A pair of biotech researchers are $3 million richer

The Breakthrough Prize, a Silicon Valley-funded contest that bills itself as the “Oscars of science,” has chosen the duo behind Biogen’s Spinraza among its 2018 honorees, offering up the richest reward in the field.

C. Frank Bennett, head of research at Ionis Pharmaceuticals, and Adrian Krainer, a biochemist at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, will split a $3 million purse for their work discovering the treatment, which is approved to treat the rare and deadly spinal muscular atrophy. They’ll collect their award at Pierce Brosnon-hosted gala on Nov. 4.

Among the other winners are researchers from MIT, Harvard, and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

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