OKC Chamber receives recognition

The Greater Oklahoma City Chamber will be recognized for its role in Oklahoma’s bioscience industry with the Hall of Fame Leadership Award at the 2014 BioSummit and BioScience Awards Dinner on March 26 at the Skirvin Hilton Hotel.

More than 50 years ago, the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber led business and community leaders to support the development of a world-class medical center in Oklahoma City, which now includes the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, the Dean McGee Eye Institute, the Children’s Hospital, the Veteran’s Administration Hospital and multiple health care and community service organizations.

The Chamber has consistently continued its push for growth in the bioscience industries and was instrumental in many key bioscience developments in Oklahoma, including development of the Presbyterian Health Foundation; establishment of the Presbyterian Health Foundation Research Park; passage of State Questions 680 and 681 in the 1990s, which boosted commercialization of technologies from the state’s research universities and led to the creation of i2E Inc.; and commissioning a report on the state’s biotechnology industry through Battelle’s Technology Partnership Practice, which ultimately led to the creation of the Oklahoma Bioscience Association.

“We could not be honoring a more deserving organization than the Chamber because of its enduring history of pushing for development and growth of the biosciences industry in the Oklahoma City area and across the state,” said Carl Edwards, chairman of Presbyterian Health Foundation.

The Hall of Fame Leadership Award is one of four awards. The Recognition Award winners will be announced at the dinner.

Finalists are:

Researcher Recognition Award: Robert Broyles, co-founder and chief scientific officer, EpimedX, Oklahoma City; Richard Kopke, CEO and director of research at the Hough Ear Institute, Oklahoma City; and Lloyd Sumner, professor in the Plant Biology Division at the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, Ardmore.

Innovation Recognition Award: Caisson Biotech, Oklahoma City; Immuno-Mycologics, Inc., Norman; and VADovations, Oklahoma City.

Community Recognition Award: Gabe Pardo, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Oklahoma City; Diana Spencer, Tulsa Community College, Tulsa; and Rod Whitson, The Banker’s Bank, Oklahoma City.

The Oklahoma BioScience Association’s BioSummit brings together experts. Topics will include funding, exit strategies, early-stage investments, marketing and interacting with the bio industry.

Speakers will include Scott Meacham, president and CEO of i2E Inc.; William Paiva, managing director of the Oklahoma Life Science Fund; Von Allen, director of development at the University of Oklahoma and the Stephenson Cancer Center; Clayton Duncan, CEO at Accele Biopharma; Doug Branch, director, PhillipsMurrah; Dennis Shafer, president and CEO, Altheus Therapeutics; William A. Hagstrom, president and CEO, Crescendo Bioscience; Elaine Hamm, Director, Proof of Concept Center and Venture Advisor, i2E Inc.; and Vikas Sharma, Director, Business Development, Rexahn Pharmaceuticals and former manager, Business Development, MedImmune.

If you go: The BioSummit will begin at 10 a.m. with a networking reception at 5 p.m. and the awards dinner at 6 p.m. Tickets to the BioSummit and BioScience Awards Dinner are available starting at $75 for the BioSummit, $125 for the BioSummit and Awards Dinner and $100 for the Awards Dinner. For more information go to www.i2E.org or www.okbio.org. Sponsorships, student and group rates are available by emailing Katelynn Henderson at [email protected] or calling 813-2428.