HOBOKEN, N.J., June 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Octapharma
USA recently hosted an International Physician Advisory Board
in New York City, bringing together medical experts from around the
world who have extensive experience internationally with taking
care of patients with von Willebrand’s Disease (VWD). As the most
common inherited bleeding disorder in humans, VWD affects one to
two percent of the general population or approximately 3 million
people in the United States.

Octapharma manufactures wilate®, a therapy
introduced to the U.S. market for VWD over the last year that has
been available in many other countries for a decade. The U.S. Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Octapharma orphan
drug exclusivity for wilate® (von Willebrand
Factor/Factor VIII Concentrate, Human), the first replacement
therapy developed specifically for VWD.

“Our goal was to promote a scientific dialogue among the medical
community in the U.S. and abroad,” said Octapharma
USA President
Flemming Nielsen. “Overall the advisory meeting’s clinical
platform encouraged significant discussion and debate around the
treatment and management of VWD patients and evaluated data and
experiences in Europe. There was general agreement among the
attendees that improving the care for VWD patients is possible and
that more data either from clinical trials or scientific experience
would be beneficial.”

The meeting was jointly chaired by Jerry S. Powell, M.D.,
Professor at the University at California-Davis and Director of the
UC-Davis Hemophilia and Thrombosis Center; and John Pasi, M.D.,
Professor of Haemostasis and Thrombos

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