Individuals, Companies Honored at NORD Tribute Banquet

View photos from the 2005 Tribute Banquet

NORD honored four individuals and three companies for their achievements toward reducing the suffering of people with rare diseases at its 22nd annual Tribute Banquet on May 23. The individuals honored were:

• U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), who was cited for introducing legislation to eliminate the two-year waiting period between when a disabled person qualifies for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and when he or she can receive Medicare benefits;
  
  
• Professor Josep Torrent-Farnell, MD, PhD, PharmD, chairperson of the European Union's Committee on Orphan Medicinal Products (COMP), for his achievements on behalf of people with rare disorders throughout Europe;
  
  
• Elizabeth Dickinson, associate chief counsel of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), for her dedication and commitment to the FDA's orphan products program; and
  
  
• Robert M. Campbell, Jr., MD, for the development of the vertical, expandable, prosthetic titanium rib (VEPTR) for children who have a condition known as thoracic insufficiency syndrome that occurs as a result of malformations of the chest, spine and ribs. The titanium rib is credited with saving the lives of infants who otherwise would have died because of insufficient room in the chest cavity for their lungs to grow.

The companies honored were:

• Bausch & Lomb of Rochester, N.Y., a global company dedicated to protecting and preserving vision, for the development of Retisert for the treatment of chronic non-infectious uveitis. This sight-threatening inflammatory disease primarily affects people between the ages of 20 and 50. Retisert represents a unique drug delivery technology in that it consists of a tiny drug reservoir that delivers an anti-inflammatory drug directly to the back of the eye over a period of approximately 30 months.
  
  
• Pharmion Corporation of Boulder, Co., a global pharmaceutical company focused on hematology and oncology; Pharmion was honored for the development of the orphan drug Vidaza (azacitidine for injectable suspension) for a group of rare blood disorders known as myelodysplastic syndromes. Vadaza is the first FDA-approved drug specifically for these syndromes, which occur when blood cells fail to develop properly in the bone marrow.
  
  
• Synthes Spine Company of West Chester, Pa., a global medical device company that develops, produces, and markets instruments, implants, and biomaterials to correct and repair the human skeleton and its soft tissues. Synthes was honored for manufacturing and distributing the titanium rib developed by Dr. Campbell, who began his research many years ago with a small grant from NORD. The titanium rib, which has been 17 years in development, was approved in September 2004 by FDA. It makes it possible for children born with this life-threatening deformity to lead normal lives in many cases.

Each year, NORD selects individuals and companies to honor in gratitude for their activities on behalf of people with rare diseases. In many cases, those being honored have developed products to treat serious diseases for which no other treatment exists, knowing that their return on investment will be modest at best.

NORD's annual Tribute Banquet is an occasion on which several hundred guests representing government agencies, pharmaceutical and biotech companies, researchers, medical professionals, and members of patient organizations join together to honor individuals and companies for outstanding achievement.