If you knew you might fail at something, would you try it anyway?
For a life scientist, failure is an inevitable—and important—part of scientific discovery.
With no guarantee of success, scientists persevere through trial and error until they, hopefully, have that “aha!” moment. Perhaps it’s a breakthrough treatment that gives new hope, or maybe a new innovation that has the potential to advance or maintain quality of life.
At Johnson & Johnson, we believe that scientists and scientific excellence should be supported and celebrated.
That’s why I was so excited when eight of our innovative teams were recognized recently by the Galien Foundation with nominations for the prestigious Prix Galien USA award, one of the highest accolades in biopharmaceutical and medical technology research. The award recognizes scientists and companies for medical innovations that have the power to change the human condition.
In a nod to the breadth of our portfolio at Johnson & Johnson, we received nominations in all four award categories, including three for the new Discovery of the Decade category, which recognizes the most outstanding innovation from the past 10 years.
We’ll be eagerly awaiting news of the winners tonight. In the meantime, here's a look at our nominees:
Discovery of the Decade
Imbruvica® (ibrutinib), a drug to treat patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia and other blood cancers
Stelara® (ustekinumab), a drug for adults living with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis
CellSearch®, a test for detecting tumor cells in cancer patients with metastatic breast, prostate or colorectal cancer
Best Pharmaceutical Agent
Yondelis® (trabectedin), a drug to treat patients with liposarcoma or leiomyosarcoma, which are types of soft tissue sarcomas
Best Biotechnology Product
Darzalex® (daratumumab), a drug for relapsed/refractory myeloma, a type of blood cancer
Best Medical Technology
ThermoCool SmartTouch® Catheter and The Carto SmartTouch™ Software Module* for the treatment of atrial fibrillation, an irregular heartbeat that can lead to complications
Evarrest®, a fibrin sealant patch used by surgeons
Attune® Knee System, designed to improve range of motion and address the unstable feeling some knee replacement patients experience during everyday activities
Regardless of the outcome of tonight’s awards, I know we have some of the most passionate and dedicated scientific talent in the world at Johnson & Johnson. Our colleagues come to work every day excited and determined to discover and develop the next innovation that will transform the lives of people around the globe.
I couldn’t be more proud of the world-class research our teams conduct with the goal of advancing human health and making a positive impact on society.
For more information about each of these products, including their safety information, visit their websites.
*In the U.S., ThermoCool® Navigation Catheters are indicated for the treatment of drug refractory recurrent symptomatic paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, when used with Carto® Systems (excluding NaviStar® RMT ThermoCool® Catheter).
