Awards and Certifications From May 5

Upton Honored As BIO Legislator of the Year: The Biotechnology Industry Organization announced its selection of Rep. Fred Upton (R-St. Joseph) as its Legislator of the Year. Representative Upton received the award during the BIO Legislative Day Fly-In. "As a champion of the biotechnology industry both in Michigan and throughout America, Representative Upton has staunchly supported the creation of a biosimilars pathway that protects patients and incentivizes innovation that ultimately was included in the Affordable Care Act of 2010," said Stephen Rapundalo, president and CEO of MichBio. "We appreciate his consistent support over the last 24 years of policies that create an environment to enable this industry to bring new therapies and cures to the American people." Rapundalo noted that "Upton understands the needs of our industry only too well given that his district covering Kalamazoo and southwest Michigan is one of only 14 U.S. metropolitan areas recognized with a concentration in pharmaceuticals, medical devices, early R&D, and medical/laboratory testing that represents a diversity of industry leaders and emerging bioscience companies." More than 200 biotechnology industry representatives from 36 states participated in hundreds of meetings with Members of the House and Senate during the BIO Legislative Day Fly-In. Participants discussed a range of issues critical to the biotechnology industry including patent reform, increased funding for the Food and Drug Administration and National Institutes of Health, restored eligibility for Small Business Innovation Research grants, and extension of the Therapeutic Discovery Project Program.

Altair Engineering Receives Boeing Performance Excellence Award: Troy-based Altair Engineering Inc., a provider of simulation technology and engineering services, announced that it has received a 2010 Boeing Performance Excellence Award. The Boeing Co, issues the award annually to recognize suppliers who have achieved superior performance. Altair achieved a Silver composite performance rating for each month of the 12-month performance period, from Oct. 1, 2009, to Sept. 30, 2010. Boeing is one of many aerospace customers for Altair.  In 2010, Altair recorded a 25 percent year-over-year revenue growth in the global aerospace market. Altair's HyperWorks software offers the industry a broad suite of CAE for minimum-weight design, stress analysis, and mechanism and vulnerability simulation for metallic and composite structures. Aerospace customers globally that have employed HyperWorks and its simulation-driven design processes, enabled by a strategic combination of Altair experience, technology and methods, have reported an average of 15 percent weight reduction for products while shortening the product design and development cycle by up to 50 percent. For more information on the Boeing Performance Excellence Award, visit www.boeing.com/companyoffices/doingbiz/supplier_portal/bpea.html. More about Altair at www.altair.com and www.altairhtc.com.