James Crowe Jr., MD, a physician-scientist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center who has pioneered development of human monoclonal antibodies as potential treatments for viral diseases, has won a 2020 “Golden Goose” Award.
The ninth annual Golden Goose Award ceremony on Dec. 1 will recognize Crowe and two other federally funded research teams for their scientific responses to COVID-19. Led by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Golden Goose Award committee includes a bipartisan group of Congressional supporters and several science and higher education organizations.
In October the global biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca announced it was advancing into phase 3 clinical trials an investigational COVID-19 therapy consisting of two long-acting antibodies discovered in the Vanderbilt Vaccine Center (VVC), which Crowe directs, and optimized by AstraZeneca.
“We are incredibly proud of Dr. Crowe for receiving this recognition. It is especially meaningful that the Golden Goose Award was the idea of our own U.S. Representative, Jim Cooper, in response to criticisms around the use of federal funds for scientific research. Dr. Crowe’s contributions to the field of antibody therapy are advancing our understanding for how lethal viruses can be treated and will save countless lives,” said Jeff Balser, MD, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer for Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Dean of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.
Last month Oology Bioservices Inc., a Florida-based biologics contract development and manufacturing organization, announced plans to develop, manufacture and license a “cocktail” of COVID-19 monoclonal antibodies isolated in the VVC. Other VVC-discovered COVID-19 antibodies are in development for research, diagnostic and clinical use by several other companies.
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