Allergan, an AbbVie Company, and Von Miller Encourage People with Glaucoma to Design Their Disease Management Plan

- My Glaucoma, My Design calls on people to share their stories and photos of how they manage their glaucoma

- Select stories will be shared by Super Bowl MVP, Von Miller on social media

- Initiative launches on World Sight Day and the one-year anniversary of Allergan's signature glaucoma campaign, My Glaucoma

News provided by

AbbVie

Oct 08, 2020, 08:00 ET

NORTH CHICAGO, Ill., Oct. 8, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 4 million people in the United States are expected to have glaucoma by 2030. This serious disease is one of the leading causes of blindness, yet patients do not know that elevated eye pressure is the only treatable risk factor. Von Miller, Super Bowl MVP, Denver Broncos linebacker and advocate for healthy vision, knows first-hand how important it is to be proactive in taking control of vision-related issues. He is once again partnering with Allergan, an AbbVie Company, for My Glaucoma, My Design, which asks people living with glaucoma and their loved ones to share photos and stories on social media that show how they are managing their disease. This initiative ultimately encourages people with glaucoma and their caregivers to design an effective disease management plan with their doctors.

Glaucoma is characterized by elevated intraocular pressure (IOP), the fluid pressure inside the eye. IOP is the only treatable risk factor for glaucoma. If left untreated, glaucoma patients continue to progress leading to vision loss and ultimately blindness.

"Earlier this year, I partnered with Allergan to help bring awareness to the My Glaucoma campaign. I don't have glaucoma, but I struggled with vision-related issues when I was young and that is why I have a passion for encouraging people to be proactive in taking control of their eye health," said Von Miller. "I never realized how serious glaucoma can be and that uncontrolled eye pressure is the only treatable risk factor for glaucoma. I'm proud to be continuing my partnership with Allergan and taking the campaign to another level by educating people living with glaucoma so they can work with their doctors to design treatment plans that help lower eye pressure."

People can share their My Glaucoma, My Design stories by going to the My Glaucoma Facebook page and submitting a photo along with a short description on how they are managing their glaucoma. Miller will select a few of his favorite stories to feature across Allergan and Miller's social channels. These individuals will also receive a personalized video message from Miller. This initiative aims at addressing the lack of awareness and education around the seriousness of glaucoma for people living with glaucoma and their caregivers.

While current eye drop therapies can be effective to lower IOP, many patients struggle to administer their drops properly and consistently. In fact, based on a 71 patient study looking at eye drop instillation technique only 28% of people were able to instill eye drops correctly. Additionally, one small study showed people with glaucoma are at a 3 times greater risk of falls and 6 times greater risk for automobile accidents.

"When we initially launched My Glaucoma, we wanted to reinforce that glaucoma is not just a part of aging and that it is a serious disease associated with elevated eye pressure that cannot be taken lightly," said Ramin Valian, Vice President, Interventional Glaucoma and Reimbursement, AbbVie. "With My Glaucoma, My Design, we are bringing to light patient stories and sharing resources that people living with glaucoma can use to ensure they are taking care of their disease and having informed treatment conversations with their eye doctor about lowering their eye pressure."

My Glaucoma launched on World Sight Day 2019 with a survey designed to help people understand the burden of living with glaucoma and empower those with the disease and their caregivers to feel comfortable speaking with their doctor about a treatment plan that fits their lifestyle. During Glaucoma Awareness Month in 2020, Von Miller, partnered with Allergan to challenge people to learn more about the seriousness of glaucoma via an online quiz and shared his personal story about his vision-related issues. Please visit www.MyGlaucoma.com for more information.

About Allergan Eye Care

As a leader in eye care, Allergan has discovered, developed, and delivered some of the most innovative products in the industry for more than 70 years. Allergan has launched over 125 eye care products and invested billions of dollars in new treatments for the most prevalent eye conditions including glaucoma, ocular surface disease, and retinal diseases such as diabetic macular edema and retinal vein occlusion. Our eye care pipeline includes 13 additional agents for multiple ocular conditions.

We remain steadfast in helping eye care providers deliver the best in patient care through innovative products and outreach programs.

About AbbVie

AbbVie's mission is to discover and deliver innovative medicines that solve serious health issues today and address the medical challenges of tomorrow. We strive to have a remarkable impact on people's lives across several key therapeutic areas: immunology, oncology, neuroscience, eye care, virology, women's health and gastroenterology, in addition to products and services across its Allergan Aesthetics portfolio. For more information about AbbVie, please visit us at http://www.abbvie.com. Follow @abbvie on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn.

Forward-Looking Statements
Some statements in this news release are, or may be considered, forward-looking statements for purposes of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The words "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "project" and similar expressions, among others, generally identify forward-looking statements. AbbVie cautions that these forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, failure to realize the expected benefits from AbbVie's acquisition of Allergan plc ("Allergan"), failure to promptly and effectively integrate Allergan's businesses, competition from other products, challenges to intellectual property, difficulties inherent in the research and development process, adverse litigation or government action, changes to laws and regulations applicable to our industry and the impact of public health outbreaks, epidemics or pandemics, such as COVID-19. Additional information about the economic, competitive, governmental, technological and other factors that may affect AbbVie's operations is set forth in Item 1A, "Risk Factors," of AbbVie's 2019 Annual Report on Form 10-K, which has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as updated by its subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. AbbVie undertakes no obligation to release publicly any revisions to forward-looking statements as a result of subsequent events or developments, except as required by law.

SOURCE AbbVie