DIA Welcome and Award Ceremony

Welcoming attendees to the EuroMeeting were Brigitte Franke-Bray, DIA Director, European branch office, Switzerland; Theresa Kane Musser, DIA President, Rigel Pharmaceuticals, USA; Jean Marimbert, Director General, Afssaps, France; and David Maola, DIA Executive Director. Opening remarks were followed by brief speeches from the two candidates running for DIA President: Ron Fitzmartin, Vice President of Global Technical Services, Daiichi Medical Research, USA, and Dr. Jeffery Sherman, Executive Vice President, NeoPharm, USA.

Award Recipients

Five individuals received three different awards: the Distinguished Career Award, Outstanding Service Award, and Lifetime Membership Award.

Fernand Sauer, PhD, retired Director for Public Health of the European Commission, received the Distinguished Career Award.

Three industry professionals who have been actively involved with the DIA for years were presented with the Outstanding Service Award:

Sabine Brosch, Msc, PhD, Deputy Head of the Sector for Pharmacovigilance, Post-Authorization Safety, and Efficacy of Medicines at the EMEA; Truus Janse-De Hoog, PhD, Deputy Secretary of the Board of Medicines Evaluation Board, The Netherlands, and Chair of the New Coordination Group (CMD(h); and Ingrid Klingmann, MD, FFPM, MBCPM, President of Pharmaplex and Chief Executive Officer of UCL Analgesia Centre, London.

Winner of the Lifetime Membership Award was Barry W. Burnstead, B.Sc. Biological Chemistry, Head of International Commercial Development at Phase Forward.