The BIAL Foundation was honoured with a state commendation in the year it celebrates 30 years since its creation in 1994, by the pharmaceutical company BIAL, together with the Council of Rectors of Portuguese Universities.
On 20th February, the President of the Republic conferred the insignia of Honorary Member of the Order of Merit upon the BIAL Foundation. The members of the Foundation's Board of Directors, Luís Portela (Chairman), Daniel Bessa, Nuno Sousa, Miguel Portela and Patrícia Teixeira Lopes, as well as Secretary General Paula Guedes, attended the ceremony, which took place at the Palácio de Belém.
The Order of Merit is intended to award meritorious acts or services performed in the exercise of any functions, whether public or private, that demonstrate selflessness for the collective good. According to Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, "the BIAL Foundation has demonstrated true merit in fostering knowledge, science, research and the future of us all".
For Luís Portela, Founder and Chairman of the BIAL Foundation, "this honour is a great incentive for us to continue, increasingly and more effectively, supporting the science that is done in health, and striving to contribute to people having more and better knowledge, more and better health, more and better life".
In the message he recorded for the BIAL Award in Biomedicine 2023 ceremony, which took place the same day in Lisbon, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa congratulated the BIAL Foundation on its 30th anniversary, highlighting "its remarkable journey" and expressing "profound admiration for the work it has done, always aiming to promote and disseminate excellence in research".
Photo credits: Presidency of the Portuguese Republic
