BIO President Comments on NIH Director, Surgeon General Nominees

Washington, D.C. (March 26, 2002)- BIO President Carl B. Feldbaum today issued the following statement on President Bush’s nominations for NIH director, Elias Zerhouni, M.D., chairman of radiology and vice dean for research at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and for Surgeon General, Richard Carmona, M.D., a trauma surgeon in Arizona:

“BIO is pleased that President Bush has made both nominations for these high profile positions which are critical to the medical and health leadership of the United States. Biotechnology has been and will continue to make important contributions to medical research and to the public health of our citizens, including defenses against biological weapons. These nominations have been a high priority for our industry.

“With the cracking of the human genetic code, the NIH, the Surgeon General’s office, and our industry are poised to work together to usher in a new era of medicine only dreamed about just a few years ago.

“Doctors Zerhouni and Carmona both appear to have very fine records in medical research and health issues, and both share rather remarkable life stories. The biotechnology industry is eager to work with them.”

BIO represents more than 1,000 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers and related organizations in all 50 states and 33 other nations. BIO members are involved in the research and development of health-care, agricultural, industrial and environmental biotechnology products.

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