COLUMBIA, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 16, 2009-- A research and development team at W. R. Grace & Co. (NYSE:GRA) has received an Innovator of the Year Award from The Daily Record.

The award acknowledges the team’s work on the design, development and launch of the REVELERIS™ flash chromatography system (patents pending). The REVELERIS™ system is used by medicinal chemists during the purification of compounds that may become new drugs. With proprietary detection and cartridge technologies, the REVELERIS™ system helps yield more samples with fewer impurities in less time, ultimately assisting pharmaceutical companies to bring potentially life saving medications to market sooner.

The award is presented annually to 25 individuals, teams, agencies or companies for their innovative impact in the business world and local community. Recipients are selected by a review committee overseen by The Daily Record, a business journal that has been published for 121 years in Maryland.

Joanne Green, Vice President of Grace Davison Discovery Sciences, with global oversight of the REVELERIS product, officially accepted the award at a community event held at the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland on October 14.

She said, “I am extremely pleased to accept this award on behalf of the entire Grace organization. Around the world, we are focused on finding innovative solutions to the needs of our customers and communities.”

She continued, “I’d like to especially thank the team responsible for REVELERIS. They worked with colleagues, customers, universities and suppliers in the spirit of open innovation and created a product that I am proud and excited to have in our business portfolio.”

This is the fifth distinction for REVELERIS™ since its official launch in March 2009. It received the 2009 Industrial Design Award (Bronze Level) from Instrument Business Outlook for the product’s aesthetics, functionality and features; and the 2009 R&D 100 Award from R&D Magazine as one of the top 100 technical achievements of the year. It was also named a Finalist in Laboratory Equipment Magazine’s 2009 Readers’ Choice Awards and supported Grace’s selection for a P&B Exceptional 53 Award from the Gazette of Politics and Business. Information on the REVELERIS™ system is available online at: www.discoverysciences.com/Reveleris.

Grace Davison Discovery Sciences, the maker of the REVELERIS™ system, is an established leader in silica chromatographic media and detector technologies. Discovery Sciences markets an array of products for the life science, pharmaceutical, anesthesiology, forensic and biotechnology industries, including liquid and gas chromatography columns, detectors, instruments, accessories, bulk media and purification systems.

Grace is a leading global supplier of catalysts and other products to petroleum refiners; catalysts for the manufacture of plastics; silica-based engineered and specialty materials for a wide range of industrial applications; sealants and coatings for food and beverage packaging, and specialty chemicals, additives and building materials for commercial and residential construction. Founded in 1854, Grace has operations in over 40 countries. For more information, visit Grace's web site at www.grace.com.

Source: W. R. Grace & Co.

W. R. Grace & Co.
Media Relations:
Michael Early, +1 410-531-8802
michael.early@grace.com