Before I joined the staff at FierceBiotech, sometime last year, I was in an auditorium at Millennium in Cambridge, MA, listening to someone introduce Deborah Dunsire before she was to give a speech on trends in oncology drug development. Among her list of accomplishments was that she had recently been named one of Fierce's Top 10 Women in Biotech. "Good choice," I thought, but I didn't think much about why it's important to recognize the feats of women involved in the industry.
That really hit me later, a few weeks ago actually. When I was having a chat with one of Dunsire's female colleagues at Takeda during a meeting in Boston, I learned that Dunsire has led gatherings with other women working for the Japan-based drug powerhouse and that she is viewed as a role model for many women in the company.
I wasn't surprised, but this information made me realize something. Beyond spotlighting extraordinary women in the drug-development game, the profiles of honorees we share in our Top 10 Women in Biotech feature provide snapshots of what success for women in the industry looks like. Maybe a female reader sees the feature and gets a jolt of inspiration from women like Dunsire, the CEO of Millennium, and the other fantastic executives we honored last year.
So help us make this happen again. We're now accepting nominations of more inspiring women for this feature. Please get your nominations (make as many as you'd like) in as soon as possible and no later than the close of the business day on Oct. 21. Here's the online nomination form. You can get updates on Fierce's Top 10 Women in Biotech on Twitter. - Ryan McBride (twitter | email)
See the 2010 Women in Biotech honorees.