Washington, D.C. (April 3, 2019) – The Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) today announced Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS) will be presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Senator Roberts will receive the award tonight in conjunction with BIO’s Legislative Day Fly-In.
“I am honored to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from BIO for our work to promote an industry critical to our economic future, our national security and our well-being. It has been my honor to build Kansas’ bio and life science research infrastructure to establish a research economy for future generations of Kansans, to the benefit of the nation. I am proud of the work we have done on the Senate Agriculture Committee to invest and protect innovation in biotechnology, fulfilling our responsibility to feed a troubled and hungry world while also improving the management of our natural resources. It has been equally important to ensure our nation’s plant and animal health are considered a national security priority. The contributions of the bio industry should not be taken for granted, and this Marine will continue to be its champion.”
“Senator Roberts understands the value of America’s biotechnology industry, not just on an economic scale, but through the benefits it delivers to patients facing devastating diseases and consumers of America’s agricultural and industrial innovation," said BIO President and CEO Jim Greenwood. “As a leader on both the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and the Senate Committee on Finance, he has been at the cross-section of every major healthcare debate throughout his distinguished career. At every turn he chose to support policies that promote and protect innovation, including the 21st Century Cures Act, Orphan Drug Tax Credit and countless others.”
“As a champion for the thousands of Kansans working in the biotechnology industry, Senator Roberts has demonstrated leadership on issues vitally important to our state and the nation,” said Alfred Botchway, PhD, Board Chair at BioKansas. “Thanks to Senator Roberts’ determined leadership as Chairman of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, the 2018 Farm Bill passed with bipartisan support, providing critical support to our nation’s farmers and rural communities as they develop new renewable chemicals, bio-based products, advanced biofuels, and other products of industrial biotechnology. On behalf of the Kansas biotechnology industry, I congratulate him on receiving this award.”
More than 200 biotechnology industry representatives from over 40 states, representing hundreds of thousands of American workers, will participate in hundreds of meetings with Members of the House and Senate during the BIO Legislative Day Fly-In. Participants will discuss issues critical to the biotechnology industry, including drug development, discovery and delivery reforms, targeting abuses of the U.S. patent system while protecting innovation, providing adequate reimbursement for vital therapies under Medicare, FDA funding, trade, tax policy, Farm Bill Implementation, protecting the Renewable Fuel Standard and capital formation issues relevant to biotechnology companies.
Photos of the award presentation are available upon request.
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