Biogen Idec Inc. to Donate Hemophilia Drugs to Poor Countries

Biogen Idec is the oldest independent biotech firm in the world. On Monday, officials announced that the company will make its largest donation of hemophilia drugs to save thousands of lives in developing nations across the globe.

Hemophilia is a rare bleeding disorder, typically passed on through genetics, in which the blood does not clot normally. The disorder occurs in males, affecting about 1 in every 10,000 people worldwide. Internal bleeding that cannot be clotted can damage one's organs and tissues, making hemophilia life threatening.

Because of hemophilia's rate of "severe" diagnoses (approximately 7 out of 10 people with hemophilia A), Biogen Idec is pledging a donation of one billion units of clotting factor, which are the manufactured proteins that help effectively clot blood in hemophiliacs. Africa, Asia, and Latin America will be the beneficiaries of the donation for the next ten years.

Of the 400,000 people that suffer from hemophilia worldwide, over 300,000 are in poor countries and cannot receive proper treatment. Severe hemophiliacs require up to 5,000 units of clotting factor per week. The World Hemophilia Federation has taken steps for 50 years to help those in need with hemophilia, but at the end of the day it's the medication that's needed for the hundreds of thousands suffering.

"We're hoping this makes a big difference," said John Cox, Biogen Idec's executive vice president for pharmaceutical operations and technology, in this Boston Globe article. "You're talking about impacting the quality of life for tens of thousands of people."

The donation is worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Biogen hopes that this will help garner attention for its new drugs for hemophilia treatment. But besides that, Biogen came to the rescue after the World Federation of Hemophilia asked pharmaceutical companies to help support hemophiliacs in developing countries where treatments are hard to come by.

Biogen will release the first batch of drugs in the second half of 2015, which will be distributed by Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB, a specialty health care company. The donation is expected to prevent over 75,000 joint bleeds and over 2,000 life-threatening bleeds.