iBIO Announces 2025 iCON Awards Winners Honoring Illinois Life Sciences Leaders

iBIO Announces 2025 iCON Awards Winners Honoring Illinois Life Sciences Leaders

by John Conrad| Oct 28, 2025| iBIO News

iBIO (Illinois Biotechnology Innovation Organization) is proud to announce the winners of the 2025 iCON Awards, recognizing extraordinary leaders who have driven innovation and growth within Illinois's thriving life sciences community. Now in its 13th year, the iBIO iCON Awards have served as Illinois's premier life sciences celebration, recognizing entrepreneurs, researchers, and civic leaders who are driving growth in our life sciences community, while providing unparalleled opportunities to meet community leaders and fundraising to support iBIO's STEM mission of inspiring the next generation of innovators.

The 2025 honorees will be celebrated at the iBIO iCON Awards Dinner on Thursday, November 6th, 2025, from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Three Top Lounge at the Salt Shed. Registration is still open.

iBIO extends its deepest gratitude to Takeda, the lead sponsor of the 2025 iCON Awards, for their unwavering support and continued dedication to growing the Illinois life sciences industry and supporting the next generation of life sciences leaders.

2025 Civic iCON Award Winner: Timothy P. Walbert

The Civic iCON Award, which acknowledges outstanding contributions to the innovation-based economy in Chicago, Illinois, and the Midwest, will be presented to Timothy P. Walbert, former chairman, president and chief executive officer of Horizon Therapeutics.

Walbert's recognition reflects both his remarkable success in building Horizon Therapeutics into a global biopharmaceutical leader and his profound dedication to supporting the entire Illinois life sciences ecosystem. His leadership has extended far beyond his own company's success-he has been instrumental in creating the infrastructure and support systems that enable countless other entrepreneurs to thrive. Walbert's personal experience as both a patient and caregiver has made him a champion for patients and a model for all companies to follow in putting patient needs at the center of everything.

2025 iCON Entrepreneur Award Winner: Harry D. Rowland

The iCON Entrepreneur Award, recognizing an active business leader within the Illinois innovation ecosystem acknowledged by peers as a visionary in developing and scaling technology-driven ventures, will be presented to Harry D. Rowland.

Rowland recently served as co-founder, CEO, and President of Endotronix, where he led a team that created the Cordella System, raised more than $150 million in financing, built a 150+ person organization, completed the PROACTIVE-HF trial, and achieved FDA PMA approval, resulting in acquisition by Edwards Lifesciences in 2024. Dr. Rowland joined Edwards for the following year, supporting Cordella's receipt of CMS national coverage and CE Mark.

2025 iCON Innovator Award Winner: Brad Merrill, PhD

The iCON Innovator Award, recognizing an active researcher/scientist within life sciences education who is acknowledged by peers as a leader in biotechnology teaching and scholarship, will be presented to Brad Merrill, PhD, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics at the University of Illinois Chicago.

Dr. Merrill specializes in stem cell biology and CRISPR-based synthetic biology tools. He co-founded Syntax Bio with former PhD student Ryan Clarke to develop a modified CRISPR platform for generating therapeutic cells from stem cells. The company has raised $15 million, demonstrating the powerful intersection of academic excellence and commercial innovation.

2025 iCON Patient Advocate Award Winner: State Senator Adrianne Johnson

The iCON Patient Advocate Award, recognizing an elected or appointed official, community member, or organization within Illinois who is acknowledged by peers as a leader in improving patient access and healthcare outcomes, will be presented to State Senator Adrianne Johnson.

Senator Johnson's work to reduce barriers for diverse populations to access clinical trials has opened doors to potentially life-saving treatments for those who have historically been excluded from medical research, demonstrating her commitment to health equity across Illinois.

2025 iCON Community Impact Award Winner: Portal Innovations

The iCON Community Impact Award, recognizing an individual or organization within Illinois who is acknowledged by peers as a leader in addressing critical community needs, will be presented to Portal Innovations.

Portal Innovations is a life sciences venture development platform that invests in and supports early-stage science-based companies. Through its "Crafted Capital" model, Portal provides physical capital, financial capital, and human capital through fully-equipped lab space, investments in early-stage startups, and access to a global network of partners to accelerate an entrepreneur's path from research to fundraising, to commercialization. Portal was founded with a mission to amplify and elevate innovation in Chicago by building great companies while fostering idea sharing, delivering tailored programming, and building a community rooted in collaboration. Headquartered in Chicago, with a growing international footprint, Portal has become a catalytic force for the Midwest's life sciences ecosystem-attracting talent, investment, and high-impact companies.

"Having witnessed the evolution of Illinois's life sciences community throughout my career, I've seen firsthand the remarkable transformation of our ecosystem," said Ken Johnson, iBIO Board Chair and Vice President, Medical Affairs, Immedica North America. "This year's iCON Award recipients represent the very best of what makes our community exceptional-visionary leadership, unwavering commitment to patients, and a dedication to lifting up the next generation of innovators. Their contributions have not only advanced their own organizations but have strengthened the foundation for everyone working to make Illinois a global leader in life sciences."

For more information about the 2025 iBIO iCON Awards and to register for the awards dinner, please visit https://ibio.org/news-events/icon/.