CAMBRIDGE, Mass. & SEOUL, South Korea
Samyang Biopharm USA, Inc. (https://us.Samyangbiopharm.com) a global biotech subsidiary of the Samyang Pharmaceuticals Corp. (https://Samyangbiopharm.com/eng), announced today that the company has established the “Samyang CRS Award in Honor of Sung Wan Kim.” The announcement was made at the 2020 annual meeting of the Controlled Release Society where the inaugural award will be presented next year at the 2021 conference.
The Award will become an annual presentation to a mid-career scientist in biomedical research who has begun to establish themselves as a leader in the areas of drug discovery and make significant scientific contributions to their area of research.
“Samyang is thrilled to sponsor an award named for such a distinguished member of the scientific and academic community as Sung Wan Kim,” said Hyun Jung Helen Lee, M.D., President and CEO of Samyang Biopharm USA. “Each year this prestigious award will recognize a scientist whose quality of research is both strong and promising, and also embodies the scientific discipline and rigor of Sung Wan Kim. Samyang welcomes the chance to support new visionary scientists who are taking risks to experimentally address the most important questions in scientific research and then translate them into improving patients’ lives.”
Sung Wan Kim, Ph.D., was Distinguished Professor of Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Distinguished Professor of Bioengineering at the University of Utah. His subsequent research into drug delivery using biopolymers had an enormous influence on the development of hydrogels, biodegradable drug conjugates, self-regulating drug delivery, and stimuli sensitive polymers. Among his contributions to this field was the design of new polymeric structures capable of carrying genes into cells, which is based on a deep understanding of physio-chemical, synthetic, and biological principles. The successful delivery systems are multifunctional and possess balanced individual contributions providing an optimal composition with outstanding properties. His laboratory also designed many biomaterials for delivery of anticancer drugs. Kim held 38 patents and generated more than $30 million in research funds. In addition, he published more than 500 research papers, co-founded three biotech companies, and established the U of U’s Center for Controlled Chemical Delivery. He was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 1999 and the National Academy of Engineering in 2003. He retired from the University in 2018.
“Sung Wan Kim was a great scientist and a wonderful human being,” said Professor Robert Langer, Sc.D., David H. Koch Institute Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “Having an award named for him and given by the Controlled Release Society, to which he contributed so much, is a wonderful way to honor his legacy.”
About the Samyang Award in Honor of Sung Wan Kim
The Controlled Release Society’s Samyang Award in Honor of Sung Wan Kim recognizes a current Controlled Release Society member who has made outstanding contributions in the science of controlled release over a period of not less than 10 years. The nominee must be a current CRS member and must have been a CRS member for not less than the previous five years consecutively. The honoree must be between 41-55 years old as of December 31 in the year the award is presented and present at the CRS annual meeting the year of the award.
The winner of the Samyang Award in Honor of Sung Wan Kim will be selected by a selection committee appointed by the board of directors of the CRS. Samyang Biopharm USA will provide a $10,000 award sponsorship and the award will be presented each year at the at the CRS Annual Meeting, by Hyun Jung Helen Lee, M.D., President and CEO of Samyang Biopharm USA.
About Samyang Biopharm USA, Inc.
Samyang Biopharm USA, a biopharmaceutical company focused on the global development of first-in class biologic therapeutics for oncology and rare disease indications, was established as a subsidiary of Samyang Biopharmaceuticals Corporation (South Korea) in August 2018. The company collaborates with select biotechnology companies, research institutes, hospitals and universities through an “Open Innovation” strategy. Through collaborations, partnerships and in-licensing, Samyang Biopharm USA seeks to identify promising pre-clinical and early clinical candidates and advance them through clinical development with the objective of improving the lives of patients worldwide.
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Paul Kidwell
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