USC Marshall School of Business Announces Finalists for Asia-Pacific BioBusiness Leadership Award 2005

March 15, 2005 – Los Angeles, CA, – The USC Marshall School of Business today announced the finalists of the Asia-Pacific BioBusiness Leadership Award 2005 to be presented at its annual Asia-Pacific Business Outlook Conference on April 7, 2005.

The Asia-Pacific BioBusiness Leadership Award recognizes leaders (individuals, organizations and corporations) that best exemplify the spirit of innovation, enterprise and entrepreneurship in areas of biobusiness (healthcare, biomedical, agricultural, food, environmental and emerging technology areas in the life sciences and biotechnology). This award is the first in a series of regional and global BioBusiness Leadership Awards. Future awards include the North American, European, Latin America/Caribbean, Africa/Middle East and Global Awards (see www.marshall.usc.edu/biobusiness for details). This award program underlines the Marshall School’s strong international focus, and its commitment to business excellence, innovation, and leadership.

“The quality and achievements of the 10 individuals nominated reflects the explosive growth in entrepreneurship and innovation in biobusiness in Asia-Pacific,”
commented Dr. Ravi Kumar, Vice Dean for Graduate and International Programs and Director of the Center for Global Business Excellence (C-GLOBE), USC Marshall School of Business. “We congratulate the finalists who have demonstrated exemplary vision, inspirational leadership and best practices in biobusiness excellence.”

The 5 finalists for the Asia-Pacific BioBusiness Leadership Award are (in alphabetical order):

Dr. Joong-Myung Cho (Korea) – former R&D Director at LG Chemicals, holder of over 110 patents, and founder of Crystal Genomics, a biopharmaceutical start-up specializing in structure-based drug development. He is considered to be among the leading experts in drug design and development in the Asia-Pacific.

Dr. Krishna M. Ella (India) – the scientist-entrepreneur behind Bharat Biotech, an innovative biotech company in India that is poised to establish itself as a global player, and has developed and brought a range of vaccines and promising novel molecules to market.

Mr. Yoh-Chie Lu (China/Singapore/USA) – founder of Biosensors, and the person behind one of the most successful medical device licensing deals out of Asia when Biosensors out-licensed its bio-absorbable polymer cardiovascular stents to Guidant in 2003.

Dr. Swati Piramal (India) – the scientific and technical driver for the growth of Nicholas Piramal, a leading pharmaceutical player in India whose annual revenues increased from less than $4 million in the late 1980’s to over $250 million through a series of strategic acquisitions, and innovative new product introductions.

Dr. Prathap C. Reddy (India) – founder and architect of the Apollo Hospital Group, the largest hospital and healthcare services network in Asia with over 35 hospitals throughout South Asia and a patient base of over 7 million.

A Selection Committee of international experts in biobusiness is responsible for judging the nominations for the Asia-Pacific BioBusiness Leadership Award.

Leading the Selection Committee is Carl Feldbaum, President Emeritus of the U.S. Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO). Other judges on the committee include:

James Foley, Ph.D., Vice President of Business Development, Japan/International, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.

Mario Gobbo, Ph.D., Head of Life Sciences, International Finance Corporation, The World Bank Group

Hugh Purser, Coordinator, Global BioBusiness Entrepreneur Network (GBEN)

The Regional and Global BioBusiness Leadership Awards are sponsored by the Global BioBusiness Initiative, a program of the Center for Global Business Excellence (C-GLOBE), USC Marshall School of Business. The Global BioBusiness Initiative serves as an international resource dedicated to facilitating interdisciplinary leadership in the biobusiness arena. The director of the Global BioBusiness Initiative is Dr. Gurinder S. Shahi, a leading authority in the field.

About USC Marshall School of Business

USC’s Marshall School of Business provides the foundation for a process of lifetime learning and business practice. Both U.S. News & World Report and BusinessWeek rank Marshall’s programs among the top 30. For more than 80 years, Marshall has provided world-class research and scholarship, preparing students for the future of business. Marshall, with its many research centers and the Leventhal School of Accounting, focuses on a core set of skills and on strengthening its position as a global center of business education and research at the graduate, undergraduate and executive levels.

Contact Information

Gurinder Shahi

Director

Global BioBusiness Initiative

Contact via E-mail