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Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Donates Hemophilia Educational Program to the World Federation of Hemophilia
Training Puppets Are Component of Educational Program for Children With Hemophilia
Collegeville, Pa., July 12, 2005 In commemoration of World Hemophilia Day (April 17, 2005), Wyeth Pharmaceuticals announced the donation of 10 hemophilia training puppets to the World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH) for use in developing countries.
The training puppets are a component of a Wyeth educational program, Puppets As Teachers in Hemophilia (PATH). As part of this program, the puppets and educational materials are distributed to hemophilia treatment centers in the United States. The puppet is used by health care professionals to teach children about living with hemophilia. The hemophilia training puppet was developed in conjunction with Patient Puppets, Inc., of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.*
"Educating children with hemophilia is an important responsibility for all of us in the community," said Robert J. Dufour, Assistant Vice President and Global Business Manager, Hemophilia at Wyeth. "We are happy to provide this excellent tool that can help children learn about hemophilia and its treatment."
Each of the 3-foot-tall puppets is custom-made for hemophilia education and allows children to see many of the conditions associated with hemophilia, such as a hematoma (a swelling filled with blood), a healthy knee joint, and a bleeding joint. Some of the puppet's other features, an implantable venous access device, an external catheter and a prominent vein, facilitate discussion of hemophilia treatment.
"We are very grateful to Wyeth for this donation, which showcases the company's continued commitment to the community," said Mark Skinner, president of the WFH.
Wyeth is a major supporter of the WFH, and has been the exclusive sponsor of its Twinning program for medical centers and hemophilia organizations since 2001. Through this program, treatment centers and hemophilia organizations in developed countries are paired with corresponding organizations in developing countries to help share knowledge and best practices.
"It is our hope that twinning centers in the developing world will display the training puppet prominently, encouraging patient visits," added Mr. Skinner.
Hemophilia is a rare, inherited blood clotting disorder for which there currently is no cure. People with hemophilia are deficient in one of the key proteins either factor VIII (hemophilia A) or factor IX (hemophilia B) that are vital in the clotting cascade to prevent bleeding. Both forms of hemophilia are characterized by spontaneous hemorrhages or prolonged bleeding, typically into joints and soft tissue.
Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth, has leading products in the areas of women's health care, cardiovascular disease, central nervous system, inflammation, transplantation, hemophilia, oncology, vaccines, and nutritional products. Wyeth is one of the world's largest research-driven pharmaceutical and health care products companies. It is a leader in the discovery, development, manufacturing, and marketing of pharmaceuticals, vaccines, biotechnology products, and nonprescription medicines that improve the quality of life for people worldwide. The Company's major divisions include Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Wyeth Consumer Healthcare, and Fort Dodge Animal Health.
The statements in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements based on current expectations of future events that involve risks and uncertainties including, without limitation, risks associated with the inherent uncertainty of the timing and success of pharmaceutical research, product development, manufacturing, commercialization, economic conditions including interest and currency exchange rate fluctuations, changes in generally accepted accounting principles, the impact of competitive or generic products, trade buying patterns, wars or terrorist acts, product liability and other types of lawsuits, the impact of legislation and regulatory compliance and obtaining reimbursement, favorable drug pricing, access and other approvals, environmental liabilities, and patent, and other risks and uncertainties, including those detailed from time to time in the Company's periodic reports, including current reports on Form 8-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and the annual report on Form 10-K, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results may vary materially from the forward-looking statements. The Company assumes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
*For more information see www.patientpuppets.mb.ca.
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