Roche has announced that it has joined the World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH) Humanitarian Aid Program, a landmark initiative leading the effort to change the lack of access to care and treatment for people with inherited bleeding disorders in developing countries.
Roche’s commitment to the WFH Program consists of a donation of Hemlibra (emicizumab), a prophylactic treatment for haemophilia A, and funding to deliver the WFH Program’s integrated care development training to ensure that local infrastructure and medical expertise are available to optimise and appropriately use the donated Hemlibra.
The WFH Humanitarian Aid Program currently provides prophylactic treatment to approximately 1,500 people with haemophilia A, but the donation will provide treatment to as many as 1,000 more people in developing countries, over the course of five years, with a focus on high-need patients, such as people of all ages with factor VIII inhibitors and children without factor VIII inhibitors.
“Thanks to Roche’s donation, significantly more people with haemophilia A will be able to receive prophylaxis through the WFH Humanitarian Aid Program. Importantly, the donation will also provide a treatment option for people with haemophilia A with factor VIII inhibitors who previously had very limited or no treatment,” said Alain Weill, WFH president.
“Increasing access to prophylactic treatments can make a profound difference in countries where haemophilia A remains underdiagnosed and untreated.”
Hemlibra has been approved for routine prophylaxis to prevent or reduce the frequency of bleeding episodes in people with haemophilia A with factor VIII inhibitors in over 50 countries worldwide.
