A New Generation Of Coagulation Specialists Is Advancing Research With Support From CSL Behring Global Grant

Named after coagulation therapy pioneer Prof. Norbert Heimburger, the grant has been awarded this year to researchers from France, Netherlands and the United States.

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CSL Behring

Jun 22, 2018, 11:59 ET

KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa., June 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- An exciting cross-section of coagulation research is being presented today by the recipients of CSL Behring's 2018 Prof. Heimburger Award at the Heimburger Symposium in Marburg, Germany. Their work may one day have a profound effect on the lives of people with coagulation disorders.

Heimburger Awards are made for clinical and/or preclinical research. Each recipient receives a €20,000 grant. The symposium provides up-and-coming coagulation experts who hold medical degrees and typically have less than five years faculty experience in haemostasis with an opportunity to network and interact with accomplished experts in the field.

"At CSL Behring we are driven by our promise to advance science," said Dr. Jens Oltrogge, Senior Director of Global Commercial Development-Coagulation, "and we are excited by the possibilities the award recipients' research may hold for the future. Fostering and supporting the next generation of coagulation researchers is central to good science and to the discovery of innovative medicines and technologies that save lives."

2018 Prof. Heimburger Award Recipients

Dr. Lindsey George, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, United States Research: Biology of Hepatocyte Derived Factor VIII Following AAV Gene Transfer

Dr. Ferdows Atiq, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands
Research: The effect of comorbidities on von Willebrand factor, Factor VIII levels and bleeding phenotype in patients with von Willebrand disease.

Dr. Alexandre Theron, Medical school at Montpellier University, France
Research: Development of an in vitro model of hemarthrosis and the therapeutic effect of mesenchymal stem cells.

Dr. Samantha Donkel, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands
Research: The Emerging Role of Neutrophil Extracellular Traps (NETs) and the Interaction with Von Willebrand Factor, ADAMTS13 and Fibrinogen in Stroke Pathogenesis.

Dr. Jessica Heijdra, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands
Research: Differentiation of endogenous and exogenous VWF fractions in treatment of von Willebrand disease ("INSIDE-OUT" study).

The award recipients' research proposals were reviewed and evaluated by the four-member Prof. Heimburger Award Scientific Board: Steven Pipe, MD, CS Mott Children's Hospital, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States; Andreas Tiede, MD, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany; Laszlo Nemes, MD, National Institute of Haematology and Blood Transfusion; and Midori Shima, MD, PhD, Department of Pediatrics, Nara Medical University, Kashihara, Japan.

Prof. Norbert Heimburger devoted his work to blood coagulation. 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 based on pasteurization. Due to his research efforts the company launched the world's first effectively virus-inactivated FVIII concentrate in 1981.

The application deadline for the 2019 Prof. Heimburger Award cycle is November 15, 2018.

About CSL Behring

CSL Behring is a global biotherapeutics leader driven by its promise to save lives. Focused on serving patients' needs by using the latest technologies, we develop and deliver innovative therapies that are used to treat coagulation disorders, primary immune deficiencies, hereditary angioedema, inherited respiratory disease and neurological disorders. The company's products are also used in cardiac surgery, organ transplantation, burn treatment and to prevent hemolytic disease of the newborn.

CSL Behring operates one of the world's largest plasma collection networks, CSL Plasma. The parent company, CSL Limited (ASX: CSL; USOTC: CSLLY), headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, employs nearly 20,000 people, and delivers its life-saving therapies to people in more than 60 countries. For more information visit www.cslbehring.com and follow us on www.Twitter.com/CSLBehring.

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