KING OF PRUSSIA,
Pa., April 17,
2014 /PRNewswire/ -- CSL Behring announced today
that the company will continue its ongoing commitment to the global
coagulation disorders community with a donation of product to the
World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH). The donation, provided in
connection with World Hemophilia Day on April 17, supports WFH's Global Alliance for
Progress (GAP) program aimed at improving the diagnosis and
treatment of bleeding disorders in developing countries.
"As we enter our fifth year of supporting GAP, CSL Behring
is proud to continue its strong commitment to the global
coagulation disorders community," said Paul
Perreault, CEO and Managing Director of CSL Behring. "CSL
Behring and WFH are partners who share the goals of improving the
lives of patients with bleeding disorders and making a meaningful
difference in those regions of the world where management of VWD
and hemophilia is a poorly met need."
In 2009, CSL Behring was the first manufacturer in the
world to commit to a three-year contract with WFH to aid the GAP
program with coagulation factor donations. The donations were made
in installments of 2 million international units three times during
the life of the contract, for a total volume of 6 million
international units (IUs). CSL Behring has since renewed its
product donation contract with WFH, for the period 2013 through
2015.
CSL Behring's most recent donation includes more than
650,000 international units of product used in treating von
Willebrand Disease (VWD) and hemophilia. Product making up the
donation has been manufactured at CSL Behring's Broadmeadows plant
in Australia, and the CSL Behring
plant in Marburg, Germany, using
plasma collected by CSL Plasma in the
United States.
"We take great pride in the progress of the GAP program
and are grateful for the generous donations made by CSL Behring,"
said Alain Weill, President of the
WFH. "We look forward to our continued partnership as we strive to
help fulfill our commitment to introduce clotting factor
concentrates in developing countries where these products might not
otherwise be available."
About Hemophilia and von Willebrand Disease
Hemophilia is a congenital bleeding disorder characterized by
prolonged or spontaneous bleeding, especially into the muscles,
joints, or internal organs. In nearly all cases, it affects only
males. The disease is caused by deficient or defective blood
coagulation proteins known as factor VIII or IX. The most common
form of the disease is hemophilia A, or classic hemophilia, in
which the clotting factor VIII is either deficient or defective.
Hemophilia B is characterized by deficient or defective factor IX.
Hemophilia A affects approximately 1 in 5,000 to 10,000 people.
Hemophilia B affects approximately 1 in 25,000 to 50,000 people.
The recommended treatment for people with hemophilia deficiency is
to treat by replacement factor therapy.
Von Willebrand disease, the most common hereditary
bleeding disorder in the United
States, affects approximately 1 to 2 percent of the U.S.
population.1 It is caused by a deficiency or abnormality
of the von Willebrand factor, a protein in the blood that is
necessary for normal blood clotting. Men and women are equally
likely to be affected by VWD. VWD is classified by type of defect,
ranging from Type I (the most common and mildest) to Type III (the
least common and most severe).
VWD is caused by a deficiency or abnormality of VWF, a
protein in the blood that is necessary for normal blood clotting.
Factor VIII replacement therapy, which is also part of the CSL
Behring donation, works by replacing the VWF/FVIII complex that is
deficient or defective in patients with VWD. The concentrate is
purified from pooled human plasma from many carefully screened
plasma donors and contains the clotting proteins VWF and
FVIII.
About the Global Alliance for Progress
The
Global Alliance for Progress (GAP) is a 10-year healthcare
development project, launched in 2003. GAP's goal is to greatly
increase the diagnosis and treatment of people with hemophilia and
other bleeding disorders in developing countries.
The program aims to close the gap between the number of
people born with hemophilia and those who reach adulthood, the gap
between the estimated and actual number of people diagnosed with
bleeding disorders, and the gap between the volume of treatment
product needed versus what is available. GAP partners include CSL
Behring and other companies, the Jan Willem Andre de la Porte
Family Foundation and the World Health Organization (WHO). Twenty
countries have participated in GAP: Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, China, Ecuador, Egypt, Georgia, Jordan, Lebanon, Mexico, Moldova, Morocco, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Syria, Thailand, Tunisia and South
Africa. Colombia,
Brazil, Mexico and Honduras are the first new countries to
participate in the GAP Second Decade program.
About the World Federation of Hemophilia
For 50 years, the World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH), an
international not-for-profit organization, has worked to improve
the lives of people with hemophilia and other inherited bleeding
disorders. Established in 1963, it is a global network of patient
organizations in 122 countries and has official recognition from
the World Health Organization. Visit WFH online at
www.wfh.org
About CSL Behring
CSL Behring is a leader in the plasma protein therapeutics
industry. Committed to saving lives and improving the quality of
life for people with rare and serious diseases, the company
manufactures and markets a range of plasma-derived and recombinant
therapies worldwide. CSL Behring therapies are indicated for the
treatment of coagulation disorders including hemophilia and von
Willebrand disease, primary immune deficiencies, hereditary
angioedema and inherited respiratory disease. The company's
products are also used in cardiac surgery, organ transplantation,
burn treatment and to prevent hemolytic diseases in newborns. CSL
Behring operates one of the world's largest plasma collection
networks, CSL Plasma. CSL Behring is a subsidiary of CSL Limited
(ASX: CSL), a biopharmaceutical company headquartered in
Melbourne, Australia. For more
information, visit www.cslbehring.com.
Contact:
Sheila A. Burke, Director,
Communications & Public Relations
Worldwide Commercial Operations CSL Behring
C: 484-919-2618
O: 610-878-4209
Sheila.Burke at cslbehring.com
SOURCE CSL Behring