The Chemical Heritage Foundation (CHF) and the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) will present the 2008 Biotechnology Heritage Award to Henri A. Termeer on 17 June 2008, during BIO’s annual international convention, in San Diego.

About Henri A. Termeer
Henri A. Termeer is chairman, president, and CEO of Genzyme Corporation. Under his leadership over the last two decades, Genzyme has grown from a modest entrepreneurial venture to one of the world's leading biotechnology companies.Termeer is recognized as a pioneer in developing and delivering treatments to patients with rare genetic diseases. This work has provided the foundation for Genzyme’s success, and today the company serves patients in nearly 90 countries and is diversified across a broad spectrum of medical areas.

Active in the areas of humanitarian assistance, policy, and innovation in providing access to healthcare, Termeer serves on the board of directors of both the Biotechnology Industry Organization and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. He is a director of Massachusetts General Hospital, a member of the board of fellows of Harvard Medical School, and a member of the board of directors of Project HOPE, an international nonprofit health-education and humanitarian assistance organization. Through a partnership with Project HOPE, Genzyme provides life-saving treatment at no cost to patients in developing countries.

Termeer has received many honors, including Ernst & Young's Master Entrepreneur Award, the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Humanitarian Award from the March of Dimes, and the Torch of Liberty Award from the New England Office of the Anti-Defamation League. In 1999 Termeer, a native of the Netherlands, received the International Institute of Boston’s Golden Door Award, which recognizes the positive influence that immigrants have had on America.

About the Biotechnology Heritage Award
The Biotechnology Heritage Award is presented yearly at a special ceremony during the BIO Annual International Convention to honor individuals who have contributed significantly to the growth of biotechnology through discovery, innovation, commercialization,
and/or public understanding. In honoring these individuals, the Chemical Heritage Foundation and the Biotechnology Industry Organization seek to encourage emulation, inspire achievement,
and promote public understanding of modern science, industry, and economics in this rapid-growth area.

The cosponsorship of the award complements the mission of both organizations by advancing their mutual goals of educating the public, nourishing a sense of pride and community within the industry, and developing the record of the remarkable contributions the molecular sciences make to our lives.

THE BIOTECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY ORGANIZATION (BIO) represents more than 1,200 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers, and related organizations across the United States and in more than 30 other nations. BIO members are involved in the research and development of health-care, agricultural, industrial, and environmental biotechnology products.

THE CHEMICAL HERITAGE FOUNDATION (CHF) serves the community of the chemical and molecular sciences, and the wider public, by treasuring the past, educating the present, and inspiring the future. CHF maintains a world-class collection of materials that document the history and heritage of the chemical and molecular sciences, technologies, and industries; encourages research in CHF collections; and carries out a program of outreach and interpretation in order to advance an understanding of the role of the chemical and molecular sciences, technologies, and industries in shaping society.