Worldwide hemophilia treatment now 500 steps closer

The World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH) has had one billion international units (IUs) of clotting factor therapy donated for humanitarian aid programs.
The donation was announced at the recent WFH 2014 World Congress in Melbourne. Bigen Idec and and Swedish Orphan Biovitrum have committed to donating up to 500 million IUs to the WFH over five years with the remaining 500 million IUs of clotting factor made available for future distribution.
This donation is expected to enable a predictable, sustained humanitarian supply of factor therapy and improve the quality of patient care and outcomes in the developing world.
The commitment of one billion IUs of factor is intended to enable physicians to treat more than 75,000 joint bleeding episodes, more than 2,000 life threatening bleeding episodes as well as conduct thousands of elective surgical procedures that would not be possible without access to clotting factor.
“The WFH humanitarian aid program would exist in name only if not for the generous donations we receive from companies such as Biogen Idec and Sobi,” said WFH President Alain Weill. “Their generosity brings us 500 million steps closer to making the WFH vision of treatment for all a reality.”
“All of us at Biogen Idec are dedicated to making life better for people living with hemophilia,” said George A. Scangos, Ph.D., chief executive officer of Biogen Idec. “Hemophilia occurs all over the world, and this donation will provide some level of care to thousands of people who otherwise would not have access to treatment.”
“Our dialogue with the hemophilia community consistently highlights sustainable global equity as a major unmet need in the field,” said Geoffrey McDonough, president and chief executive officer of Sobi. “This donation is consistent with our patient-centered approach, and has the potential to transform the treatment model for people with hemophilia in developing countries. We are proud to partner with the WFH in their work.”
Under the terms of the agreement with WFH, at least 85 percent of donated factor will be Antihemophilic Factor VIII (Recombinant), Fc Fusion Protein for the treatment of hemophilia A, with the remainder comprised of Coagulation Factor IX (Recombinant), Fc Fusion Protein for the treatment of hemophilia B. The donation of Antihemophilic Factor VIII (Recombinant), Fc Fusion Protein is contingent upon approval of a Biologics License Application currently under review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Shipments for humanitarian programs are expected to begin in the second half of 2015.
Countries eligible for the WFH program use less than 1 IU of FVIII per capita. Due to the lack of treatment, people with severe hemophilia in these countries often do not survive to adulthood.
The WFH in an international not-for-profit organisation was established in 1963 to improve the lives of people with hemophilia and other inherited bleeding disorders. It is a global network of patient organisations in 122 countries and has official recognition from the World Health Organisation.