CSL Behring Donates Life-Saving Medicines to Developing Countries on World Hemophilia Day

CSL Behring marked World Hemophilia Day April 17 by shipping more than 10 million international units (IUs) of its medicines to treat hemophilia A to developing countries through the nonprofit World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH).

The medicines were sent to countries like Vietnam, Cameroon and others through the WFH’s Global Alliance for Progress (GAP) Program, which seeks to improve the diagnosis and treatment of bleeding disorders in developing countries.

The program is a healthcare development project launched in 2003, now in its second decade phase (2013-2022). The goals for GAP are to increase by 50,000 the worldwide number of people diagnosed with a bleeding disorder, as well as to ensure that 50 percent of those who are newly diagnosed are from the world’s most impoverished countries.

This donation is part of CSL Behring’s ongoing commitment to provide IUs of one or more of its medicines for bleeding disorders to the WFH over three years (from 2016 through 2018).

CSL Behring has provided coagulation factor donations and financial support for the WFH Humanitarian GAP Program since signing a multi-year agreement in 2009. By supporting World Hemophilia Day, CSL Behring seeks to increase global awareness of hemophilia and other inherited bleeding disorders.

“This year’s theme for World Hemophilia Day is ‘Sharing Knowledge Makes Us Stronger,'” Alain Baumann, CEO of the WFH, said in a press release. “There are millions of people around the world living with a bleeding disorder and using information and resources to improve diagnosis and access to care is one of our missions. A mission CSL Behring shares,” Baumann said.

“Understanding patient needs and advancing their access to care is a part of CSL Behring’s promise to the global bleeding disorders community,” said Jens Oltrogge, head of global commercial development hematology at CSL Behring. “WFH continues to improve patient lives through its humanitarian aid programs and this World Hemophilia Day we are proud to continue to support the organization’s missions to ensure patients have access to the medicines they need.”

CSL Behring is the maker of Afstyla (recombinant factor 8 single-chain), a clotting factor that has been shown in a 2017 study to be more effective than octocog alfa in patients with hemophilia A.

The findings were presented at the 2017 International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH) Congress and show that patients who are treated with Afstyla two or three times per week require less factor overall, compared with the standard acting product octocog alfa, to manage their condition.

The clotting factor Afstyla was developed by Korean SK Chemicals and licensed to CSL Behring in 2009.

CSL Behring also makes Idelvion (rIX-FP), a therapeutic medicine against hemophilia B. In 2017, the company received an Industry Innovation Award from the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) for developing the therapy.