BioUtah today announced its 2026 Life Sciences Awards. Five awards will be presented during the 2026 Utah Life Sciences Summit November 11 at the Hilton Salt Lake City Center Hotel. Mayer Brown is the event title sponsor. BioUtah's annual awards recognize leaders, innovators, entrepreneurs, and companies who have made significant contributions to the state's life sciences industry.
To register for the summit and learn more about the award winners visit utahlifesciencessummit.com.
"Every year, these awards remind us how much talent and commitment we have right here in Utah," said Kelvyn Cullimore, president and CEO of BioUtah. "This year's honorees have brought new medicines to patients, built companies from the ground up, advanced one of the nation's leading laboratories, and invested in the future of our industry. We are proud to honor their life-changing work for patients.”
"Utah's life sciences community continues to grow because of people and companies who are willing to take on some of our most serious healthcare challenges,” said Erin Barry, vice president of government affairs and chair of the BioUtah Board of Directors. "I look forward to celebrating this year's recipients at the summit."
Awards will be presented throughout the morning plenary session. The awards and winners are as follows:
Lifetime Achievement
Willard Dere, MD, Professor Emeritus at the University of Utah School of Medicine, for his decades of leadership in pharmaceutical development, spanning global roles at Eli Lilly and Amgen, service on the boards of biopharmaceutical companies, and years of overseeing research at the university. His work has helped bring important therapies to patients in osteoporosis, nephrology, inflammation, hematology, and oncology.
Dr. Dere began his career at Eli Lilly in 1989, holding global roles in clinical pharmacology, regulatory affairs, and translational and late-stage clinical research. He joined Amgen in 2003, where he served as head of global development and as both corporate and international chief medical officer. He retired from Amgen in 2014 and returned to the University of Utah.
Dr. Dere earned his undergraduate degree and his MD from the University of California, Davis, completed his internal medicine training at the University of Utah, and completed specialty training in endocrinology and metabolism at the University of California, San Francisco.
Executive of the Year
Andy Theurer, CEO of ARUP Laboratories, Salt Lake City, Utah, for his leadership in guiding ARUP, one of the nation's largest reference laboratories, through a period of continued growth and operational modernization. Theurer has served as CEO since July 2021, after holding the roles of president, chief financial officer, and senior vice president of finance at ARUP.
He is a member of the ARUP Board of Directors, where he served as secretary for more than 17 years, and serves on the board of directors of the American Clinical Laboratory Association.
Theurer is a certified public accountant and earned his Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from the University of Utah. He has published articles on laboratory economics and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Utah Association of Certified Public Accountants.
Entrepreneur of the Year
D. Clark Turner, PhD, CEO of Turner Innovations, Orem, Utah, for his record of founding companies and bringing new medical imaging technologies to market, resulting in 15 U.S. patents, with more pending, and more than 20 published technical papers.
As founder, president, and CEO of Aribex, Turner designed, built, and marketed the NOMAD handheld dental x-ray system. After Aribex was acquired by KaVo, a division of Danaher, Turner went on to found Turner Imaging Systems, which raised $17 million to develop the Smart-C x-ray system for sports medicine and military applications, and Turner Medtech, a medtech contract manufacturer.
He received the Utah Governor's Medal for Science and Technology in 2011 and holds a BS in Chemistry and a PhD in Analytical Chemistry from Brigham Young University.
Innovation Impact Award
Denali Therapeutics, Salt Lake City, Utah, for developing a platform technology that carries biotherapeutics across the blood-brain barrier, opening the door to new treatments for neurodegenerative and rare genetic diseases.
In March 2026, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to AVLAYAH® (tividenofusp alfa-eknm) for the pediatric treatment of neurologic manifestations of Hunter syndrome (MPS II), a rare inherited disorder that primarily affects young boys. AVLAYAH is the first FDA-approved medicine built on Denali's TransportVehicle™ platform and the first approved therapy designed to reach the brain in Hunter syndrome patients, giving families a new option at the point in a child's life when treatment can do the most good.
Led by CEO Ryan Watts, PhD, Denali is applying the same transport approach to other neurodegenerative conditions. While headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, Denali has a clinical manufacturing facility in Utah, bringing specialized talent and advanced biomanufacturing to the state.
Friend of the Industry
Dell Loy Hansen, founder and CEO of the Wasatch Group, Salt Lake City, Utah, for his investment and partnership in advancing Utah's life sciences ecosystem.
Widely known for his work in real estate, Hansen has made a substantial commitment to life sciences through Wasatch Health, a division of Wasatch Group that has invested in numerous Utah life sciences companies, including Canyon Labs, Nusano, Biomerics, and Avia Vascular. He has also supported several venture funds dedicated to investing in life sciences companies.
Hansen is currently building the Medical Innovation Technology Research Campus in West Valley City to provide space for life sciences companies to grow in Utah, and his charitable contributions have helped establish the University of Utah Center for Medical Innovation.
About BioUtah
BioUtah is an independent 501(c)(6) trade association serving Utah's life sciences industry. Its member companies reflect a broad spectrum of strengths in medical device manufacturing and services, research and testing, biotechnology, biopharmaceuticals, and diagnostics, amongst others; and are a key driver of Utah's economy and advancing healthcare.
SOURCE: BioUtah
