Jeffrey Modell Foundation to Open the First North African Network for Primary Immunodeficiencies

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CSL Behring Sponsors the First Network of its Kind on the African Continent

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Mar 31, 2017, 10:00 ET

LIVINGSTONE, Zambia, March 31, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Global biotherapeutics leader CSL Behring today announced its commitment to sponsor the Jeffrey Modell North African Network, which will establish a diagnostic and research center in Northern Africa, making it the first enterprise dedicated to helping primary immunodeficiency (PI) patients in Africa.

Like the other 253 sites that comprise the Jeffrey Modell Centers Network, the North African Network will offer advanced diagnostic evaluation to patients with a suspected primary immunodeficiency, a group of over 350 disorders arising from defects in the immune system carried by the genes and characterized by recurring infections that can be persistent, debilitating, chronic and life-threatening.

Vicki Modell, Co-Founder, Jeffrey Modell Foundation shared, "Fred and I have dreamed about creating a Jeffrey Modell North African Network for a very long time. The Jeffrey Modell Foundation is honored and enthusiastic to work with CSL Behring now and well into the future to partner in our mutual vision, mission and life-saving initiatives for children in Africa."

The opening of the Network was announced at the 5^th African Society for Immunodeficiencies (ASID) biannual congress where CSL Behring is the main sponsor. "Here in Africa, it's estimated that the diagnosis rate of PI, a life-threatening condition, is only about 0.3%. This is why we remain committed to our promise of improving patient care, particularly in areas of great need, and to partnering with JMF and ASID to increase the awareness, diagnosis and treatment of PI in countries throughout the world," adds, Markus Staempfli, Vice President & General Manager, Intercontinental Commercial Operations, CSL Behring.

The newly founded center will be managed by leading experts in 4 countries:

Dr. Rachida Boukari, Mustapha Pacha Children's Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Algiers, Algeria
Dr. Aisha El- Marsafy and Dr. Jeannette Boutros, Faculty of Medicine Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
Dr. Aziz Bousfiha, King Hassan II University, Casablanca, Morocco
Dr. Ridha Barbouche, Institut Pasteur de Tunis, Tunis, Tunisia

About the Jeffrey Modell Foundation
Vicki and Fred Modell established the Jeffrey Modell Foundation (JMF) in 1987, in memory of their son Jeffrey, who died at the age of fifteen from complications of Primary Immunodeficiency -- a genetic condition that is chronic, serious, and often fatal.
JMF is a global nonprofit organization dedicated to early diagnosis, meaningful treatments and, ultimately, cures through research, physician education, public awareness, advocacy, patient support, and newborn screening. The Jeffrey Modell Centers Network (JMCN) includes over 600 expert physicians at 250 academic institutions, in 206 cities, 84 countries, spanning 6 continents and growing.

About CSL Behring
CSL Behring is a global biotherapeutics leader which is 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), headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, employs more than 17,000 people, providing its life-saving, life-changing therapies to people in more than 60 countries. For more information visit www.cslbehring.com and follow us on www.Twitter.com/CSLBehring.

SOURCE CSL Behring