KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa., April 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- CSL Behring, a world leader in the development of plasma-derived and recombinant therapeutics, today announced the winners of this year's prestigious CSL Behring – Prof. Heimburger Award 2011. The announcement coincides with World Hemophilia Day and reflects this year's theme to "Be Inspired, Get Involved in Treatment for All."

The CSL Behring – Prof. Heimburger Award has been inspiring young medical doctors to get involved in hemophilia research for the past four years. The annual award recognizes research excellence and helps to support pioneering work from across the globe in hemophilia and other coagulation disorders. This year's awards, which were judged by four of the world's most eminent clinicians in the field (Dr. Thomas Abshire, Dr. David Lillicrap, Dr. Claude Negrier and Dr. Johannes Oldenburg), were selected for their scientific and clinical merit from a large number of excellent research proposals.

CSL Behring – Prof. Heimburger Award 2011 winners

The five winners of this year's award, each of whom will receive a grant of euro 20,000 to help fund their research project, were announced at the CSL Behring – Prof. Heimburger Award 2011 Symposium in Marburg, Germany. The winners, and the titles of their winning research projects, are:

• Anne Angelillo-Scherrer, Service and Central Laboratory of Hematology, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, Lausanne, Switzerland.
  • Role of Gas6 and protein S pathways in hemostasis, thrombosis and inflammation
• Jan Emmerechts, Center for Molecular and Vascular Biology, University of Leuven, Belgium.
  • Impact on hemostasis of acute and chronic air pollution by particulate matter
• Mindy L. Simpson, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
  • Thrombin and plasmin generation capacity as predictors of joint outcomes in children with severe hemophilia A
• Chee Wee Tan, Northern Blood Research Centre, University of Sydney, Australia.
  • Effect of factor Xa, thrombin and new anticoagulants on human platelet glycoprotein VI (GPVI) expression and GPVI-mediated coagulation
  • Impact on hemostasis of acute and chronic air pollution by particulate matter
• Janine Eliza van Loon, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
  • Role of snare protein genes in the regulation of von Willebrand Factor levels and bleeding phenotype in patients with type I von Willebrand disease

The CSL Behring – Prof. Heimburger Award is a worldwide initiative inspired by CSL Behring's passionate commitment to innovation and research in order to provide the best possible therapies and services to everyone.

Speaking at this year's CSL Behring – Prof. Heimburger Award Symposium, CSL Behring's Executive Vice President of Worldwide Commercial Operations, Paul Perreault, congratulated all award recipients. "We are privileged and honored to be so involved with the bleeding disorders community through the young investigators recognized by the Prof. Heimburger Award," he said. "It is the quality of the basic science that ultimately translates into patient benefits. We must make sure we have strong future leaders in this field."

Applications for the CSL Behring – Prof. Heimburger 2012 Award will close on October 7, 2011. More information about the award and specific criteria for 2012 applications can be found at: www.cslbehring.com/ProfHeimburgerAward.

About Professor Heimburger

Prof. Norbert Heimburger was a CSL Behring employee for over three decades and devoted his work to blood coagulation. During that time, he characterized and purified a large number of plasma proteins and was instrumental in making these available to the medical community as therapeutic options. One of his major contributions in this area was the development of virus-safe plasma products through the introduction of pasteurization.

About the World Federation of Hemophilia

The World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH) is an international not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of people with hemophilia and related bleeding disorders. Since it was established in 1963, the WFH has grown into a truly global network with member organizations in 113 countries and official recognition from the World Health Organization. The WFH works in partnership with healthcare professionals and people with hemophilia, governments and regulators, industry, and foundations, to improve hemophilia care throughout the world. For more information, visit www.wfh.org.

About CSL Behring

CSL Behring is a leader in the plasma protein therapeutics industry. Committed to improving the quality of life for people with rare and serious diseases, the company manufactures and markets a range of plasma-derived and recombinant therapies worldwide. CSL Behring therapies are indicated for the treatment of coagulation disorders including hemophilia and von Willebrand disease, primary immune deficiencies and hereditary angioedema. The company's products are also used to prevent hemolytic diseases in newborns. CSL Behring operates one of the world's largest plasma collection networks, CSL Plasma. CSL Behring is a subsidiary of CSL Limited (ASX: CSL), a biopharmaceutical company with headquarters in Melbourne, Australia. For more information, visit www.cslbehring.com.

Contacts:
CSL Behring
Sheila A. Burke
CSL Behring
610-878-4209

SOURCE CSL Behring