Cambridge Chamber of Commerce Names 2022 Visionary Award Winners

(October 26, 2022) – The Cambridge Chamber of Commerce today announced that eight organizations have been selected as winners of the organization’s Fifth Annual Visionary Awards. The awards, which are presented to local businesses, corporations, employees, educators, executives, and social service organizations that are helping to transform the world by way of groundbreaking collaboration and discovery, will be formally presented on Thursday, November 17th at the Royal Sonesta Hotel.

The Cambridge Chamber of Commerce is the first business trade association in Massachusetts to recognize local companies, schools, arts and culture centers, and social service organizations for their efforts to advance the city, its residents and Massachusetts through unheralded initiatives and programs. 2022 award winners include:

Life Sciences/Pharmaceuticals

• Takeda Global Oncology President

Teresa Bitetti, who joined Takeda amid a global pandemic as president of the global oncology business unit, forged a partnership with the company’s internal R&D organization to build out a unique commercial operation centered around insights and analytics. Bitetti’s innovative, collaborative approach identifies pipeline priorities and maximizes access to 15 medicines under development, including six that are in late-stage development.

• Pfizer

Pfizer’s Paxlovid Discovery and Development Team’s courageous work resulted in the design and delivery of Paxlovid, a lifesaving treatment for severe CoV2 infection and the first oral anti-COVID agent to receive Emergency Use Authorization in the United States.

• Amgen Innovation Center

The Amgen Operations East Coast Innovation Center achieved significant improvements to the environmental sustainability of manufacturing LUMAKRAS™ (sotorasib), a small molecule that is the active ingredient in novel treatments of non-small cell lung cancer. The improved manufacturing process substantially reduced waste, decreased manufacturing time and improved overall sustainability of production. Amgen estimates the green program will reduce waste by up to 31.7 million pounds annually.

• Sanofi

Sanofi Research and Development teams secured first-of-a-kind FDA approval for novel therapies targeting two rare conditions. Xenpozyme was endorsed for treatment of non-central nervous system manifestations of acid sphingomyelinase deficiency (ASD) and Dupixent was approved for treatment of adult patients with prurigo nodularis, a debilitating skin disease.

Medical Services

• Pro EMS Solutions

Pro EMS Solutions partnered and supported the City of Cambridge’s pandemic response by assigning staff members to work at COVID-19 testing sites and deliver crucial life-saving PPP supplies to senior living facilities. The innovative program created by CEO Bill Mergendahl incorporated administrative support, and logistics management, thereby allowing healthcare facilities and other organizations to customize individual solutions as needed.

Nonprofit

• Cambridge Community Center

The Cambridge Community Center (CCC) implemented an innovative response to growing needs of the community that arose due to the COVID-19 pandemic. CCC nimbly reached out to every consumer that had accessed services since 2011 and connected more than 1,000 local families to an ongoing, safe and socially-distanced Food and Supply Pantry.

Real Estate

• Senné

Senné, an industry-leading real estate advisory and investment founded in Cambridge, has partnered with the City of Cambridge’s Emergency Services on an initiative that identifies immediate housing availability for residents who are displaced by fire or other community disaster events.

Technology

• The Engine

Built by MIT, The Engine is a venture firm that provides a breeding ground for scientists and engineers to gain a competitive advantage in “Tough Tech” by allowing for access to high-cost equipment and research space that otherwise poses a high barrier to marketplace entry. The game-changing approach to technology utilization empowers the brightest minds to tackle the biggest global challenges of our time.

About the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce

The Cambridge Chamber of Commerce is a citywide business organization dedicated to promoting and connecting businesses, universities, and non-profits in advancement of fostering a thriving, equitable, and innovative economic community. The Chamber’s diverse membership represents all sectors of the economy – from high tech and life science to hospitality, higher education, healthcare, and mom-and-pop – while offering a direct link to the institutions, organizations, and community leaders that make Cambridge a one-of-a-kind, world-class destination and global leader in academia, life sciences, research, and software development.

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Press Contact: Nancy Donohue, (617) 876-4213, ndonohue@cambridgechamber.org