of the remarkable contributions the molecular sciences make to our lives. Previous award winners include Paul Berg, Herbert W. Boyer, Francis S. Collins, Walter Gilbert, Leroy Hood, George B. Rathmann, William J. Rutter, Phillip A. Sharp, Robert A. Swanson, J. Craig Venter and Alejandro Zaffaroni.
About the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO)
BIO represents more than 1,100 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers, and related organizations across the United States and in 31 other nations. BIO members are involved in the research and development of health-care, agricultural, industrial, and environmental biotechnology products. For more information, please visit www.bio.org.
CHF gratefully acknowledges Invitrogen, sponsor of the 2007 Biotechnology Heritage Award. Invitrogen provides products and services that support academic and government research institutions and pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies worldwide in their efforts to improve the human condition. The company is celebrating 20 years of accelerating scientific discovery.
About the Chemical Heritage Foundation
The Chemical Heritage Foundation serves the community of the chemical and molecular sciences, and the wider public, by treasuring the past, educating the present, and inspiring the future. CHF carries out a program of outreach and interpretation in order to advance an understanding of the role of the chemical and molecular sciences, technologies, and industries in shaping society; maintains a world-class collection of materials that document the history and heritage of the chemical and molecular sciences, technologies, and industries; and encourages research in its collections.
CHF regularly hosts seminars in biotechnology through its Joseph Priestley Society as well as actively honoring, preserving, and encouraging this vital and exciting field. Throughout the brief and brilliant history of biotechnology, many leaders have been both entrepreneurs and researchers bringing the fruits of their labors rapidly to the global market while advancing our collective understanding. CHF is proud to preserve this important area of human endeavor.