The Galien Foundation, a global institution dedicated to honouring innovators in life sciences, announced the winners of the 2023 Prix Galien UK Awards last night at the Natural History Museum, London.
The RECOVERY trial was announced as the winner in the “Best Public Sector Innovation” category. This new category recognises innovations that are funded and driven by the UK government via the NHS and not-for-profit organisations.
Bruno Cohen, Chairman of The Galien Foundation, said ‘This year's award candidates exemplify the positive power of determination, partnership, and passion with a shared goal of improving the human condition. We are honoured to come together to celebrate the award winners and present, for the first time, our newest award for Best Public Sector Innovation. It is a privilege to recognise the incredible contributions of those shaping the future of the life sciences industries.’
Sir Martin Landray, Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology at Oxford Population Health, and Joint Chief Investigator for the RECOVERY trial, said ‘We are delighted and honoured to receive this prize. We have to recognise that this is a team award and the team is enormous.
‘As well as the multi-disciplinary team at the University of Oxford, RECOVERY has involved clinical teams in every hospital in the country and at 24 sites internationally, partners including the pharmaceutical companies that provided study treatments, NHS and governmental bodies, and our funders. Most of all, we are indebted to over 48,000 participants who have taken part despite the extremely difficult circumstances.’
Sir Peter Horby, Moh Family Foundation Professor of Emerging Infectious Diseases at the Pandemic Sciences Institute, University of Oxford, and Joint Chief Investigator for the RECOVERY trial, added ‘This award is also recognition that throughout the pandemic, science has been our saviour – understanding which treatments work and which do not has saved hundreds of thousands if not millions of lives.
‘Investment in research and a real understanding of what matters has been at the heart of the success of RECOVERY. We must work together to make sure that the lessons we learned can be taken forward so that we can apply the streamlined RECOVERY trial model to other diseases.’
Awards were also presented for "Best Biotechnology Product," "Best Pharmaceutical Product," "Best Medical Technology" and "Best Digital Health Solution". Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH were named joint winners in the “Best Pharmaceutical Product” category for Jardiance® (empagliflozin), a treatment that has been shown to reduce the risk of kidney disease progression or cardiovascular death in people with chronic kidney disease in the EMPA-KIDNEY trial, led by Oxford Population Health.
Professor Sir Mark Walport, Honorary Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Imperial College, and Prix Galien UK Committee Chair, said ‘The Prix Galien Awards Committee, who reviewed this year's candidates and selected the award winners, were inspired by the work of the teams behind these innovations which were developed to prevent, treat, and cure diseases. Congratulations to our winners and all award candidates, and thank you for your continued dedication to research and its applications for health improvement.’