Pharmaceutical company CSL Behring said it will sponsor the Jeffrey Modell North African Network during the 5th African Society for Immunodeficiency biannual congress in Zambia.
Jeffrey Modell North African Network works to build diagnostic and research centers in North Africa, and it is the first program devoted to assisting primary immunodeficiency patients in Africa, CSL Behring said in a press release. Primary immunodeficiency is a chronic genetic condition that is often fatal.
The Jeffrey Modell Foundation was founded by Vicki and Fred Modell in 1987 in memory of their son Jeffrey, who died at age 15 from complications of primary immunodeficiency, CSL Behring, based in said.
“Fred and I have dreamed about creating a Jeffrey Modell North African Network for a very long time,” Vicki Modell, co-founder of Jeffrey Modell Foundation, said in the release. “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.”
Jeffrey Modell Centers Network consists of 253 sites throughout the world. CSL Behring said the North African Network will provide prospective patients with advanced diagnostic evaluation.
“Here in Africa, it’s estimated that the diagnosis rate of PI, a life-threatening condition, is only about 0.3 percent,” Markus Staempfli, vice president and general manager of intercontinental commercial operations for CSL Behring, said in the release. “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.”
