Esteemed Life Sciences Leaders Honored for Contributions to California’s Life Sciences Community

California Life Sciences Association (CLSA), the state’s largest and most influential life sciences advocacy and business leadership organization representing California’s leading life sciences innovators, has announced the winners of its 2016 Life Sciences Leadership Award. Part of CLSA’s Pantheon DiNA Awards program, the Life Sciences Leadership Award honors California’s most innovative and dedicated life sciences leaders for their ongoing commitments and contributions to California’s life sciences communities.

The 2016 Life Sciences Leadership Award will be awarded to David E.I. Pyott, CBE, MD (Hon.), former chairman of the board and CEO at Allergan, and Scott Morrison, former U.S. Life Sciences Leader, Ernst & Young. Both honorees will be acknowledged at the 2016 Pantheon Awards ceremony on Dec. 2 at the Westin St. Francis in San Francisco.

David Pyott, Former Chairman of the Board and CEO at Allergan

Pyott played an instrumental role in transforming Allergan Inc., a once small eye care business, into a global specialty pharmaceutical and medical device company, growing the company’s sales from $1 billion to $7 billion during his 17-year tenure. Pyott was recognized by Harvard Business Review as one of “The 100 Best Performing CEOs in the World,” and in 2006 was bestowed with the honor of Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) by Queen Elizabeth II. He actively holds a number of positions, including lead director and member of the board of directors of Avery Dennison Corporation, member of the board of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc., BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc., a member of the supervisory board of Royal Philips in the Netherlands, and chairman of privately held Bioniz Therapeutics and member of the Board of Rani Therapeutics. Pyott was Chairman of CLSA’s legacy organization, California Healthcare Institute (CHI) in 2003 and again in July 2012. View full biography.

Scott Morrison, Former U.S. Life Sciences Leader at Ernst & Young

Morrison served as Ernst & Young’s U.S. life sciences leader from 2002 until his retirement in Dec. 2015, and has dedicated his 36-year career to helping life sciences companies excel from start-ups to global leaders. During his extensive career, Morrison has worked on hundreds of public and private financings, including more than 50 IPOs and 150 follow-on offerings, and has served clients such as Abgenix, Bio-Rad, Genomic Health, InterMune, Jazz Pharmaceuticals and Onyx. Morrison is a former chairman and treasurer of CLSA’s legacy organization, the Bay Area Bioscience Association (BayBio), is a founding board member of the Biotechnology Institute, and member of the board of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of America, Silicon Valley Chapter. View full biography.

“The Life Sciences Leadership Award recognizes the individuals who work relentlessly to drive innovation and collaboration within California’s life sciences sector. It’s thanks to individuals such as David Pyott and Scott Morrison that California’s life sciences industry continues to blossom and evolve, and we’re pleased to honor both for their enormous contributions to our growing life sciences community,” said Sara Radcliffe, President and CEO of California Life Sciences Association (CLSA). “We welcome all to join us at CLSA’s 2016 Pantheon DiNA Awards ceremony on Dec. 2, where we will pay tribute to our 2016 Life Sciences Leadership Award recipients, and all our Pantheon Award winners.”

To attend the 2016 Pantheon Awards, registration and ticket purchase information is available at www.clsapantheon.org.

To learn more about CLSA and its offerings, please visit: www.califesciences.org.

About California Life Sciences Association (CLSA)

California Life Sciences Association (CLSA) is the state’s largest and most influential life sciences advocacy and business leadership organization. With offices in Sacramento, San Diego, South San Francisco, Los Angeles and Washington DC, CLSA works closely with industry, government, academia and others to shape public policy, improve access to innovative technologies and grow California’s life sciences economy. CLSA serves biotechnology, pharmaceutical, medical device and diagnostics companies, research universities and institutes, investors and service providers throughout the Golden State. CLSA was founded in 2015 when the Bay Area Bioscience Association (BayBio) and the California Healthcare Institute (CHI) merged. Visit CLSA at www.califesciences.org, and follow us on Twitter @CALifeSciences, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.

California Life Sciences AssociationWill ZasadnyAssociate Director, CommunicationsWzasadny@califesciences.org619-961-8848