Amgen Canada celebrated its grand opening today and announced the first Ontario recipient of the Amgen Award for Science Teaching Excellence (AASTE) at a special ceremony presided by local dignitaries and leaders in the Mississauga business community.
Amgen CEO Daniel Billen, together with the Ontario Minister of Small Business and Entrepreneurship Harinder Takhar, the parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Research and Innovation MPP Bob Delaney, Mississauga Brampton-South MPP Amrit Mangat and Mississauga’s Mayor Hazel McCallion, celebrated Amgen’s contribution and commitment to the biotech community in Ontario and Mississauga, specifically.
“Amgen is proud to contribute to the continuing growth and success of the bioscience industries in Canada,” said Daniel Billen, Vice President and General Manager, Amgen Canada. “Our company’s efforts in clinical operations, sales and marketing and other areas play a part in strengthening the Greater Toronto Area biotechnology cluster of companies, government and educational institutions and in growing Canada’s leadership in biotechnology.”
As the region’s biosciences sector has grown, Amgen has grown its own business in Canada, creating nearly 400 new jobs and introducing six innovative medicines to Canadian health care providers and patients.
In addition to developing medicines that improve the well-being of patients with serious illnesses, Amgen is also committed to investing in the communities where its staff members work and live. One such investment is the Amgen Award for Science Teaching Excellence (AASTE), available for the first time to teachers in Ontario and British Columbia.
This year’s Ontario AASTE recipient, Casey Wilson, received the AASTE award in recognition of her outstanding ability to inspire students and produce results in science education. Wilson received $5,000 and her school, William Grenville Davis Senior Public School in Brampton, ON, received $5,000 grant for the expansion or enhancement of a school science program, science resources, or the professional development of the school's science teachers.
“Receiving the AASTE award is such an honour”, says Wilson. “I strive every day to keep the spark of scientific inquiry alive in my students. My goal is to make science accessible, accurate and exciting to every student, no matter their ability.”
Amgen established the teacher awards program to demonstrate the company's commitment to advancing science education. Since the program's inception in the United States in 1992, Amgen has awarded more than $1.7 million to educators who have made exceptional science-teaching contributions and who have had a measurable impact on the lives of their students.
As a leader in innovation, Amgen Canada understands the value of science. With main operations located in Mississauga and its research facility in Burnaby, British Columbia, Amgen Canada has been an important contributor to advancements in science and innovation in Canada since 1991. The company contributes to the development of new therapies or new uses for existing medicines in partnership with many of Canada’s leading health-care, academic, research, government and patient organizations.
