Colorado BioScience Association Honors the Best of Colorado's Bioscience Industry

Denver, Colo. (PRWEB) November 7, 2008 -- The Colorado BioScience Association (CBSA) has released winners of its 2008 Awards Program. The announcement is made by Christine Shapard, CBSA Interim Executive Director, who says the CBSA awards program showcases and honors those individuals and companies making a significant difference to Colorado's vibrant bioscience industry this year.

Official presentation of the awards occurs Thursday, November 13, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., at the Denver Grand-Hyatt, 1750 Welton. Held in conjunction with the 2008 BioWest Conference & Expo, registration information is available at http://www.BioWestConference.com. BioWest is the region's preferred venue for meeting investors, entrepreneurs, researchers, students, teachers and key industry vendors.

Governor Bill Ritter, Jr., recipient of one of this year's Chairman's Awards, will serve as the keynote speaker for the event as the Colorado Bioscience Association celebrates its fifth anniversary. In addition, Tamra Miaja, Biology teacher at Bear Creek High School, and Jim Rizzi, Array BioPharma, will speak about the CBSA's inaugural externship program. The winner of the 2008 Venture Showcase competition will also be announced at the dinner.

Recipients of the CBSA's 2008 awards include:

* Lifetime Achievement - Jay Gershen, DDS, PhD - Dr. Jay Gershen, the Vice Chancellor for External Affairs at the University of Colorado Denver, was one of the original board and executive committee members, in 2002, of the Colorado Biotechnology Association which was the forerunner of the CBSA.

* Company of the Year - CaridianBCT - This medical device company went from being a subsidiary of a publicly traded Swedish company to a separate stand-alone, independent U.S.-incorporated organization and in the process changed its name from Gambro BCT to CaridianBCT.

* Rising Star - Sierra Neuropharmaceuticals - Sierra Neuropharmaceuticals, a CU spin-out, is located in the Colorado Science and Technology Park at Fitzsimons. Sierra's technology is used to reformulate psychotropic drugs so that they can be delivered directly into the brain, without the harm associated with systemic therapies.

* Volunteer of the Year - Chris Lepore - Chris Lepore, Director of State Government Affairs for Johnson and Johnson, sits on the board of the CBSA and is very active on the Public Policy Committee.

* Educator of the Year - Brenda Dempsey - Brenda Dempsey, a biology teacher at Castle View High School, is working to increase awareness and understanding of the bioscience field to her students.

* Chairman's Award - Governor Bill Ritter, Jr. - Governor Bill Ritter has supported this industry from day-one of his administration. When he was elected in 2006, he named the bioscience industry one of the four sectors that he believed would be economic drivers for Colorado and he hired cabinet members and senior staff who understood the needs of the industry.

* Chairman's Award -- Denise Brown - Denise Brown took the CBSA organization from 20 to 400 members, from not much in the bank to a lot in the bank and from just her to a staff of five. CBSA would not be celebrating five years of success if Denise hadn't been hired six years ago.

About Colorado BioScience Association

CBSA is a not-for-profit corporation providing services and support for Colorado's growing biosciences industry. With more than 400 members, the CBSA actively works to promote the growth of the industry by advocating for a better business environment, by promoting programs that grow the state's bioscience workforce, by fighting for policies that support a strong bioscience industry in the state and by speaking with a single voice on behalf of the companies in the state. For more information, visit http://www.cobioscience.com.

Contacts:

Christine Shapard, Interim Director, Colorado BioScience Association, 303-592-4089

Maggie Chamberlin Holben, APR, Absolutely Public Relations - http://www.absolutelypr.com - 303-984-9801

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