PR95630

LACHEN, Switzerland, April 26, 2022 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/--

As part of its ongoing commitment to the global bleeding disorders community,

Octapharma is pleased to be a Gold Sponsor of the upcoming World Federation of

Haemophilia (WFH) 2022 World Congress, taking place from May 8 to 11, 2022.

This continues Octapharma's long history of involvement and support of the WFH

World Congress and the WFH community. This year's Congress will be a hybrid

meeting bringing together international attendees in-person in Montréal,

Canada, with select sessions broadcast through the Congress's virtual platform.

As part of its "Under the Spotlight" series, Octapharma will highlight key

unmet needs of people living with von Willebrand disease (VWD) during a live

symposium. Attendees will have the opportunity to raise questions during the

Q&A session. The symposium will be streamed in real-time to virtual Congress

attendees, and available on-demand to participants after the Congress.

VWD affects males and females equally but is diagnosed more frequently in women

due to bleeding associated with menstruation and childbirth. Guidelines for

managing these issues are, however, inadequate. The Octapharma symposium will

follow the story of Suzanne, a young woman with VWD, and her experiences with

heavy menstrual bleeding, pregnancy complications and surgery, and the

transformative impact effective treatment has had on her life.

The symposium, entitled "From clinical insights to patient experience:

Suzanne's journey with von Willebrand disease," will be held on Tuesday May 10,

08:00–09:00 EST. The chair, Dr Fernando F. Corrales-Medina will be joined by a

faculty of international experts comprised of Drs Michelle Sholzberg, Jill

Johnsen and Alok Srivastava. In addition to Suzanne's story, the faculty will

present recent data and ongoing studies on the management of heavy menstrual

bleeding, perioperative bleeding, and childbirth in people with VWD, including

the role of VWF/FVIII concentrates such as wilate(R) in these situations.

Larisa Belyanskaya, Head of Octapharma's IBU Haematology, said, "Hearing the

experiences of patients and their families affected by bleeding disorders

reminds us of the significance of our work."

Olaf Walter, Board Member of Octapharma, commented, "WFH is a valuable forum

for interaction, collaboration and sharing knowledge with global experts and

diverse members of the international bleeding disorder community. Our

contribution to the Congress reinforces our long-standing commitment to

improving care for every patient living with a bleeding disorder."

About Octapharma

Headquartered in Lachen, Switzerland, Octapharma is one of the largest human

protein manufacturers in the world, developing and producing human proteins

from human plasma and human cell lines.

Octapharma employs around 10,000 people worldwide to support the treatment of

patients in 118 countries with products across three therapeutic areas:

Immunotherapy, Haematology, and Critical Care.

Octapharma has seven R&D sites and five state-of-the-art manufacturing

facilities in Austria, France, Germany and Sweden, and operates more than 180

plasma donation centres across Europe and the US.

About wilate (R)

wilate(R) is a high-purity human von Willebrand factor/factor VIII (VWF/FVIII)

concentrate, that undergoes two virus inactivation steps during its

production[1]. No albumin is added as a stabiliser[1]. The purification

processes result in a 1:1 ratio of VWF to FVIII that is similar to normal

plasma[1]. wilate(R) contains a VWF triplet structure and content of large high

molecular weight multimers similar to normal human plasma[1]. wilate(R) is

exclusively derived from large pools of human plasma collected in approved

plasma donation centres[2]. wilate(R) is available in 500 IU and 1000 IU

presentations. wilate(R) is indicated for the prevention and treatment of

haemorrhage or surgical bleeding in von Willebrand disease (VWD), when

desmopressin (DDAVP) alone is ineffective or contra-indicated, and for the

treatment and prophylaxis of bleeding in patients with haemophilia A

(congenital factor VIII deficiency)[2].

Stadler M et al. Biologicals 2006; 34:281-8.

wilate(R) Summary of Product Characteristics.

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SOURCE: Octapharma