Patients Highlight Value of Biotech Medicines

Several patients shared their heroic stories of being diagnosed with a life-threatening disease and, ultimately, regaining their life through treatment with biotechnology medicines at a press conference on Monday.

Left to right: Carrie Smith (teal shirt) and Lori Lober (red sweater)

Patients included:

• Darren Baker, principal scientist, Biogen Idec – Living with non-Hodgkins Lymphoma
• Louis Buratti, founder, HepC Out of Bonds.org – Living with Hepatitis C
• Lori Lober, founder, Touched by Cancer Foundation – Breast cancer survivor
• Dr. Vincent Macaluso, neurologist, Macaluso Infusion Center – Living with Multiple Sclerosis
• Lateef Murdock, musician/songwriter – Living with Pompe’s Disease
• Joan Shey, founder of the Light of Life Foundation – Living with thyroid cancer
• Carrie Smith, MS LifeLines Ambassador – Living with Multiple Sclerosis

"These patients represent the work we do and exemplify the reasons why we do it," said Jim Greenwood, President and CEO of BIO, who also spoke at the press conference.

Lori Lober said 'it is a miracle' that she is alive today to tell her story. "Biotechnology has given me my life," she said. Lober has been on Genentech's Herceptin for the past seven years, since being diagnosed in 2000.

According to a survey released by BIO on Sunday, the American public rates finding cures to diseases a top national issue, ahead of the war on terrorism and dealing with illegal immigration.

The poll was conducted by the nationally recognized Republican and Democratic strategy firms Public Opinion Strategies and Peter D. Hart Research Associates and compared the views of nationwide voters and senior-level biotechnology industry executives on a number of issues, including health care, the environment, alternative fuels and stem cell research.