OneWorld Health was awarded the “Social Responsibility Award” at the 2005 Pharmaceutical Achievement Awards last night in Boston. Over 350 guests gathered to honor the significant accomplishments of individuals and organizations in the global pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries in the areas of science, business and corporate generosity.

Abby Votto, Divisional Director of IBC Life Sciences USA presented the Social Responsibility Award to the Institute for OneWorld Health. The Social Responsibility Award recognizes exemplary performance by a pharmaceutical industry company in the development and implementation of beneficial environmental, health, safety and employment practices, and in the dedication of company resources to philanthropic causes. Other nominees for the Social Responsibility category were the Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases and Pfizer, Inc.

“We are honored to be recognized by our peers in the Social Responsibility category,” stated Victoria Hale, Ph.D., CEO and Founder of OneWorld Health. “This award brings together the best in the industry and celebrates the important work that pharmaceutical companies are doing.” OneWorld Health was specifically formed as a nonprofit company to develop new therapies for the poorest people in the developing world.

“We are delighted to honor some of the industry’s top executives, scientists and organizations at the Pharmaceutical Achievement Awards this year,” stated Jim Wagner, president of IBC Life Sciences which produces the awards program. “The awards signify the accomplishments of the key players in the industry as they continue their work in helping to improve the quality of life for all of us.”

Hale further noted “We’re on the verge of bringing our first drug to market in India as a cure for visceral leishmaniasis – a disease infecting more than 1.5 million globally. In this endeavor, we’ve been greatly fortunate to collaborate with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the International Dispensary Association (IDA), a non-profit provider of medicines to the developing world, the Government of India, and the World Health Organization, all essential partners who share our humanitarian cause.”

The 2005 awards program included 18 high level awards in five categories: Scientific Achievement Category, World Health and Community Involvement Category, Research and Development Category, Pharmaceutical Business Category and Pharmaceutical Marketing Category. Honorees are determined through a comprehensive international nomination process and winners selected by a diverse, forty-person Executive Review Board made up of members from small and large pharmaceutical organizations, academic research laboratories, law firms and consulting organizations. For detailed information on the Pharmaceutical Achievement Awards, please visit www.pharmawards.com .

The Institute for OneWorld Health, the first U.S. nonprofit pharmaceutical company, develops new, affordable medicines for infectious diseases that disproportionately affect people in the developing world, including visceral leishmaniasis, malaria, diarrhea and Chagas disease. OneWorld Health applies its entrepreneurial business model with a staff of experienced pharmaceutical scientists that identifies promising leads and drives development from pre-clinical studies to clinical trials through regulatory approval. The Institute for OneWorld Health, headquartered in San Francisco, Calif., is a tax-exempt 501(c) (3) U.S. corporation (http://www.oneworldhealth.org/) ). Media resources are available at http://www.oneworldhealth.org/media/index.php/ .



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