Last month the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) honored CSL Behring with its 2011 Corporate Award for “new treatments brought to market for patients with rare diseases.” The award was presented during the NORD Partners in Progress Celebration 2011 on May 17, 2011, at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, DC.
CSL Behring develops and manufactures therapies for several types of bleeding disorders. In February 2011 the company’s product Corifact™, a plasma-derived factor XIII (FXIII) therapy, received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for the routine prophylactic treatment of congenital FXIII deficiency.
Factor XIII deficiency, a very rare disorder affecting approximately 150 people in the U.S, can be associated with prolonged, trauma-related bleeding. More severely affected patients are at risk for head bleeds. Women who go untreated risk spontaneous abortion. Men with the deficiency may show signs of infertility. Common symptoms include soft tissue bleeds, menorrhagia, joint bleeding and persistent bleeding during circumcision or at the site of the umbilical cord.
“CSL Behring is honored to receive this NORD Corporate Award,” said Paul Perreault, CSL Behring Executive Vice President for Worldwide Commercial Operations and incoming president. “People with rare diseases often face a host of challenges in being accurately diagnosed and in gaining ongoing access to appropriate medical care. CSL Behring focuses on these areas and partners with groups such as NORD to improve patients’ lives. We commend NORD for their outstanding achievements and dedication to supporting people with rare diseases.”
NORD is a patient advocacy organization that advances the causes of people with rare diseases. It provides support for orphan product research used to treat serious conditions that affect fewer than 200,000 people. It develops and advocates on public policy issues before Congress and health agencies.
Source: CSL Behring news release dated May 17, 2011
