TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bloom Burton & Co. (“Bloom Burton”) is pleased to announce Dr. Poul Sorensen as the recipient of the 2019 Bloom Burton Award. Dr. Sorensen is a Distinguished Scientist at the BC Cancer Agency and a Professor, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of British Columbia. In 1998, Dr. Sorensen’s lab discovered a gene mutation, ETV6-NTRK3 that launched an entirely new field in cancer biology, which led to the development and 2018 FDA approval of a tumour-agnostic therapy called larotrectinib. The drug was subsequently approved by Health Canada on July 30, 2019. Larotrectinib, marketed by Bayer Pharmaceuticals as Vitravki®, targets at least 22 different cancers in both children and adults.
Bestowed annually, the Bloom Burton Award honours an individual scientist, inventor, executive, entrepreneur, industry leader, or policy maker who made the greatest contribution to Canada’s innovative healthcare industry in the previous year. Nominees were accepted from any of the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, medical device, diagnostic/imaging, research instrumentation, consumer health, services or healthcare IT sectors, and equal consideration was given to contributions across any stage of development - from discovery to commercial end markets. Nominations for the award were accepted from the public-at-large between January 29 and April 15, 2019. All finalists – Gilbert Godin and Greg Gubitz of HLS Therapeutics (TSX:HLS), David Lickrish of Highland Therapeutics and Poul Sorensen - were celebrated at the Bloom Burton Award Gala on September 26, 2019 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and each received a $25,000 cash prize.
The Bloom Burton Award finalists and winner were chosen from an esteemed panel of judges, all of whom are respected international leaders in healthcare investment, entrepreneurship and journalism:
- Michael Altman, Managing Director, Perceptive Advisors
- Karen Bernstein, Co-Founder and Chairman, BioCentury Inc.
- Cecilia Gonzalo, Partner, Oberland Capital
- Carl Gordon, Partner and Co-Head of Global Private Equity, OrbiMed Advisors
- Dennis Purcell, Founder and Senior Advisor, Aisling Capital
- Melinda Richter, Global Head of Johnson & Johnson Innovation, JLABS
- Mayukh Sukhatme, President, Roivant Pharma
Brian Bloom, Co-founder, Chairman & CEO of Bloom Burton commented, “People are what make our industry special, and this award was created to celebrate the most important contributor to our innovator sector each year. Dr. Sorensen deserves our deep respect and gratitude. We also appreciate the other finalists for joining and for being celebrated at what has become the most important healthcare award event of the year.”
About Bloom Burton:
Bloom Burton & Co. (Bloom Burton Securities Inc.) is a firm dedicated to accelerating returns in the healthcare sector for both investors and companies. Bloom Burton has an experienced team of medical, scientific, pharmaceutical, legal and capital markets professionals who perform a deep level of diligence, which combined with our creative and entrepreneurial approach, assists our clients in achieving the right monetization events. Bloom Burton and its affiliates provide capital raising, M&A advisory, equity research, business strategy and scientific consulting, advisory on direct investing and company creation and incubation services. Bloom Burton Securities Inc. is a member of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) and is also a member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF). Please visit www.bloomburton.com to learn more.