NORGINE AND EUROPEAN LIVER PATIENTS ASSOCIATION (ELPA) CONTINUING TO IMPROVE THE MANAGEMENT OF HEPATIC ENCEPHALOPATHY

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NORGINE AND EUROPEAN LIVER PATIENTS ASSOCIATION (ELPA) CONTINUING TO IMPROVE THE MANAGEMENT OF HEPATIC ENCEPHALOPATHY

-Launching new hepatic encephalopathy patient leaflet in 11 languages

-Launching new patient passport to help manage disease and interactions with care team

London, UK. 19 April 2017. 07:00 BST. Norgine and ELPA today launched a patient leaflet to improve the early detection of hepatic encephalopathy, and a patient passport to facilitate conversations with healthcare professionals. Hepatic encephalopathy remains under-diagnosed and under-treated, as many patients and carers are unaware of the signs and symptoms of the disease. In addition, healthcare providers don’t always identify and treat the often subtle symptoms of hepatic encephalopathy, and this can lead to poor patient outcomes and increased hospital admissions.^[1]

Hepatic encephalopathy is a significant complication of advanced chronic liver disease, and occurs in up to 40% of patients or as many as 200,000* people in Europe. ^[1][2]

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The collaboration between Norgine and ELPA is fundamental to ensure high quality provision of information for patients, so that in consultation with their healthcare professionals they can make well informed choices about their health and treatment. Hepatic encephalopathy is a life threatening condition and healthcare systems need to report it like other critical conditions, so that patients can be managed accordingly. Norgine and ELPA started collaborating in 2015 with the launch of Time to DeLiver: Getting a Grip on Hepatic Encephalopathy. The report aims to drive change in the perception, identification and management of hepatic encephalopathy and to date it remains the only report in Europe for this disease.

Tatjana Reic, President, ELPA said “In Europe, 200,000 people are affected by hepatic encephalopathy, yet despite the severity of the disease it is still under-diagnosed and under-treated. The new patient leaflet and passport are welcome as they will help patients and their carers to manage this debilitating disease which can significantly impact people’s lives and those who care for them.”

Peter Martin, Chief Operating Officer, Norgine said “Norgine is highly committed to working with ELPA so together we can ensure that hepatic encephalopathy is recognised as a life threatening condition and that patients can be managed accordingly.”

Click here to download Understanding Hepatic Encephalopathy patient leaflet

Click here to download Patient Passport

Understanding Hepatic Encephalopathy patient leaflet, patient passport and Time to DeLiver report are sponsored by Norgine.

Ends

*Assumes European population is 500,000

Notes to editors

About Hepatic Encephalopathy (HE)

HE is a serious and potentially life-threatening neuropsychiatric condition associated with liver cirrhosis.^[3] Severe HE has been estimated to affect 40% of people with cirrhosis and symptoms include disorientation, confusion, inappropriate behaviour and personality change.^[1] Hepatic encephalopathy results from a damaged liver that is not able to detoxify the blood as efficiently as usual. Toxins build up in the bloodstream and eventually in the brain, which leads to neurological disorders.^[1],[2]

About ELPA

The European Liver Patients Association was born in 2004 when 13 patients groups from 10 European and Mediterranean Countries met in order to share their experiences regarding the different approaches towards hepatitis adopted in their countries. ELPA was formally launched in Paris on April 14th 2005 during the annual conference of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL). In more than ten years, ELPA has grown into a strong umbrella organization with more than 35 members representing 27 countries.

ELPA’s vision is that “all liver patients are diagnosed in time, are treated with respect and have equal access to the best standard of care – regardless of origin, lifestyle or liver disease diagnosis. Our ultimate goal is a world without liver diseases”.

ELPA’s aim is to promote the interests of people with liver disease and in particular: to highlight the size of the problem; to promote awareness and prevention; to address the low profile of liver disease compared to other areas of medicine; to share best practices in Europe; to work with key stakeholders, such as EASL, the EU Parliament, other international bodies and national governments to ensure that treatment and care are harmonized across Europe to the highest standards.

ELPA is using its position as board member of Hepatitis B&C Public Policy Association, VHPB, WHA, ECDC Hepatitis framework programme and the WHO Country Programme to ensure that there is harmonised work towards better national and EU policies for all liver diseases.

About Norgine

Norgine is a leading European specialist pharmaceutical company with a direct commercial presence in all major European markets. In 2016, Norgine’s total revenue was EUR 368 million. Norgine employs over 1,000 people across its commercial, development and manufacturing operations and manages all aspects of product development, production, marketing, sale and supply.

Norgine specialises in gastroenterology, hepatology, cancer and supportive care.

Norgine is headquartered in the Netherlands. Norgine owns a R&D site in Hengoed, Wales and two manufacturing sites in Hengoed, Wales and Dreux, France.

For more information, please visit www.norgine.com

In 2012, Norgine established a complementary business Norgine Ventures, supporting innovative healthcare companies through the provision of debt-like financing in Europe and the US. For more information, please visit www.norgineventures.com.

NORGINE and the sail logo are trademarks of the Norgine group of companies.

ELPA media contacts
Livia Alimena, Public Affairs Director
pad@elpa-info.org

Norgine media contacts
Isabelle Jouin, T: +44 (0)1895 453643
Charlotte Andrews, T: +44 (0)1895 453607
Follow us @Norgine

References

[1] Hepatic Encephalopathy in Chronic Liver Disease: 2014 Practice Guideline by the European Association for the Study of the Liver and the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. Journal of Hepatology 2014; 61(3):642-659

[2] Mullen KD. Review of the final report of the 1998 Working Party on definition, nomenclature and diagnosis of hepatic encephalopathy. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2007 Feb;25 Suppl 1:11-6.

[3] Morgan M. Chapter 8: Hepatic Encephalopathy in Patients with Cirrhosis. In: Dooley JS, Lok A, Burroughs A, Heathcote J, editors. Sherlock’s Diseases of the Liver and Biliary System. 12th ed: Blackwell Publishing Ltd; 2011.