Representative Capuano Honored as BIO Legislator of the Year

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Tuesday, May 04, 2011) - The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) announced today its selection of Congressman Michael Capuano (D-MA) as Legislator of the Year for 2010-2011. Representative Capuano will receive the award this afternoon as part of the BIO Legislative Day Fly-In.

“As an original cosponsor of the Pathway for Biosimilars Act and champion of its inclusion in the Affordable Care Act in 2010, Representative Capuano has been a proponent of issues critical to our nation’s biotech industry,” said BIO President and CEO Jim Greenwood. “Representative Capuano’s leadership ensures that the biotechnology industry can remain a vibrant, research-intensive industry dedicated to providing life-enhancing and life-saving therapies to patients.”

“Through his many years of service at the local and federal levels, Representative Capuano has understood the issues facing Massachusetts and the hundreds of bioscience companies operating within the state. He is a strong advocate for our biotechnology industry. We thank him for his outstanding leadership on behalf of the biotechnology industry in Massachusetts and throughout the country,” said Robert Coughlin, President and CEO of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council.

More than 200 biotechnology industry representatives from 36 states 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 patent reform, increased funding for the Food and Drug Administration and National Institutes of Health, restored eligibility for Small Business Innovation Research grants, and extension of the Therapeutic Discovery Project Program.

Photos of the award presentation available upon request