INNOVATIONS
The Prix Galien USA Awards For Medical Technology Healthcare Sales & Marketing has run a number of articles on the astonishing innovations emerging all the time in our industry. Last issue we featured the Cleveland Clinic Top Ten, a celebration of advances they consider most promising. In this issue we are happy to present the winners of the Prix Galien awards. But award winners are not the only innovators worth talking about. You may know of people who have been responsible for inspiring new ideas in healthcare. We want to exhibit more of these in every issue. So please send us your nominees to our associate publisher, Natalie Newcamp, at nnewcamp@hsandm.com.
The Prix Galien was created in France in 1970 by a pharmacist named Roland Mehl. Its aim was to promote significant advances in pharmaceutical research. Since its creation, the Galien award has grown into a major event. It is considered as the industry’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize. (Until his passing in July of 2016, Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel was Honorary President Emeritus of The Galien Foundation.) The foundation and award were named in honor of Greek anatomist, physiologist, clinician and researcher Galen, the father of modern medicine and pharmacology. The Prix Galien USA Awards Ceremony was launched in 2007, first honoring unique medical products, later devices, and finally, individuals who have impacted patient care through innovation. It awards prizes for Best Pharmaceutical Agent (i.e. small molecule), Best Biotechnology Product, and Best Medical Technology approved by the FDA in the past five years. Up to three prizes may be awarded annually in each of these categories.
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“The Prix Galien is a welcome initiative to stimulate creative research and promote excellence.” — Barack Obama, President, United States (2008) Before the candidates can qualify for the award, their products need to be FDA approved for market within the last five years. They also have to show major potential to impact healthcare. In 2018, the foundation chose 10 nominees for “Best Medical Technology.” Below is a selection of those. (Our thanks to Medical Design and Outsourcing for their assistance with the content of this article. For a full list of nominees and their product descriptions, go here.)
