World Hemophilia Day: April 17, 2015: Bayer Joins Leading International Organizations to Empower Future Leaders in Hemophilia, Hematology and Thrombosis

WHIPPANY, N.J., April 17, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- In recognition of World Hemophilia Day and the global need for education about hemophilia, Bayer HealthCare will host an inaugural joint fellowship alumni event during the International Society of Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH) Annual Congress, June 20 – 25, Toronto. The "Building Capacity and Empowering Future Leaders" event will include alumni from professional healthcare and advocate fellowship programs that Bayer sponsors in partnership with ISTH and the World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH). 

The event, open to all attendees at the ISTH Biennial Congress, aims to raise awareness of the need for capacity building and leadership development in hemophilia, hematology and thrombosis.  It will showcase the progress WFH and ISTH have made through their respective Bayer-supported fellowship programs. Together, WFH and ISTH, with the support of Bayer, have helped nearly 500 fellows, mentors and future leaders gain capacity-building training.

"The event is an example of Bayer's long-standing commitment to the hemophilia community.  It will bring together past fellows and their mentors to share learnings and stories from both programs and encourage dialogue on topics such as building international collaborations, history and progress in hemophilia treatment," said Dario Mirski, MD, Head, U.S. Medical Affairs, Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals.

"WFH is proud of the WFH International Hemophilia Treatment Centre (IHTC) fellowship program, the organization's longest-running program, and its mission to further the treatment of hemophilia and other inherited bleeding disorders around the world," said Alain Weill, WFH president. "We appreciate our long partnership with Bayer, and commend the company on its continued commitment to the hemophilia community."

The ISTH 2015 Congress will draw thousands of the world's leading experts on thrombosis, haemostasis and vascular biology to Toronto to present the most recent advances, exchange the latest science and discuss the newest clinical applications designed to improve patient care.

"As the leading international thrombosis and hemostasis society, the ISTH has a long history of providing support to physicians and healthcare professionals and proactively seeks collaborations to build critical professional capacity around the world. This is particularly needed in developing countries," said Nigel Key, M.D., ISTH council chairman. "Showcasing our efforts and in partnership with WFH and Bayer at this year's ISTH congress will further increase the interest and impact of these important programs."

The "Building Capacity and Empowering Future Leaders" event will take place on Sunday, June 21, from 1:00 to 3:00 pm.

About the World Federation of Hemophilia

For more than 50 years, the World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH), an international not-for-profit organization, has worked to improve the lives of people with hemophilia and other inherited bleeding disorders. Established in 1963, it is a global network of patient organizations in 127 countries and has official recognition from the World Health Organization. Visit WFH online at www.wfh.org, and on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

About the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis

Founded in 1969, the ISTH is the leading worldwide not-for-profit organization dedicated to advancing the understanding, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of thrombotic and bleeding disorders. ISTH is an international professional membership organization with over 3,500 clinicians, researchers and educators working together to improve the lives of patients in more than 84 countries around the world. Among its highly regarded activities and initiatives are education and standardization programs, research activities; meetings and conferences, peer-reviewed publications, expert committees and World Thrombosis Day. Visit ISTH online at www.isth.org, and on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

About Bayer HealthCare

The Bayer Group is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, agriculture and high-tech materials. Bayer HealthCare, a subgroup of Bayer AG with annual sales of around EUR 20.0 billion (2014), is one of the world's leading, innovative companies in the healthcare and medical products industry and is based in Leverkusen, Germany. The company combines the global activities of the Animal Health, Consumer Care, Medical Care and Pharmaceuticals divisions. Bayer HealthCare's aim is to discover, develop, manufacture and market products that will improve human and animal health worldwide. Bayer HealthCare has a global workforce of 60,700 employees (Dec 31, 2014) and is represented in more than 100 countries. More information is available at www.healthcare.bayer.com.  

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Forward-Looking Statements

This release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer Group or subgroup management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Bayer's public reports which are available on the Bayer website at www.bayer.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.

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SOURCE Bayer HealthCare

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