Biotech Hall of Fame Inductees Announced

LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif., Oct. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- At the 20th Annual Biotech Meeting at Laguna Niguel, a biotech CEO-only conference hosted by Burrill & Company and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, inductees into the Biotech Hall of Fame were announced at an Awards Dinner held here Sunday evening.

For twenty years, the CEOs of the biotech industry have recognized the outstanding achievements of the past year, heralding colleagues, companies behind the scientific breakthroughs and business success. To commemorate the 20th year of the Biotech meeting CEO's voted on a slate of nominees for three categories: Leading Company, Special Recognition for an Individual, and Scientific Achievement. The nominees were selected by G. Steven Burrill, CEO, Burrill & Company, Brook Byers, Senior Partner at Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers and a special advisory committee. Unlike the previous award processes, the nominations were not made on the basis of the past year's performance but their total contribution to the biotechnology industry. The inductees are:

    Leading Company
      Celgene Inc.
        Lead products include THALOMID for the treatment and suppression of
        cutaneous manifestations of erythema nodosum leprosum, an inflammatory
        complication of leprosy. The company's products also include REVLIMID
        for the treatment of patients with transfusion-dependent anemia.
        Current market cap is $28 billion.
      Idexx Pharmaceuticals
        A leader in innovative products and services for a variety of
        veterinary, food and water applications. Their companion animal and
        equine businesses combine biotechnology with medical devices and
        information technology to support veterinarians.
      Illumina Inc.
        Developer, manufacturer and marketer of next-generation life-science
        tools and integrated systems for the large-scale analysis of genetic
        variation and biological function.
      Onyx Pharmaceuticals
        Developer of innovative small molecule cancer treatments based on a
        molecular understanding of cancer. Onyx's lead product is Nexavar(R)
        (sorafenib) tablets, an oral multiple kinase inhibitor that targets
        proteins involved in both tumor cell proliferation and angiogenesis
         (the formation of new blood vessels to support cancer cell growth).
      Vertex Pharmaceuticals
        The Company is leading the development of the HCV protease inhibitor,
        telaprevir (VX-950), and in 2007 is conducting a broad Phase 2
        clinical program of this drug candidate. Vertex is also focused on the
        development of VX-702, a p38 MAP kinase inhibitor for the treatment of
        rheumatoid arthritis, and VX-770, an investigational drug candidate
        for cystic fibrosis.


    Special Recognition for an Individual
      Jim Greenwood, President and CEO, Biotechnology Industry Organization
      (BIO)
        BIO represents more than 1,100 biotechnology companies, academic
        institutions, state biotechnology centers and related organizations in
        all 50 U.S. states and 31 other nations.
      Susan D. Desmond-Hellmann, President, Product Development, Genentech
       Inc.
        Genentech is one of the biotech industry's leading companies and Dr.
        Desmond-Hellmann has overseen the development of several promising
        cancer drugs and the final testing phase of others.
      John C. Martin, President and CEO, Gilead Sciences Inc.
        Dr. Martin joined Gilead Sciences in 1990 and has served as President
        and Chief Executive Officer since 1996. The company has expanded
        rapidly over the past two decades, with annual revenues now exceeding
        $3 billion
      Ed Penhoet, Co-Founder of Chiron Corp.
        He was president and CEO of the prominent biotechnology company until
        May 1998. He has held leadership positions in the biotechnology
        industry and in academia, and is currently vice chair of the
        state-appointed board overseeing California's $3 billion stem cell
        research initiative.
      Hollings C. Renton, Chairman, President and CEO, Onyx Pharmaceuticals
        He has served as President, Chief Executive Officer and Director of
        the company since 1993. Prior to joining Onyx, Mr. Renton was the
        President and Chief Operating Officer of Chiron Corporation.


    Scientific Achievement
      Harold E. Varmus and J. Michael Bishop
        Co-recipients of the 1989 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for
        their discovery of the cellular origins of retroviral oncogenes. They
        directed the research that led to the discovery of proto-oncogenes --
        normal genes that can be converted to cancer genes by genetic damage.
        This work eventually led to the recognition that all cancer probably
        arises from damage to normal genes, and provided new strategies for
        the detection and treatment of cancer.
      Francis Collins
        Director of the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) at
        the National Institutes of Health (NIH). He led the successful effort
        to complete Human Genome Project (HGP), a complex multidisciplinary
        scientific enterprise directed at mapping and sequencing all the human
        DNA, and determining aspects of its function.
      Napoleone Ferrera
        Dr. Ferrara and his team of scientists at Genentech Inc. made a
        groundbreaking discovery that added greatly to our understanding and
        treatment of cancer. It was the identification and cloning of a gene
        termed vascular endothelial growth factor, or VEGF, which produces a
        protein that plays a critical role in angiogenesis.
      Andrew Z. Fire and Craig C. Mello
        Co-recipients of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for
        their discovery of RNA interference -- gene silencing by
        double-stranded RNA. RNA interference occurs in plants, animals, and
        humans. It is of great importance for the regulation of gene
        expression, participates in defense against viral infections, and
        keeps jumping genes under control. RNA interference is widely used in
        basic science as a method to study the function of genes and it may
        lead to novel therapies.
      Robert Langer
        In 1999 Forbes magazine named Prof. Langer, Department of Chemical
        Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as one of the 25
        most important individuals in biotechnology in the world. His work is
        at the interface of biotechnology and materials science. A major focus
        is the study and development of polymers to deliver drugs,
        particularly genetically engineered proteins, DNA and RNAi,
        continuously at controlled rates for prolonged periods of time.

"There is no greater recognition than that of one's peers," commented G. Steven Burrill, CEO of Burrill & Company, "and we are delighted to recognize these outstanding inductees to the Biotech Hall of Fame."

The Biotech Meeting at Laguna Niguel is the premier industry conference exclusively for CEOs of biotechnology companies. The Biotech Meeting (now in its 20th year) is held annually at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Laguna Niguel (Southern California). It is running October 8-9, 2007 and over 250 leading biotech CEOs have gathered to share management ideas, set an agenda for the industry and network with each other.

About Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers

Since its founding in 1972, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers has backed entrepreneurs in 475 ventures, including AOL, Align, Amazon.com, Citrix, Compaq Computer, Electronic Arts, Genentech, Genomic Health, Google, IDEC Pharmaceuticals, Intuit, Juniper Networks, Netscape, Lotus, LSI Logic, Sun Microsystems, Symantec, Verisign, and Xilinx. More than 150 of the firm's portfolio companies have gone public. Many other ventures have achieved success through mergers and acquisitions. KPCB has broadly invested in both life sciences and information technology since inception in 1972. In the last seven years, KPCB has expanded its focus to include Greentech and pandemic preparedness. http://www.kpcb.com/greentech . KPCB has committed more than $200 million to 25 Greentech ventures over the past seven years, including Altra Biofuels, Amyris Biotechnologies, Ausra, Bloom Energy, Great Point Energy, Mascoma, Miasole, and Verdiem.

About Burrill & Company

Burrill & Company is a San Francisco-based global leader in life sciences with principal activities in Venture Capital, Merchant Banking and Media. The company's over 50-person scientific and business team, supported by its Advisory Boards, the strategic and financial network of its limited partners, and the close relationships developed with numerous life science companies and managements, provide Burrill with unparalleled access and insight. The Burrill Life Sciences Media Group, a joint venture of Burrill & Company and Nielsen Business Media, produces worldwide life sciences conferences, and leading publications including an annual book on the "State of the Industry, the 21st Edition is Biotech 2007: Life Sciences-A Global Transformation; a series of bio-intelligence reports, The Journal of Life Sciences, in association with the California Healthcare Institute, and the Burrill Biotechnology Intelligence Report, which tracks the progress of the industry through its Burrill Biotech Indices and monthly financial analysis of the deals, partnerships and M&As.