Given Imaging and CIBA Vision Receive Eagle Star Awards

Given Imaging (www.givenimaging.com) was named "Israeli Company of the Year" at the Eagle Star Awards Gala on May 29th in recognition of their remarkable growth and U.S. market penetration from their North American headquarters in Norcross, Georgia. Atlanta-based CIBA Vision (www.cibavision.com) received the Eagle Star Award for "Deal of the Year" in recognition of their business relationship with Israel-based Optonol (www.optonol.com), bringing the Israeli innovation to glaucoma patients in Canada and the United States.

Organized by the American-Israel Chamber of Commerce, Southeast Region, to honor the people and companies who have contributed most to the Southeast-Israel business relationship, the event featured U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-Georgia) who shared insights into the new "Road Map to Peace" in the Middle East being advocated by the Bush Administration. Israel's Ambassador to the U.S. Daniel Ayalon, offered videotaped remarks, as he was called to an important meeting at the White House that day in preparation for the President's upcoming Summit with Israeli and Palestinian leaders.

Also recognized were AJ Robinson, new president of Central Atlanta Progress, who received the "Chamber Founders" award for his long time leadership with the American-Israel Chamber of Commerce. The Georgia Department of Industry Trade & Tourism received the "Community Partner" award in recognition of maintaining their Eastern Mediterranean office in Jerusalem for the past eight years.

Yokneam-based Given Imaging is the developer of the novel M2A "camera-in-pill", used in the diagnosis of gastrointestinal disorders including Crohn's Disease. Other finalists for "Israeli Company of the Year" were TTI Telecom (www.ttitelecom.com), a Petach Tikvah-based developer of network management solutions for the telecommunications industry, that has established a major development center in Atlanta; and Collgard Biopharmaceuticals (www.collgard.com), a Petach Tikvah-based developer of a biomedical platform aiding in the success of organ transplants and bladder cancer treatment which recently moved its headquarters from Boston to Atlanta.

CIBA Vision was recognized for its joint venture to market Israel-based Optonol's proprietary miniature shunt in the U.S. and Canada to treat glaucoma. Other finalists for "Deal of the Year" were TesCom (www.tescom-usa.com), a Tel Aviv-based software testing company with U.S. headquarters in Atlanta, that recently achieved a significant transaction with ING; and Herzliya-based Scitex Vision (www.scitexvision.com), a developer of equipment and software for wide-format printing that established its U.S. headquarters in Atlanta a few years ago.

AICC thanks our corporate sponsors for their support of the Gala: Cox Enterprises; Leader Publishing; The Coca-Cola Company; Lufthansa; Worldspan; Veritas Venture Partners; Jones Day; Needle & Rosenberg; Grant Thornton; Smith Gambrell & Russell; National Distributing Company; MarketOne; The Steinfeld Consultancy; Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta; and Consulate General of Israel.