Chef Becker Announces Franklin's Family Fixin's Contest Winner

PARSIPPANY, N.J., March 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Chef Franklin Becker of the Two Reasons, One Recipe campaign is pleased to name Lorin Cook of Alpine, N.J. the grand prize winner of the Franklin's Family Fixin's Contest in which adults living with type 2 diabetes and/or high LDL cholesterol – or their family, friends or caretakers – were invited to receive a healthy makeover of their traditional family favorites.

To view the multimedia assets associated with this release, please click: http://www.multivu.com/players/English/46469-Two-Reasons-One-Recipe-Campaign

A panel of judges including Chef Becker, critically-acclaimed Executive Chef of Abe & Arthur's, Catch and Lexington Brass restaurants in New York City and author of the cookbook Eat & Beat Diabetes, Dr. Yehuda Handelsman MD, FACP, FACE, and a nutritionist chose Lorin's submission of Spiced Apple-Rhubarb Bread Pudding as the winning recipe.

Lorin has many friends and relatives with high LDL cholesterol or type 2 diabetes, including her close friend, Diana, who she considers a member of the family. Lorin was upset to find out that Diana could no longer eat her famous bread pudding once she was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

"I love gathering around the dinner table to enjoy good food, but it's important to me that my family and friends stay on track with their healthcare goals," said Lorin, mother of four. "Thanks to Franklin, I can accomplish both. A delicious recipe that everyone can enjoy without the guilt!"

Chef Becker's healthy recipe makeovers submitted by Lorin and certain individuals across the country are featured on the campaign website,TwoReasonsOneRecipe.com, along with several new healthy recipes developed by Chef Becker himself.

Becker and Dr. Handelsman teamed up with Daiichi Sankyo, Inc., the marketers of Welchol (colesevelam HCl), to launch the Two Reasons, One Recipe campaign in 2010 to educate adults who have type 2 diabetes and/or high LDL cholesterol – two important risk factors for cardiovascular disease – about making healthy food choices.  Diagnosed with type 2 diabetes at just 27 years of age, Chef Becker is committed to creating healthy and flavorful recipes for people to create at home, and educate them on how to make appropriate choices when they're eating out.

About 25.8 million people in the United States (8.3 percent of the population) have diabetes. Approximately 90 to 95 percent of those people have type 2 diabetes⁽¹⁾ and more than 50 percent of adults with type 2 diabetes also have high LDL cholesterol.⁽²⁾

About Franklin Becker
Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Chef Becker's life has always been centered on food. By the time he was 14, Becker was working in a professional kitchen. Upon graduation from college, he attended the prestigious Culinary Institute of America from which he graduated with honors. Having cooked in the past for Revlon magnate Ronald Perelman, Becker has also held the post of Executive Chef at several fine New York establishments including Local, Capitale, the Tribeca Grand and Soho Grand Hotels and Brasserie. Chef Becker is currently Executive Chef at Abe & Arthur's, Catch and Lexington Brass in New York City.

About Welchol (colesevelam HCl) 
Welchol, along with diet and exercise, lowers LDL or "bad" cholesterol. It can be taken alone or with other cholesterol-lowering medications known as statins. Welchol, along with diet and exercise, also lowers blood sugar levels in adult patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus when added to other anti-diabetic medications (metformin, sulfonylureas, or insulin). Welchol was approved by the FDA to lower bad cholesterol in 2000 and to lower blood sugar levels in 2008. Welchol is available in two formulations, Welchol tablets and Welchol for Oral Suspension, which can be mixed with water, diet soft drinks or fruit juice.

Please see Important Information about Welchol (colesevelam HCl) below.

About Daiichi Sankyo
The Daiichi Sankyo Group is dedicated to the creation and supply of innovative pharmaceutical products to address the diversified, unmet medical needs of patients in both mature and emerging markets. While maintaining its portfolio of marketed pharmaceuticals for hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and bacterial infections, the Group is engaged in the development of treatments for thrombotic disorders and focused on the discovery of novel oncology and cardiovascular-metabolic therapies. Furthermore, the Daiichi Sankyo Group has created a "Hybrid Business Model," which will respond to market and customer diversity and optimize growth opportunities across the value chain. For more information, please visit www.daiichisankyo.com.

Daiichi Sankyo, Inc., headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey, is a member of the Daiichi Sankyo Group. For more information on Daiichi Sankyo, Inc., please visit www.dsi.com.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT WELCHOL 

Indications
Welchol is indicated as an adjunct to diet and exercise to:

• reduce elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in patients with primary hyperlipidemia (Fredrickson Type IIa) as monotherapy or in combination with an hydroxymethylglutaryl-coenzyme (HMG CoA) reductase inhibitor (statin)
• reduce LDL-C levels in boys and postmenarchal girls, 10 to 17 years of age, with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia, as monotherapy or in combination with a statin after failing an adequate trial of diet therapy
• improve glycemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Important Limitations of Use

• Welchol (colesevelam HCl) should not be used for the treatment of type 1 diabetes or for the treatment of diabetic ketoacidosis
• Welchol has not been studied in type 2 diabetes as monotherapy or in combination with a dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitor and has not been extensively studied in combination with thiazolidinediones
• Welchol has not been studied in Fredrickson Type I, III, IV, and V dyslipidemias
• Welchol has not been studied in children younger than 10 years of age or in premenarchal girls

Contraindications
Welchol is contraindicated in individuals with a history of bowel obstruction, those with serum triglyceride (TG) concentrations of >500 mg/dL, or with a history of hypertriglyceridemia-induced pancreatitis.

Warnings and Precautions
The effect of Welchol on cardiovascular morbidity and mortality has not been determined.

Welchol can increase serum TG concentrations particularly when used in combination with sulfonylureas or insulin. Caution should be exercised when treating patients with TG levels >300 mg/dL.

Welchol may decrease the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K. Patients on vitamin supplements should take their vitamins at least 4 hours prior to Welchol. Caution should be exercised when treating patients with a susceptibility to vitamin K or fat-soluble vitamin deficiencies.

Caution should also be exercised when treating patients with gastroparesis, gastrointestinal motility disorders, a history of major gastrointestinal tract surgery, and when treating patients with dysphagia and swallowing disorders.

Welchol reduces gastrointestinal absorption of some drugs. Drugs with a known interaction with colesevelam (cyclosporine, glyburide, levothyroxine, and oral contraceptives [ethinyl estradiol, norethindrone]), should be administered at least 4 hours prior to Welchol. Drugs that have not been tested for interaction with colesevelam, especially those with a narrow therapeutic index, should also be administered at least 4 hours prior to Welchol. Alternatively, the physician should monitor drug levels of the co-administered drug.

To avoid esophageal distress, Welchol for Oral Suspension should not be taken in its dry form.

Due to tablet size, Welchol for Oral Suspension is recommended for, but not limited to, use in the pediatric population as well as in any patient who has difficulty swallowing tablets.

Phenylketonurics: Welchol for Oral Suspension contains 48 mg phenylalanine per 3.75 gram dose.

Adverse Reactions
In clinical trials, the adverse reactions observed ≥2% of patients, and more commonly with Welchol than placebo, regardless of investigator assessment of causality seen in:

• Adults with Primary Hyperlipidemia were: constipation (11.0% vs 7.0%), dyspepsia (8.3% vs 3.5%), nausea (4.2% vs 3.9%), accidental injury (3.7% vs 2.7%), asthenia (3.6% vs 1.9%), pharyngitis (3.2% vs 1.9%), flu syndrome (3.2% vs 3.1%), rhinitis (3.2% vs 3.1%), and myalgia (2.1% vs 0.4%)
• Pediatric patients with heFH primary hyperlipidemia were: nasopharyngitis (6.2% vs 4.6%), headache (3.9 vs 3.1%), fatigue (3.9% vs 1.5%), creatine phosphokinase increase (2.3% vs 0.0%), rhinitis (2.3% vs 0.0%), and vomiting (2.3% vs 1.5%)
• Adult patients with Type 2 Diabetes were: constipation (8.7% vs 2.0%), nasopharyngitis (4.1% vs 3.6%), dyspepsia (3.9% vs 1.4%), hypoglycemia (3.0% vs 2.3%), nausea (3.0% vs 1.4%), and hypertension (2.8% vs 1.6%)

Post-marketing experience: Due to the voluntary nature of these reports it is not possible to reliably estimate frequency or establish a causal relationship:

• Increased seizure activity or decreased phenytoin levels have been reported in patients receiving phenytoin concomitantly with Welchol (colesevelam HCl)
• Reduced International Normalized Ratio (INR) has been reported in patients receiving warfarin concomitantly with Welchol
• Elevated thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) has been reported in patients receiving thyroid hormone replacement therapy
• Dysphagia has been reported with both tablet and oral suspension formulations.

Pregnancy
Welchol is Pregnancy Category B.

Please visit http://www.welchol.com/pdf/Welchol_PI.pdf for full Product Information on Welchol.

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

For more information on Welchol, call 877-4-DSPROD (877-437-7763), or go to the Welchol website at www.Welchol.com. 

For patients having difficulty affording their Welchol medication, please call the Daiichi Sankyo, Inc., Open Care Patient Assistance Program at 1-866-268-7327 for more information or visit www.dsi.com.

Copyright 2012, Daiichi Sankyo, Inc. All Rights Reserved. DSWC12001840 03/12

SOURCE Daiichi Sankyo, Inc.