Part of an eight-year commitment to WFH; Changing the lives of people with hemophilia in 47 countries with limited access to treatment
BARCELONA, Spain, April 16, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Today, Grifols, S.A. (MCE: GRF, MCE: GRF.P and NASDAQ: GRFS) announced it has donated over 25 million international units (IU) of blood clotting factor medicines over the last year. This donation is part of Grifols' commitment to provide a minimum of 200M IU to the World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH) Humanitarian Aid Program over eight years starting in 2014. An estimated 400,000 people around the world have hemophilia, yet only 25% receive adequate treatment.
Grifols donation has helped to change the lives of patients in 47 countries where access to adequate treatment is often lacking or absent. As part of the Company's commitment to the program, Grifols expects to make another donation of nearly 25M IUs in 2018 to help even more patients around the world.
"On World Hemophilia Day, we celebrate our long-standing commitment to the bleeding disorders community," said Victor Grifols Deu, Co-CEO of Grifols. "Grifols is dedicated to supporting the mission of the WFH and we share the common goal of helping to ensure life-changing treatments reach patients who have little or no access to care."
Through the WFH Humanitarian Aid Program, Grifols has been able to transform the lives of hemophilia patients who had previously had little hope or ability to manage their disease. Because of the Company's donation patients around the world are able to proactively manage their disease by preventing serious bleeds that can lead to unbearable pain and even death. One patient named Francis told the WFH, "Fifteen years ago doctors would have told us to manage our bleeds by prescribing something for the pain, now we have access to treatment. I thank the WFH and its donors; you have given us all hope for the future."
Grifols produces plasma-derived medicines to treat rare, chronic diseases such as hemophilia and also develops solutions for the diagnoses of bleeding disorders. The company has increased its production of blood clotting factor medicines (Factor VIII and Factor IX) to specifically meet its donation commitment to this program. According the WFH, Grifols full donations will secure a projected average of 10,300 doses to treat approximately 6,000 patients per year in developing countries worldwide through 2021.
"The commitment that Grifols has made to the WFH Humanitarian Aid Program ensures access to treatment for many in need," said Alain Bauman, CEO, WFH, and Executive Director of WFH USA. "We are grateful for this continued support, helping us work towards our global mission." Grifols' donation also supports the second decade of the WFH Global Alliance for Progress (GAP) Program aimed at increasing the number of patients diagnosed and treated for bleeding disorders, particularly in the world's most impoverished countries.
For more information about the WFH, hemophilia and other bleeding disorders go to http://www.wfh.org/.
About the WFH Humanitarian Aid Program
For many developing countries, product donations are often the only source of treatment product for patients with hemophilia and other bleeding disorders. The WFH receives requests, many urgent in nature, from our national member organizations (NMOs) and from recognized hemophilia treatment centers (HTCs) around the world. An increasing number of collaborators within the global bleeding disorders community have accepted the challenge of providing a sustainable and predictable supply of donated products. Through the donation by Bioverativ and Sobi to the WFH Humanitarian Aid Program of up to 500 million IUs within five years, the Grifols eight-year commitment totaling 200 million IUs, the three year agreement with CSL Behring for a total of 10 million IUs, and the agreement with Green Cross for 6 million IUs, there will now be a more predictable and sustainable flow of humanitarian aid donations to the global community.
SOURCE Grifols
