ViroPharma Launches Hereditary Angioedema Facebook App to Encourage Education and Diagnosis of Hereditary Angioedema Through Discussion of Family History

EXTON, Pa., March 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- ViroPharma Incorporated (NASDAQ: VPHM), the maker of Cinryze® (C1 esterase inhibitor [human]), today launched the hereditary angioedema (HAE) Family Tree Facebook Application (app) to help raise awareness of HAE and to encourage testing and diagnosis of the rare, potentially life-threatening disease.  HAE is a genetic disease, making identification of a family history of HAE critical for diagnosis.  Yet, family members of people diagnosed with HAE often go untested.  The app enables people with HAE to connect and share educational resources with family members so they can better understand how the disease may affect their family.  Facebook users can access the app by searching "HAE Family Tree" in the Facebook global search toolbar, or by visiting www.cinryze.com or www.ryzeabove.com.

The average HAE patient endures about 10 years of repeated misdiagnosis before the disease is accurately identified. Along with a blood test, an accurate and comprehensive family history can help decrease time to diagnosis.

Cinryze is the first and only U.S. FDA-approved C1 esterase inhibitor therapy indicated for routine prophylaxis against angioedema attacks in adolescent and adult patients with hereditary angioedema. Cinryze is contraindicated in patients who have manifested life-threatening immediate hypersensitivity reactions, including anaphylaxis to the product.

"The HAE Family Tree Facebook app is designed to help people with HAE make connections with family members who may also have the condition and to encourage early testing and diagnosis," said Bianca Jay, Senior Product Manager for Hereditary Angioedema at ViroPharma Incorporated.  "Many people in the HAE community are already gathering and connecting on Facebook, and ViroPharma developed the Family Tree app to provide our patients and their families with a tool that supports their desire to build connections with others in the HAE community."

For every HAE Family Tree created on Facebook, ViroPharma will donate $25, up to $5,000, to the U.S. Hereditary Angioedema Association (HAEA) in support of the first international HAE Awareness Day (HAE Day) on May 16, 2012.  Users can add family members already on Facebook, as well as manually add those who are not on Facebook.  They can also share educational resources from Ryze Above®, a CINRYZESolutions patient resources program, including an HAE diagnosis tool and a customizable letter that patients can use to inform teachers, employers, coaches and others of their condition.  To start building an HAE Family Tree, visit www.facebook.com/haefamilytree.

About Cinryze® (C1 esterase inhibitor [human]) in the U.S.

Cinryze® (C1 esterase inhibitor [human]) is indicated for routine prophylaxis against angioedema attacks in adolescent and adult patients with Hereditary Angioedema (HAE).

Cinryze is contraindicated in patients who have manifested life-threatening immediate hypersensitivity reactions, including anaphylaxis to the product.

Hypersensitivity reactions may occur. Consider treatment methods carefully, because hypersensitivity reactions and HAE attacks may have similar symptoms. In the case of hypersensitivity, discontinue CINRYZE and institute appropriate treatment. Have epinephrine immediately available for treatment of an acute severe hypersensitivity reaction.

Thrombotic events have been reported in patients receiving Cinryze for routine prophylaxis. Thrombotic events also have been reported in patients receiving off-label high dose C1 esterase inhibitor therapy. Monitor closely patients with known risk factors for thrombotic events.

Cinryze is made from human plasma. Products made from human plasma may contain infectious agents (e.g. viruses and, theoretically, the Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease agent). ALL infections considered by a physician as possibly transmitted by Cinryze should be reported to ViroPharma Biologics, Inc. and all risks and benefits should be discussed with the patient before prescribing or administering this product.

In clinical trials, the most common adverse reactions observed were headache, nausea, rash, and vomiting; the only serious adverse reaction observed in clinical studies of Cinryze was cerebrovascular accident.

Postmarketing adverse reactions include local infusion site reactions (including pain, rash, erythema, inflammation or hematoma at the infusion site). Postmarketing thrombotic events have been reported, including catheter-related and deep venous thromboses, transient ischemic attack, and stroke.

Please visit http://www.viropharma.com/products/cinryze.aspx for the full U.S. Prescribing Information; the prescribing information for other countries can be found at www.viropharma.com. 

About Hereditary Angioedema (HAE)

HAE is a rare, severely debilitating, life-threatening genetic disorder caused by a deficiency of C1 inhibitor, a human plasma protein. This condition is the result of a defect in the gene controlling the synthesis of C1 inhibitor. C1 inhibitor maintains the natural regulation of the contact, complement, and fibrinolytic systems, that when left unregulated, can initiate or perpetuate an attack by consuming the already low levels of endogenous C1 inhibitor in HAE patients. Patients with C1 inhibitor deficiency experience recurrent, unpredictable, debilitating, and potentially life threatening attacks of inflammation affecting the larynx, abdomen, face, extremities and urogenital tract. Patients with HAE experience approximately 20 to 100 days of incapacitation per year. There are estimated to be at least 6,500 people with HAE in the United States and at least 10,000 people in the European Union.

For more information on HAE, visit the U.S. HAE Association's website at www.haea.org and the HAEi's (International Patient Organization for C1 Inhibitor Deficiencies) website at www.haei.org.

About ViroPharma Incorporated

ViroPharma Incorporated is an international biopharmaceutical company committed to developing and commercializing novel solutions for physician specialists to address unmet medical needs of patients living with diseases that have few if any clinical therapeutic options, including C1 esterase inhibitor deficiency, treatment of seizures in children and adolescents, adrenal insufficiency (AI), and C. difficile infection (CDI).  Our goal is to provide rewarding careers to employees, to create new standards of care in the way serious diseases are treated, and to build international partnerships with the patients, advocates, and health care professionals we serve.  ViroPharma's commercial products address diseases including hereditary angioedema (HAE), seizures in children and adolescents, and CDI; for full U.S. prescribing information on our products, please download the package inserts at http://www.viropharma.com/Products.aspx; the prescribing information for other countries can be found at www.viropharma.com. 

ViroPharma routinely posts information, including press releases, which may be important to investors in the investor relations and media sections of our company's web site, www.viropharma.com. The company encourages investors to consult these sections for more information on ViroPharma and our business.

SOURCE ViroPharma Incorporated