Corporate Responsibility
Our commitment extends beyond the products we offer by demonstrating our compassion and dedication to improving the health of individuals around the world.
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As a leader in the development of innovative treatments for life-threatening diseases, we believe it is essential for patients and care providers to have access to important healthcare information.
Please note, some of the following links are intended for U.S. residents only.
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HIV/AIDS
The first cases of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), which is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), were reported among a small number of gay men by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 1981.
Today, more than 33 million people worldwide are infected with HIV. In the United States an estimated 1.2 million people are estimated to be living with HIV/AIDS and 56,000 new infections occur each year. Of the more than 1 million HIV positive Americans, CDC estimates that 1 in 4 – approximately 300,000 people – do not know they are infected. Individuals who do not know they are infected are believed to transmit as many as 70 percent of new, sexually transmitted HIV infections in the United States.
HIV is a member of a class of viruses called retroviruses. Unlike other viruses and almost all living things, the genetic material of retroviruses is contained in RNA (ribonucleic acid) rather than DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid). Because of this, retroviruses must take over a host cell’s DNA in order to reproduce. The virus itself is constructed of a single strand of RNA enclosed in a simple glycoprotein capsule.
HIV attacks and can ultimately overwhelm the body’s immune system. As an integral component of the immune system, a subset of white blood cells called CD4 or T cells works to destroy foreign organisms as they enter the body. However, HIV damages and impairs these cells, progressively destroying the body’s ability to counter new infections and certain cancers.
An HIV-positive individual is diagnosed with AIDS when his or her CD4 cell count drops below 200 cells per microliter of blood – a healthy, HIV-negative person has 500 to 1,600 CD4 cells per microliter of blood – or when specific, AIDS-defining severe infections or cancers are present. Individuals diagnosed with AIDS are susceptible to life-threatening diseases called opportunistic infections, which are caused by microbes that usually do not cause illness in healthy people.
To help you learn more about HIV/AIDS, we have listed links to pages with helpful information, including links to websites with information about clinical trials underway in which patients may be eligible to receive experimental treatments:
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Hepatitis B
More than 400 million people worldwide are infected with the hepatitis B virus (HBV), which attacks the liver. Between one-fourth and one-third of people with chronic hepatitis B infection develop progressive liver disease, and HBV infection is a leading cause of liver cancer. The complications of chronic hepatitis B kill an estimated 600,000 people each year, making it one of the world's leading causes of death due to infectious disease.
In the United States alone, an estimated 2 million people are believed to have chronic hepatitis B infection. More than 45,000 people were infected in 2006 by coming in contact with the blood or bodily fluids of an infected person. The infection can also be passed from mother to child during delivery.
For more information about HBV, please visit the sites below:
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Cystic Fibrosis
Affecting more than 30,000 people in the United States, cystic fibrosis (CF) is a chronic, debilitating genetic disease that leads to the production of abnormally thick, sticky mucus in the lungs, which traps bacteria and predisposes patients to severe lung infections. Pulmonary infection with gram-negative bacteria, particularly pulmonary Pseudomonas aeruginosa, is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality among CF patients. Currently there is no known cure for this disorder. The goal of CF therapy is to control symptoms and prevent further lung damage.
For more information about CF and other respiratory diseases, please visit the sites below:
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Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension
Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a debilitating disease caused by the severe constriction of blood vessels in the lungs, leading to very high pulmonary arterial pressures. These high pressures make it difficult for the heart to pump blood through the lungs to be oxygenated. Pulmonary arterial hypertension can occur with no known underlying cause or act as a secondary condition to diseases like scleroderma (an autoimmune disease of the connective tissues), cirrhosis of the liver, congenital heart defects or HIV infection. Patients with PAH suffer from extreme shortness of breath as a result of impaired blood flow to the lungs and ultimately die of heart failure. Pulmonary arterial hypertension affects approximately 200,000 people worldwide.
For more information on pulmonary arterial hypertension, visit the sites below:
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Systemic Fungal Infections
Once fairly rare, systemic fungal infections have become increasingly common in hospitals and in other healthcare settings. Patients most at risk include persons with HIV infection and those with compromised immune systems, such as the elderly or recent transplant and chemotherapy patients. Fortunately, many systemic fungal infections can be effectively treated with currently available therapeutics.
Common blood-borne fungal infections include aspergillosis, cryptococcosis and candidiasis.
Aspergillosis is usually caused by inhaling aspergillus fumigatus spores, which causes infection primarily in the lungs. Infection-causing spores can also move into the gastrointestinal tract, liver and spleen. In rare cases, aspergillosis can infect the sinuses and from there spread to the brain. Typical symptoms for an infection of the lungs include chest pain, chronic coughing, fever, weight loss, coughing up blood and pneumonia.
Cryptococcosis is the most common life-threatening fungal infection associated with HIV infection. Caused by Cryptococcus neoformans, the infection is acquired by inhaling airborne spores, which target the central nervous system and lungs. Symptoms include dull chest pain, sputum, weight loss, fever, changes in behavior and vision and nausea.
Candidiasis is the most common blood-borne fungal infection in the western world. The fungus that causes it, Candida albicans, is found in the mouth and gastrointestinal tract of approximately 30 to 50 percent of healthy individuals. When the immune system is weakened, the fungus can cause infection that targets the kidneys and heart. Symptoms include chest pain, difficulty swallowing, bone pain and pneumonia.
For more information about fungal infections and their treatment, visit these sites:
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CMV Retinitis
Due to advances in the treatment of HIV, the number of cases of AIDS-related cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis has declined during the past decade. However, this devastating opportunistic infection still affects some patients with AIDS, and can ultimately lead to blindness.
CMV retinitis is a viral, systemic infection most frequently characterized by a white infiltrate that clouds the retina, killing the retinal cells and forming lesions that impair vision. If left untreated this infection can progress rapidly, but blindness can be prevented with early therapeutic intervention.
For more information about CMV retinitis treatment for patients with AIDS, visit these sites:
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Influenza
Each year, up to 40 million Americans develop influenza (flu), a respiratory infection caused by type A and type B influenza viruses. This extremely contagious virus usually enters the body through mucous membranes in the mouth, nose or eyes after an infected person coughs or sneezes.
Common flu symptoms include the sudden onset of fever and chills, cough, muscle pain, headache, exhaustion and weakness. However, innovative treatments to prevent flu have been recently developed and are now available.
For more information about influenza, visit the sites listed below:
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