WILMINGTON, Del., Jan. 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- AstraZeneca today announced its exclusive multi-year sponsorship of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) in expanding NAMI-C.A.R.E. [Consumers Advocating Recovery through Empowerment], a peer-based, mutual support group program for people with mental illness. This partnership will allow the existing NAMI-C.A.R.E. program to expand to all 50 states and Puerto Rico by 2009.
NAMI-C.A.R.E. sponsors support groups whose purpose is to help overcome isolation and to promote recovery for people challenged by any severe and persistent mental illness. During weekly 90-minute meetings, individuals share experiences, learn coping strategies and offer mutual understanding and encouragement as they seek to move forward in their lives.
"Because patient health is at the foundation of everything we do, we are pleased to be part of a program that will have a dramatic impact on the health of people with mental illness," said Tony Zook, president and chief executive officer of AstraZeneca LP. "Our responsibility to people goes beyond making cutting-edge medicines. We are committed to helping people achieve wellness and this includes making available important supportive services, like NAMI- C.A.R.E."
NAMI-C.A.R.E. is a grassroots movement that began in a local NAMI affiliate in suburban Chicago, Illinois, to meet the needs of its consumer members. Since then, people with depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders and other mental illnesses have found a supportive place with NAMI-C.A.R.E. in various cities throughout the country. The expansion of this program aims to have a support group available in every major city across the country, in English and Spanish, all under a central leadership with consistent training and materials.
"We look forward to enhancing our already successful partnership with AstraZeneca through the expansion of NAMI-C.A.R.E., a program that is especially important because building a strong support system provides the foundation for recovery," said Suzanne Vogel-Scibilia, M.D., president of the NAMI national board. "Many people with mental illness feel isolated and try to recover alone, but a powerful healing process occurs when people find that they have peers who share their experiences."
"AstraZeneca is proud to be supporting NAMI and the work they continue to do with NAMI-C.A.R.E.," said Marianne Jackson, executive director, commercial operations at AstraZeneca. "Together, we can enhance the support available to Americans for their mental illnesses and help make their lives more meaningful and productive."
About NAMI
NAMI (the National Alliance on Mental Illness) is the nation's largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to improving the lives of persons living with serious mental illness and their families. Founded in 1979, NAMI has over 1100 state and local affiliates across the country, engaged in research, education, support and advocacy.
About AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca is a major international health care business engaged in the research, development, manufacture and marketing of prescription pharmaceuticals and the supply of healthcare services. It is one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies with healthcare sales of $23.95 billion and leading positions in sales of gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, neuroscience, respiratory, oncology and infection products. In the United States, AstraZeneca is a $10.77 billion healthcare business with more than 12,000 employees. AstraZeneca is listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (Global) as well as the FTSE4Good Index.
For more information about AstraZeneca, please visit: http://www.astrazeneca-us.com.
This press release contains forward-looking statements with respect to AstraZeneca's business. By their nature, forward-looking statements and forecasts involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future. There are a number of factors that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially. For a discussion of those risks and uncertainties, please see the company's Annual Report/Form 20-F for 2005.
AstraZenecaCONTACT: Hugo Perez, AstraZeneca, +1-302-885-6809,hugo.perez@astrazeneca.com
Web site: http://www.astrazeneca-us.com/
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