Wyeth and Advocacy Community Mark Continued Commitment to Patient Care on World Hemophilia Day

Collegeville, Pa. (ANTARA News/PRNewswire-AsiaNet) — In honor of the twentieth Anniversary of World Hemophilia Day, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth (NYSE: WYE), together with the World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH), announce the addition of five new partnerships to the WFH Twinning Program. Begun in 1994, the Twinning Program aims to increase the level of diagnosis and care for people with hemophilia by pairing emerging treatment centers and patient organizations with more established centers and organizations around the world. Wyeth has been the sole corporate sponsor of the program since 2001, which now includes a total of 31 partnerships worldwide.

“Wyeth recognizes that effective collaboration between advocacy organizations and industry can help people with chronic illnesses such as hemophilia,” says Angela Rossetti, Assistant Vice President, and Global Business Manager for Wyeth Hemophilia. “Our continued support of the Twinning Program — now in its 16th year — and other advocacy initiatives is part of a global collaborative effort designed to help patients with hemophilia and their families receive access to better care.”

The new Twinning partnerships include the following Hemophilia Treatment Center Twins: Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) and Chapel Hill (North Carolina, USA); Dakar (Senegal) and Paris (France); Quito (Ecuador) and Caracas (Venezuela); Manipal (India) and Albuquerque, (New Mexico, USA); Skopje (Macedonia) and Bonn (Germany). For more information on the Twinning Program and to view a video of the Lima (Peru) and Fort Worth (Texas, USA) Twin in action, visit www.wfh.org.

“World Hemophilia Day is an opportunity for all of us in the bleeding disorders community to celebrate our achievements and raise awareness,” said Mark Skinner, WFH president. “The theme of this year’s World Hemophilia Day, ‘Together, we care’ embodies our spirit of collaboration to work together to improve care for people with bleeding disorders. We are grateful to Wyeth for its support of our programs, especially the Twinning Program, which play a key role in achieving our vision of Treatment for All.”

THE HEMOPHILIA COMMUNITY AND WYETH: A HISTORY OF PARTNERSHIP

Support of Children’s Camping Initiatives

For years, Wyeth has recognized the importance of the summer camp experience to children in the bleeding disorders community. Since 1998, Wyeth has been a major sponsor of Barretstown in Ireland — an innovative recreational facility — where children with serious illnesses, including children with hemophilia, can participate in a range of fun activities that also are designed to promote self-confidence, independence, trust and coping skills. In addition to its ongoing support, Wyeth works with Barretstown to help run special camps for children with hemophilia.

Wyeth is also the founding and exclusive sponsor of NACCHO (North American Camping Conference of Hemophilia Organizations). The annual NACCHO conference is dedicated to the sharing of best practices for bleeding disorder summer camps. Through NACCHO, children attending summer camp also have the opportunity to participate in Leading Edge: Exploring the Outer Limits, a nationally run adventure program that focuses on self-confidence development for youth and adolescents in the bleeding disorders community. Through its grants to NACCHO, Wyeth has supported 1,000 campers nationally, and 500 campers internationally.

Wyeth-Sponsored Support Programs

Education and access to care are critical to the health and well-being of patients with hemophilia. In addition to other initiatives that support the bleeding disorders community, Wyeth proudly awards scholarships to deserving students who have hemophilia. For the 2008-2009 academic year alone, Wyeth awarded up to $100,000 to students with bleeding disorders seeking collegiate, graduate and vocational degrees. Wyeth also works to help patients with hemophilia maintain access to hemophilia therapy. Through its Factor Resource Program, Wyeth provides services designed to assist patients experiencing financial hardship or treatment access issues, including the Insurance-Coverage Program and the Patient Assistance Program. Individuals can get more information about these programs through the Wyeth Hemophilia Hotline (1-888-999-2349).

Source: ANTARA