BIO's Response to Sheep Cloning Earns Virginia Public Relations Award

(WASHINGTON, DC)...The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) has been honored by the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA)/Richmond, VA chapter, for its "crisis management" response to the announcement of the cloning of "Dolly" the sheep.

The PRSA Certificate of Merit recognized BIO's two-person communications staff for the organization's "thinking outside the box" crisis planning and response to the news in February that a sheep had been cloned by Scotland's Roslin Institute and PPL Therapeutics, Inc. BIO played a major role in worldwide media coverage of the event, appearing in more than 850 print and broadcast stories in the weeks following the initial announcement.

BIO was selected from more than 60 entries to the competition. The judges comments included: "EXCELLENT preparation and thought went into the research and planning of this project. When the situation occurred, all the important decisions were in place. Great work,'interesting crisis management story' and 'good preparation and execution.' "

The BIO Communications Department has also received a 1996 Thoth Award from the PRSA/National Capital Chapter; a 1996 Apex Award of Excellence from Communications Concepts (a publishing industry newsletter), for BIO's Editors' and Reporters' Guide to Biotechnology; a 1996 Apex Award of Excellence for BIO News, the organization's membership newsletter and a 1995 Gold Circle Award from the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) for best total communications program for BIO's 1993-1995 communications activities.

The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) represents more than 720 biotechnology companies, academic institutions and state biotechnology centers. BIO members are involved in the research and development of health care, agricultural and environmental biotechnology products.