GA Tech's Herron, Immucor's Moise Named Recipients Of 2008 GaBio Industry Growth Awards.

ATLANTA -- H. Lee Herron, DVM, General Manager of Biosciences for Georgia Institute of Technology's Enterprise Innovation Institute, and Phil Moise, Vice President and General Counsel of Immucor Inc., are the recipients of the 2008 Georgia Bio (GaBio) Industry Growth Awards.

They will be honored at the GaBio Annual Awards Dinner, January 24, at the Westin Buckhead Atlanta. The Industry Growth Awards are the highest honors bestowed each year. They recognize individuals in the public and private sectors who have made extraordinary contributions to the growth of Georgia's life sciences industry. Dr. Herron will be honored as the recipient from the public sector; Mr. Moise, from the private sector.

Dr. Herron is a leader in fostering the growth of start-up and early stage companies as biosciences director of Georgia Tech's Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) incubator and as CEO of the EmTechBio incubator. He also works with university faculty to translate scientific discoveries into new companies through the Georgia Tech VentureLab program. Dr. Herron has been instrumental in mentoring Georgia's start-ups. He leads from the platform of an experienced entrepreneur, having been a founder of five life sciences companies. Dr. Herron also has been a key member of the GaBio Board of Directors.

Mr. Moise was a founder of GaBio in 1989 and is a long-serving member of the Executive Committee as Secretary and Corporate Counsel. Mr. Moise was co-chair of Sutherland Asbill & Brennan's Life Sciences Practice before joining Immucor in April 2007. He assisted more than 40 life sciences and medical products companies with formation, public and private financing, licensing and technology transfer, mergers and acquisitions, and general commercial work. Mr. Moise served as business advisor and outside general counsel for most of these companies, including Immucor, which he helped build into the largest publicly traded biotech company in Georgia.

GaBio's 2008 Annual Awards Dinner will be held Thursday, January 24, from 6 pm to 9 pm at the Westin Buckhead Atlanta. Here is a link to learn more about the event and to register. http://www.gabio.org/event_details.aspx?refid=1&id=111.

Biographies of Winners

H. Lee Herron, DVM

Dr. Herron is General Manager of Biosciences for the Enterprise Innovation Institute at Georgia Tech. The Enterprise Innovation Institute includes the nationally recognized ATDC incubator and Georgia Tech's VentureLab program. The ATDC provides a broad base of assistance to entrepreneurs. Available assistance covers the continuum of new company formation and maturation, including the fundamental aspects of strategic focus through facilitating vital connections with potential board members, management and sources of capital. VentureLab is a Georgia Research Alliance initiative that facilitates and accelerates the translation of university technology to the marketplace. From March 1999 to October 2001, Dr. Herron was Managing Partner of BRAHMS Diagnostica LLC, U.S. subsidiary of BRAHMS AG of Berlin, Germany. BRAHMS is an integrated manufacturer of diagnostic test kits. From April 1991 to February 1999, Dr. Herron was President and CEO of SeaLite Sciences, Inc., a developer and manufacturer of diagnostic test kits. SeaLite Sciences, in Norcross, Ga., was founded on developing commercial applications of novel bioluminescent proteins licensed from the University of Georgia. Prior to April 1991, Dr. Herron was a founder of and employed by Biopool International, Inc., CytRx Corp. and Theragenics Corp. He graduated from University of Georgia in 1978 with a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree.

Phil Moise

Mr. Moise is Vice President and General Counsel of Immucor, Inc. Immucor is the largest Georgia-based publicly-traded biotech company, with more than $225 million in annual revenue, and a market cap of over $2 billion. Mr. Moise has represented life sciences companies for more than 22 years. During that time he has worked with over 40 life sciences and medical products companies, assisting them with formation, public and private financing, licensing and technology transfer, mergers and acquisitions, and general commercial work. He has served as business advisor and outside general counsel to most of these companies. He has maintained close relations with technology transfer offices at research universities and has worked to educate the faculty and administration on legal issues. He has been a member of Georgia Bio since it was founded, and regularly moderates or presents at seminars and other meetings in the biotech community. Mr. Moise graduated with honors from The Citadel in 1971 and from Duke University School of Law in 1974. He began practicing law in Atlanta in 1978 after four years in the U.S. Army JAG Corps.

For a list of past awards recipients, http://www.gabio.org/attachments/3/200800031200GaBio%20Awards% 20Recipients.pdf. (Due to its length, this URL may need to be copied/pasted into your Internet browser's address field. Remove the extra space if one exists.)

Georgia Bio (www.gabio.org) is the private, non-profit association representing the life sciences industry in Georgia. Its 320 members include pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device companies, universities, research institutes, government groups and other business organizations involved in the development of products that improve healthcare, agriculture, industrial and bioenergy production and environmental management.

Note to Editors: Credentialed members of the news media are invited to attend. Registration is complimentary. Please contact Maria Thacker (404-920-2042; [e-mail]).