17th annual eyeforpharma Philadelphia (Commercial, Digital and Patients)
800+ pharma leaders join together to discuss how to revolutionize the patient experience – and, accordingly, their commercial performance.
Luminary Honoured For Her Scientific Contribution
Emmanuelle Charpentier wins the Lifetime Achievement award at eyeforpharma Barcelona
Few of us will ever achieve superstar status, let alone in the field of science. Yet this is the moniker The New York Times gave French scientist Emmanuelle Charpentier following her game-changing discovery back in 2012.
Charpentier is credited with being a key pioneer in the gene-editing tool Crispr/cas9, a molecular scissor that can be used to edit the DNA of any cell or organism. The implications are profound; it can be used to cut out and replace mutated cells that cause genetic diseases.
Last month Charpentier added to her impressive collection of awards — which include the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences; the Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine; the Gruber Foundation International Prize in Genetics and the Leibniz Prize; Germany’s most prestigious prize for research — after winning the Lifetime Achievement award at our annual European awards in Barcelona.
On receiving the acknowledgment, Charpentier said, “I am deeply honoured to be a finalist of the eyeforpharma Award of this year. The award in my concern recognises the work of my team and collaborators in the field of basic science and microbiology that has led to the discovery of the transformative genome editing technology CRISPR-Cas9. This technology is now applied broadly in life sciences, biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry in R&D.
“Biotech companies have been founded around CRISPR-Cas9. I would like to cite as an example, CRISPR Therapeutics – that has been cofounded with Rodger Novak to apply the technology for the development of new innovative therapeutics. We all do hope that the technology will make a difference for patients suffering from serious diseases.
“I deeply thank the selection committee for this award.”
Emmanuelle has led a distinguished transatlantic career in research, holding a fellowship at the Rockefeller University in New York, working as a research scientist at the New York University Medical Center and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, and leading research at European institutions that include: the Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS), the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig and the Hannover Medical School.
You can find out about the other finalists here
17th annual eyeforpharma Philadelphia (Commercial, Digital and Patients)
800+ pharma leaders join together to discuss how to revolutionize the patient experience – and, accordingly, their commercial performance.