Otto Schwarz Award

It is a while ago that I wrote a column and it time to start again.

Last week I received the prestigious Otto Schwarz Award from the Plasma Protein Therapeutics Association (PPTA). This Award is given to individuals that have shown leadership in the plasma protein industry. Many times I was able to present this award to winners and now I was the recipient. It is a strange but pleasant feeling.

Dr. Otto Schwarz was the co-founder of Immuno AG And one of the founders of what is now called PPTA. A gentleman of high integrity and a visionary of his time. I was very fortunate to know him personally and never forget my visit to him and his wife in Vienna in April 2012, 2 months before he passed away. He was very pleased with the visit and both he and his wife were nicely dressed for this occasion. We had lunch together in their home that was full of selected artwork.

I have known all the previous recipients personally and am very honored to be part of that elite group that include Knut Hansen, Jack Ryan, Steve Petteway, Reinhard Burger, Herbert Dichtelmueller, Larry Guiheen, Thomas Kreil, Hans Peter Schwarz, Shinji Wada and Paolo Marcucci.

In my next columns I will write more about some of the accomplishments of the previous winners.