Dyax Corp. And The U.S. Hereditary Angioedema Association (HAEA) Launch The HAE Hope Essay Contest On The Fourth Annual Hereditary Angioedema Day

New contest offers a platform to share, educate and inspire others with HAE, a rare and potentially life-threatening disease

BURLINGTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--To mark the fourth annual Hereditary Angioedema (HAE) Day, Dyax Corp. and the HAEA today announced the launch of the HAE Hope Essay Contest. By drawing from the inspiring stories of individuals with HAE nationwide, the program seeks to underscore the value of hope for those living with this potentially life-threatening condition. HAE is characterized by spontaneous episodes of edema, or swelling, in the face, feet, hands, throat, and abdomen.

“People with HAE are very generous with one another, especially in their willingness to provide support”

HAEHope.com is asking eligible HAE patients across the country to submit essays that will focus on one of two themes: 1) What I would tell my 12 year old self about living with HAE, or 2) I have HAE, HAE does not have me. A multi-disciplinary panel consisting of physicians, nurses, patients and advocacy representatives will evaluate each submission. The two winning essay entrants are eligible to receive a cash award and will be recognized at the HAEA Patient Summit taking place October 9-11, 2015 in Denver, Colorado. A matching donation will be given to the HAEA Scholarship Fund in the winners‘ names. Program submissions will be used to inform the development of support services and educational materials for HAE patients nationwide.

“People with HAE are very generous with one another, especially in their willingness to provide support,” said Gustav Christensen, President and Chief Executive Officer of Dyax. “This contest offers a new forum for that support through creativity, self-expression and first-hand insights about living with HAE. At Dyax, we work closely with HAE patients to understand how this condition affects their lives and how we can help meet their unique needs. Every day we hear their stories of hope, courage and survival. Through this essay program, we seek to honor those experiences and share the inspiration that drives us towards a future where HAE no longer limits peoples’ lives.”

“For over 15 years the HAEA has helped patients and their families overcome challenges associated with HAE and strengthen the HAE community,” said Anthony Castaldo, President of the U.S. HAEA. “Each person involved in this contest will be helping to inspire others through their personal stories and raise awareness about this rare and potentially life-threatening disease.”

Although HAE can be diagnosed through a simple blood test, the disease is frequently undetected or misdiagnosed due to its rarity and the similarity of its symptoms to more common conditions. In the spirit of HAE Day, HAEHope.com seeks to raise awareness of this little known condition and honor those individuals living with HAE.

HAE Hope Essay Contest details can be found on www.HAEHope.com, a support website sponsored by Dyax.

About HAE Day
In 2012, the United States Senate passed a resolution recognizing May 16 as HAE Day. HAE Day aims to raise awareness of HAE among the general public and medical community, in an effort to promote better care and earlier, more accurate, diagnosis. This event was initiated by the HAEi, the International Patient Organization for C1-Inhibitor Deficiencies, along with the support of its national member organizations, including the HAEA. For more information about HAE Day, please visit www.haeday.org.

About HAE
Hereditary angioedema is a rare acute inflammatory condition characterized by episodes of severe, often painful swelling affecting the extremities, gastrointestinal tract, genitalia, and larynx. HAE is caused by low or dysfunctional levels of C1 esterase inhibitor (C1-INH), a naturally occurring molecule that inhibits plasma kallikrein, a key mediator of inflammation, and other serine proteases in the blood. HAE is estimated to affect up to 1 in 50,000 individuals. Learn more at www.HAEHope.com.

About the HAEA
Founded and staffed by HAE patients and HAE patient caregivers, the HAEA is a non-profit patient advocacy organization dedicated to serving persons with angioedema. The association provides HAE patients and their families with a support network and a wide range of services including physician referrals, and individualized patient support. Its goal is to increase awareness of HAE by providing patients and physicians with authoritative and readily accessible information. The HAEA is committed to advancing and conducting clinical research designed to improve the lives of HAE patients and ultimately find a cure. For more information about the HAEA, please visit www.haea.org.

About Dyax
Dyax is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel biotherapeutics for unmet medical needs. The Company currently has one marketed product for the treatment of sudden attacks of HAE in patients 12 year of age and older, and one product candidate in clinical development for the prevention of HAE attacks.

Dyax’s proprietary phase display technology has produced large diverse libraries of antibodies, peptides and small proteins, and the Company has broadly licensed this technology under its Licensing and Funded Research Portfolio (LFRP). The current portfolio includes one FDA approved product for which Dyax receives royalties, and multiple product candidates in various stages of clinical development for which the Company is eligible to receive future milestones and/or royalties.

For additional information about Dyax, please visit www.dyax.com.

Disclaimer
This press release contains forward-looking statements. Statements that are not historical facts are based on Dyax’s current expectations, beliefs, assumptions, estimates, forecasts and projections about the industry and markets in which Dyax operates. The statements contained in this release are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions, which are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed in such forward-looking statements because of risks, uncertainties and assumptions involved in any future projections. There are many factors that could cause actual results to differ from these forward-looking statements, including: risks and uncertainties surrounding the launch of the HAEHope.com essay program; risks and uncertainties relating to the clinical development and regulatory approval of candidates in Dyax’s internal pipeline; Dyax’s dependence on the expertise, effort, priorities and contractual obligations of third parties in the development of candidates in Dyax’s internal pipeline and in the marketing, sales and distribution of Dyax’s approved product; competition from new and existing treatments for HAE; the uncertainty of patent and intellectual property protection relating to Dyax’s approved product, Dyax’s internal pipeline and Dyax’s LFRP; Dyax’s dependence on licensees and collaborators for development, clinical trials, manufacturing, sales and distribution of product candidates in the LFRP; uncertainties as to whether one or more product candidates in the LFRP will achieve development and regulatory milestones and be commercialized and generate royalties; uncertainties regarding licensee’s ability to successfully market approved product; and other risk factors described or referred to in Item 1A, “Risk Factors” in Dyax’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and other periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Dyax cautions investors not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this release. These statements speak only as of the date of this release, and Dyax undertakes no obligations to update or revise these statements, except as may be required by law.

HAEhope.com is sponsored by Dyax Corp. Dyax and the Dyax logo are registered marks of Dyax Corp.

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