BERKELEY, Calif., July 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Furthering its commitment to the bleeding disorders community and to advancing state-of-the-art hemophilia care, Bayer HealthCare announced today that it is awarding more than $2 million in funding to support 20 individuals pursuing innovative hemophilia research and education projects around the world. Launched in 2002, the Bayer Hemophilia Awards Program (BHAP) has awarded more than $13 million in funding to 118 hemophilia researchers and caregivers over the last five years. This year’s 20 BHAP grant recipients - representing 12 different countries - were honored at an awards dinner held last evening at the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis Congress in Geneva, Switzerland.
“With the patient as its central focus, BHAP aims to encourage researchers, clinicians, and caregivers to help advance hemophilia care on a global scale, whether it is through cutting-edge research or comprehensive training and education,” said Glenn Pierce, MD, PhD, Vice President, Applied Research and U.S Medical Affairs, Hematology/Cardiology, Bayer HealthCare. “We commend each of the BHAP award recipients on their unyielding dedication to the bleeding disorders community. Their work plays a large role in extending and improving the lives of the 400,000 people around the world living with hemophilia.”
Lack of funding continues to be a major barrier to improved treatment in hemophilia care.(1) Through grants provided to early career investigators, fellows in training, and other hemophilia care professionals, Bayer seeks to support basic and clinical research and education in hemophilia. The awards also encourage new physicians to enter the field of hemophilia. Bayer’s grant program encompasses four award categories: Early Career Investigators, Clinical Training, Special Projects and Caregivers Education.
The Special Projects award is designed to support a wide range of research projects in the field of hemophilia. The award encourages hypothesis-driven research, where the investigator is attempting to prove or disprove a set of assumptions.
Special Projects grant recipient Thierry VandenDriessche will use the Bayer funding to research ways to block the activation of B cells in an effort to prevent the formation of inhibitors following treatment with factor VIII. Inhibitors are antibodies that can inactivate the clotting factors of hemophilia therapies, and are considered a major complication in hemophilia treatment. “Patients with inhibitors have a particularly increased risk of developing potential life-threatening bleeds and bleeds that are difficult to treat, which can affect their overall quality of life,” said VandenDriessche, University of Leuven & Flanders Institute of Biotechnology, Belgium. “B cells in the body make the antibodies that neutralize factor VIII, but these cells need to be activated before they can start making these antibodies. If we could manage to prevent inhibitor formation by blocking these signals, we could ultimately improve overall patient outcomes.”
Another important Special Project funded this year is a sub-study to the International Immune Tolerance Induction (I-ITI) Study. The I-ITI study is the only randomized multi-center trial of immune tolerance therapy. The sub-study will help investigate the immunological mechanisms associated with inhibitors. Grant recipient and sub-study lead investigator Christoph Koenigs, J.W. Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany said, “Intensive analysis of these mechanisms will hopefully provide a basis for development of specific treatments of inhibitors that best meet the individual patient’s needs, ultimately overcoming the problem of inhibitors.”
Following is a full listing of 2007 BHAP recipients: Early Career Investigators -- Patricia Bare, National Academy of Medicine, Buenos Aires, Argentina -- Luciano Baronciani, University of Milan, Italy -- Yesmin Dargaud, Hospital Edouard Herriot, Lyon, France -- Neil Goldenberg, University of Colorado at Denver Health Sciences Center, Aurora, Colo., USA -- Paula James, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada Clinical Training -- Shannon Jackson, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada -- Lei Zhang, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Tianjin, PR China Special Projects -- Philip Fay, University of Rochester School of Medicine, Rochester, N.Y., USA -- Roland Herzog, University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla., USA -- Christoph Koenigs, J.W. Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany -- Mark Smith, Canterbury District Health Board, Christchurch, New Zealand -- Thierry VandenDriessche, University of Leuven & Flanders Institute of Biotechnology, Belgium -- Kathleen Pratt, Puget Sound Blood Center, Seattle, Wash., USA Caregivers Education -- Khem Chanthorn, Cambodia Hemophilia Association, Phnom Penh, Cambodia -- Robyn Devenish, National Pediatric Hospital, Phnom Penh, Cambodia -- Elizabeth Fung, Children’s Memorial Hospital, Chicago, Ill., USA -- Aron Tecle Hidru, National Hemophilia Association of Eritrea, Asmara, Eritrea -- Richa Mohan, Society for Hemophilia Care, Ghaziabad, India -- Kale Shripad, Comprehensive Care Hemophilia K.E.M Hospital and Mumbai Hemophilia Chapter, Mumbai, India -- Buth Sokhal, National Institute of Public Health, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
“These award recipients are global leaders in the field of hemophilia research and education,” said David Lillicrap, M.D., chairman of the BHAP grant review committee, and Professor in the Department of Pathology & Molecular Medicine, Queen’s University, Canada. “Since the program’s inception, nearly 70 research reports supported by BHAP have been published in prestigious medical journals, or presented at international medical congresses.”
For more information on BHAP - one of the largest grant programs of its kind in the industry - visit www.bayer-hemophilia-awards.com.
Contact: Sreejit Mohan Bayer HealthCare 1+510-705-5477 Sreejit.mohan.b@bayer.com
About Hemophilia A
Hemophilia A, also known as factor VIII deficiency or classic hemophilia, is largely an inherited bleeding disorder in which one of the proteins needed to form blood clots in the body is missing or reduced. Hemophilia A, the most common type of hemophilia, is caused by deficient or defective blood coagulation proteins, known as factor VIII. Hemophilia A is characterized by prolonged or spontaneous bleeding, especially into the muscles, joints, or internal organs. Approximately 400,000 people around the world have hemophilia A.
About Bayer HealthCare LLC
Bayer HealthCare LLC is an affiliate of Bayer HealthCare AG, one of the world’s leading, innovative companies in the healthcare and medical products industry and based in Leverkusen, Germany. The company combines the global activities of the Animal Health, Consumer Care, Diabetes Care, and Pharmaceuticals divisions. The Pharmaceuticals division comprises the following business units: Women’s Healthcare, Diagnostic Imaging, Specialized Therapeutics, Hematology/Cardiology, Primary Care, and Oncology. Bayer HealthCare’s aim is to discover and manufacture products that will improve human and animal health worldwide. The products enhance well-being and quality of life by diagnosing, preventing and treating diseases.
Forward-looking statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer Group management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development, or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in our public reports filed with the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (including our Form 20-F). The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.
(1) Konkle, BA, et al. Uncertain times for research on hemophilia and allied disorders. Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis 2006; vol. 4, issue 3: 681-682.
Bayer HealthCare LLC
CONTACT: Sreejit Mohan of Bayer HealthCare LLC, +1-510-705-5477, orSreejit.mohan.b@bayer.com
Web site: http://www.bayer-hemophilia-awards.com/
