CSL Behring commits donations to World Federation of Hemophilia GAP program

To mark World Hemophilia Day 2012, CSL Behring has again committed to making significant financial contributions and donations of clotting factor concentrate to the World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH) Global Alliance for Progress (GAP) program over the period of three years, beginning in 2012. The product donations will be made with medicine having a minimum shelf-life of one year. The goal of the WFH GAP program is to improve the diagnosis and treatment of hemophilia in developing countries. In 2009, CSL Behring was the first company to make such a three-year commitment to WFH. CSL Limited, parent company to CSL Behring, is committed to contributing to the economic, social and environmental well-being of its communities. As part of the agreement, CSL Behring will provide 2 million units of one or more of its various clotting factor products to the WFH each year for three years.

"CSL Behring is proud to be a strong supporter of the World Federation of Hemophilia and to have been a contributor to the GAP program each year since it was established," said Paul Perreault, President of CSL Behring. "We are committed to serving people who have rare and serious bleeding disorders and we will continue to work toward solutions that make a positive impact for hemophilia patients and their communities in regions of the world where those solutions are needed most."

Blood clotting factor is manufactured from purified human plasma or by using recombinant technology.

CSL Behring clotting factor is manufactured in: the Kankakee, IL, USA facility of CSL Behring; in Melbourne, Australia, at the company's Broadmeadows facility, and in Marburg, Germany.

"The product donations we receive from CSL Behring help us to support hemophilia patients in many remote areas of the world where access to these life-saving medicines is extremely challenging," said Mark Skinner, president of WFH. "The reality is that most people with hemophilia or other bleeding disorder do not receive adequate diagnosis, treatment, and management for their conditions. WFH is committed to realizing a day when treatment and sustainable systems to deliver it are available globally in order to close the gap of care for these patients around the world. We certainly appreciate this kind of long-term commitment from CSL Behring. It helps us immeasurably toward that goal."

An estimated one in one thousand women and men has a bleeding disorder.