IRON THERAPIES

IRON THERAPIES

• Iron deficiency with or without anaemia is an underlying condition in many chronic diseases. Anaemia is defined by subnormal haemoglobinlevels that prevent the effective transport and utilisation of oxygen. Because iron is the functional component of haemoglobin, iron deficiency occurs in most cases in connection with, or even before, the onset of anaemia.

• Vifor Pharma, as a leading company in iron replacement therapy, concentrates its activities on the following strategic therapeutic areas:

• haemodialysis,

• non-dialysis chronic kidney disease (ND-CKD),

• cardiology,

• oncology,

• obstetrics/gynaecology,

• menometrorrhagia / heavy menstrual bleeding,

• gastroenterology,

• patient blood management and

• paediatrics.

HAEMODIALYSIS

• In patients with end-stage renal disease,haemodialysis is used to substitute for lostkidney function and remove waste products(e.g. creatinine and urea) from blood. Patientsundergoing regular haemodialysis are ofteniron-deficient due to the frequent blood lossassociated with haemodialysis.

Non-dialysis chronic kidney disease )CKD-ND(

• Decreased kidney function in patients with chronic kidney disease may reduce the stimulation of red blood cell synthesis and the utilisation of nutritional or stored iron. This can lead to the development of anaemia even in patients who are not on haemodialysis.

CARDIOLOGY

• Iron deficiency occurs frequently in patients with chronic heart failure and is associated with an increased risk of heart transplantation. Chronic inflammatory processes are often the main cause for impaired iron metabolism.

ONCOLOGYCHEMOTHERAPY INDUCED ANAEMIA

• Some cancer patients may experience iron deficiency and anaemia. Both can result from chronic bleeding associated with certain tumour types (e.g. gastrointestinal tumours) and changes in the utilisation of iron induced by the tumour itself or different types of chemotherapy.

GYNAECOLOGY AND OBSTETRICS

• Heavy menstrual bleeding, the high iron requirements of a growing foetus during pregnancy, and blood loss during childbirth, are three conditions that put women of childbearing age at greater risk of becoming anaemic or iron-deficient.

MENOMETRORRHAGIA OR HEAVY MENSTRUAL BLEEDING (HMB)

• Heavy uterine bleeding (HMB) is one of the most common and economically significant gynaecologic complaints . In clinical practice, HMB is the leading cause of iron deficiency with or without anaemia.

GASTROENTEROLOGY

• Iron deficiency and iron deficiency anaemiaare common complications in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease) that result from chronic blood loss and chronic inflammation associated with the disease.

PATIENT BLOOD MANAGEMENT

• Surgery is associated with blood loss. Patients that are already anaemic before surgery have a higher risk of receiving a blood transfusion. Patient blood management focuses on avoiding blood transfusions by correcting anaemia before starting a surgical procedure, minimising blood loss during the surgery and optimising the anaemia treatment postoperatively.

PAEDIATRICS

• Iron deficiency and iron deficiency anaemiacan affect infants, children and adolescents. Menstruating young women are at particularly high risk of becoming iron deficient.

OTHER THERAPIES

In addition to iron replacement therapies, ViforPharma focuses on the following therapeutic areas:

• diabetic retinopathy and

• haemorrhoids.

DIABETIC RETINOPATHY

• Diabetic retinopathy is a microvascularcomplication of diabetes and its prevalence increases with the duration of diabetes. Diabetic retinopathy is associated with diabetic macular oedema, which is considered as the principal cause of vision loss in persons with diabetes. Independent of gender, diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of blindness in working-aged persons.

HAEMORRHOIDS

• Haemorrhoids, also called piles, are enlarged, engorged and inflamed veins in or around the rectum and anus.

• Haemorrhoids can be inside and/or outside the anus. They are not dangerous. Symptoms of haemorrhoids include bright red blood from the anus on toilet paper, itching around the anus, pain and discomfort during and after bowel movement and one or several tender lumps near the anus.

IRON PRODUCTS

• Vifor Pharma is a leader in iron replacement therapy, with a history dating back to 1872 when pharmacist Conrad Ferdinand Hausmann opened a pharmacy in St. Gallen, Switzerland, and developed infusion preparations and pharmaceutical specialities.

Ferinject® (ferric carboxymaltose)Ferrum

• _Ferinject® is a solution of ferric carboxymaltose used for intravenous treatment of iron deficiency when oral iron preparations are ineffective or cannot be used. The properties of the complex, in particular its stability, makes high dosing up to 1000 mg iron possible. These characteristics make Ferinjectthe first non-dextran iron complex for high iv iron dosing.

Venofer® (iron sucrose)

• Venofer® is the established brand of a solution of iron sucrose used for intravenous treatment of iron deficiency when oral iron preparations are ineffective or cannot be used.

Maltofer® (iron polymaltose)

• Maltofer® is a further iron carbohydrate complex, i.e. iron polymaltose, available in solution or in tablet form used for oral treatment of iron deficiency and iron deficiency anaemia as well as prophylactic oral therapy of iron deficiency during pregnancy.

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