Annual Gala 2009

Delaware Bio Annual Awards Gala 2009

Delaware Bio would like to thank all of our sponsors for making the 2009 Annual Awards Gala possible

Three of the men who helped build Delaware's biotechnology industry were honored at the Delaware BioScience Association's second annual awards gala on April 29.

A crowd of almost 300 guests, from more than 120 organizations, filled the ballroom at the DuPont Country Club for the event. The evening featured a keynote address by Gov. Jack Markell and a tribute to AstraZeneca, which 10 years ago selected Wilmington as the home for its North American headquarters.

Dr. Barry L. Marrs, founder, chairman and chief scientific officer of Athena Biotechnologies in Newark, received Delaware Bio's 2009 Innovation Award.

Dr. David S. Weir, director of the Office of Economic Innovation and Partnerships at the University of Delaware, was awarded the 2009 Service Award.

U.S. Sen. Thomas R. Carper was recognized with the 2009 Government Official Award.

"Your collective efforts have worked to set the course of growth for Delaware's biotech industry for years to come," Bob Dayton, Delaware Bio's president, told the honorees.

All three have been instrumental in making Delaware's biotech community into a research powerhouse and economic engine that employs 12,000 people with an economic impact of $4.5 billion a year.