The attempt to combat rare diseases is a challenging task that exemplifies how the pharmaceutical industry addresses unmet medical needs. This Award will recognize the efforts of an individual, team, or company that demonstrated excellence while developing a drug intended to treat rare diseases. The judges will be looking for a drug development program or trial with the largest potential impact in the rare disease space. Outstanding patient centric processes and innovation in study conduct to overcome the various obstacles of rare disease drug development will also earn high marks.

WHO COULD ENTER

To be eligible, drug development activities must have taken place between January 2024 – February 2025. Entrants must have played a role in drug development and/or trial conduct, and all joint parties must be disclosed in the application.

WINNER

Servier Pharmaceuticals

FINALISTS

• Beam Therapeutics
• Avidity Biosciences
• GRIN Therapeutics
• iECURE
• Hemab Therapeutics
• Servier Pharmaceuticals
• Mirum Pharmaceuticals
• Day One Biopharmaceuticals

This Award will recognize an early phase research project that met or surpassed its objectives on a range of key performance indicators. The entrant should show that the successful completion of the program was material in enabling the sponsor to advance its drug to the next development phase either on or ahead of schedule and/or keeping within its development budget.

WHO COULD ENTER

To be eligible, results for the study or program under nomination must have been released between January 2024 – February 2025. Entrants must have played a role in the early phase research, and all joint parties must be disclosed in the application.

WINNER

Arrakis Therapeutics

FINALISTS

• Ensoma
• Beam Therapeutics
• Kymera Therapeutics
• Metsera and Altasciences
• Hemab Therapeutics
• Arrakis Therapeutics
• Tectonic Therapeutic

This Award will recognize an early phase research project that met or surpassed its objectives on a range of key performance indicators. The entrant should show that the successful completion of the program was material in enabling the sponsor to advance its drug to the next development phase either on or ahead of schedule and/or keeping within its development budget.

This Award will recognize a company, team or individual who has demonstrated exceptional initiative in promoting diversity and inclusion of underrepresented populations within a clinical trial or drug development program. The entrant should describe the activities/strategies implemented and the impact they had on patient enrolment. Activities ranging from patient-focused study design, use of technology, awareness and recruitment campaigns, or other creative and innovative approaches will be considered. Evidence of the impact these activities/strategies had on recruitment should also be included.

WHO COULD ENTER

To be eligible, results for the study or program under nomination must have been released between January 2024 – February 2025. Entrants must have played a role in the early phase research, and all joint parties must be disclosed in the application.

WINNER

ModeX Therapeutics

FINALISTS

• CatalYm GmbH
• Terns Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
• ModeX Therapeutics
• Genmab
• The START Center for Cancer Research

The winning biotech research team will have made significant contributions in advancing a new therapy through one or more clinical phases. The judges will be looking to reward the high performing team that has been most successful in reaching its goals, adopted effective working practices, achieved major milestones within expected timelines, and contributed to the advancement of new therapies.

WHO COULD ENTER

To be eligible, the core project for the nominated team must be ongoing or completed between January 2024 – February 2025. Entrants must have played a role in the core project for the product.

WINNER

Insmed - ASPEN Study Team

FINALISTS

• Insmed - ASPEN Study Team
• NewAmsterdam Pharma - Obicetrapib Clinical Research Team Phase III program
• Nuvalent Clinical Development Team

This Award will be presented to two or more organizations who have set a new benchmark in partnering through collaborative clinical trial activity that took place in 2024/25. Partnerships could take place between multiple pharmaceutical and/or biotech companies or between a pharmaceutical and/or biotech company and a research institute, non-profit, or cooperative group.

WHO COULD ENTER

To be eligible, the collaborative clinical trial activity in question must be ongoing or completed between January 2024 – February 2025. Entrants must have played a role in the collaborative clinical trial activity, and all joint parties must be disclosed in the application.

WINNER

NewAmsterdam Pharma and Victorian Heart Institute at Monash University

FINALISTS

• Moderna and Boots
• NewAmsterdam Pharma and Victorian Heart Institute at Monash University
• Walgreens and BARDA Form Strategic Partnership to Strengthen Decentralized Clinical Trials Model and Reporting

This Award will be presented to two or more organizations who have set a new benchmark in partnering through collaborative clinical trial activity that took place in 2024/25. Partnerships for this award must be between a pharmaceutical or biotech company and a contract research organization.

WHO COULD ENTER

To be eligible, the collaborative clinical trial activity in question must be ongoing or completed between January 2024 – February 2025. Entrants must have played a role in the collaborative clinical trial activity, and all joint parties must be disclosed in the application.

WINNER

Novotech and Tune Therapeutics

FINALISTS

• NewAmsterdam Pharma and Medpace, Inc.
• Novotech and Tune Therapeutics
• Phastar and Medicines Development for Global Health (MDGH)

Clinical trials are high risk, expensive, resource-intense undertakings that present significant challenges to any company. This award will recognize a pharma/biotech company that has developed creative and innovative approaches to the formidable challenges that clinical trials present.

Solutions may include innovations in designing any clinical trial related activity including patient recruitment and engagement or protocol design elements such as remote/decentralized trials, master protocols, complex adaptive/Bayesian trials, external controls, and other novel clinical trial designs. Solutions must have been developed or applied between January 2024 – February 2025.

WHO COULD ENTER

Companies wishing to enter must have been involved in the clinical trial, and all parties to any joint development activities must be disclosed in the application.

WINNER

Cytel

FINALISTS

• Clinion
• CluePoints - Time Similarity Test (TST)
• Grove AI
• Cytel
• Greenphire
• United BioSource
• Moderna
• Scout – Scout Coordinator
• Signant Health

With this award, we are looking to recognize the accomplishments of an exceptional individual with a consistent history of significant contributions to the biopharma research and development field. This award will go to someone who has had a distinguished career in R&D or clinical research, working at a pharmaceutical company, biotech or research institution. The nominee should have a history of successful projects that have had a positive impact on human health. Metrics can include scientific publications and citations; patents and involvement in innovation; involvement in clinical trials and drug approvals; contributions to the development of future scientists and leaders in the field through mentorship, training programs, and leadership roles in professional organizations.

Nominees may be retired or still working either at a pharma company, biotech or research institution.

WINNER

Professor John Kastelein, MD, Chief Scientific Officer, NewAmsterdam Pharma

FINALISTS

• Beatrice Setnik, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer, Altasciences 
• David Nguyen, MD, MBA, General Manager and Medical Director, Clinical Operations, Altasciences
• Uma Sharma, PhD, Chief Executive Officer, MMS
• Vasudev Bhupathi, Moderna Therapeutics
• Jan van de Winkel, co-founder, President and CEO of Genmab
• Professor John Kastelein, MD, Chief Scientific Officer, NewAmsterdam Pharma
• Eric Dube, PhD, President and CEO, Travere Therapeutics

This Award will recognize the clinical trial which reported results that had the greatest impact and is expected to lead to an advance in healthcare. The judges will be looking to reward the clinical trial with the largest commercial impact, highest impact on patient population, the greatest disruption in a market, or the advancement of clinical trial design. This might include the first demonstration of a clear clinical effect for a new drug in an area of unmet medical need, a pivotal study of a new drug with a breakthrough mechanism of action, or a major study of a potential new or expanded indication for an already marketed product.

WHO COULD ENTER

To be eligible, results for the study under nomination must have been presented in the public domain between January 2024 – February 2025. Entrants must have played a role in the clinical study, and all joint parties must be disclosed in the application.

WINNER

Candel Therapeutics, Phase III trial of CAN-2409

FINALISTS

• Avidity Biosciences, initial data from the Phase I/II FORTITUDE trial of delpacibart braxlosiran
• Candel Therapeutics, Phase III trial of CAN-2409
• IMUNON, Inc., positive data for IMNN-001
• Insmed, the Phase III ASPEN study of brensocatib
• Legend Biotech Corporation and Johnson & Johnson, three-year follow-up data from the Phase III CARTITUDE-4 study of Carvykti
• NewAmsterdam Pharma Corporation, the Phase III BROADWAY trial of obecetrapib

Across the biopharmaceutical industry, companies make great efforts to support patients and communities. This Award will recognize a company’s efforts to improve their community, either through work with a patient advocacy organization, a direct effort within a community, scholarship or other funding programs or other forms of social investment. These activities could involve disease education and awareness initiatives, efforts to improve patient engagement and amplify patient voices, or efforts to improve health equity through education, outreach, charity initiatives, sponsorship or direct community investment.

WINNER

Merck for Mothers

FINALISTS

• CTI Clinical Trial & Consulting Services
• Exelixis, Inc.
• Merck for Mothers
• Moderna