BASEL, Switzerland, March 8 /PRNewswire/ --
-- New global educational resources spotlight renal anaemia, a common under-recognized complication of Chronic Kidney Disease
To help support health professionals who play a key role in educating and managing patients with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD), Roche today announced the launch of AnaemiaWorld.com, a major new centralized online resource. AnaemiaWorld.com is believed to be the first global Internet portal that features comprehensive information on renal anaemia. It has been designed for nephrologists to help them keep abreast of developments in managing patients with CKD and one of its debilitating complications, renal anaemia.
Surveys have revealed that nearly nine out of ten nephrologists in Europe believe Web-based resources are essential to their professional practice, with nephrologists spending on average seven hours a week online, half of it for professional purposes. In fact, 90% of nephrologists say "the Internet improves my clinical capabilities and knowledge."(i)
"Renal anaemia is a complicated condition that is growing steadily with the rising prevalence of chronic kidney disease," said Dr. Philippe Van der Auwera, Head of Anaemia Management at Roche. "As a leader in renal anaemia, we are committed to providing resource tools like AnaemiaWorld.com that can help enhance greater understanding and better management of renal anaemia."
In addition, Roche is the global sponsor of the first World Kidney Day (WKD) Quiz that is online at www.worldkidneyday.org, that will act as a benchmark for determining what the public knows about some basic facts of chronic kidney disease. The WKD Quiz is available in English, French, Spanish, Italian, German and Greek.
About AnaemiaWorld.com
AnaemiaWorld.com features detailed information on chronic kidney disease, its link to renal anaemia and issues related to the management of the condition. As nearly 90 percent of nephrologists believe the Internet plays a crucial role in enhancing their clinical knowledge,(i) the site www.AnaemiaWorld.com includes useful diagnostic and treatment tools, such as a glomerular filtration rate (GFR) calculator, which doctors can use to determine a patient's kidney function. AnaemiaWorld.com also provides the opportunity to:
-- View the most recent news about renal anaemia and find in depth
articles about the current issues in the field via a newswire feed;
-- Access global treatment guidelines;
-- Subscribe to a database to receive the most important and current
peer-reviewed kidney disease publications;
-- Source educational information for patients via a series of external
links; and
-- Review highlights from leading global congresses.
Roche is also simultaneously launching a handbook titled "Exposing the Burden of Renal Anaemia," for medical and consumer journalists that was developed and endorsed by a number of European nephrologists.
The handbook for journalists serves as a quick and dependable reference guide that provides information about the prevalence, impact and the burden of renal anaemia worldwide. For information on how to obtain a downloadable version of the Reporter's Guide, log on to PR Newswire for Journalists site at http://media.prnewswire.com/en/jsp/main.... and provide your username and password.
"As one of the editors of the Reporters' Guide, I am pleased that it will now be a resource for reporters who track emerging health care issues," said Iain Macdougall, M.D., Department of Renal Medicine, King's College Hospital, London, United Kingdom. "We live in a world that is hungry for news and information, and sources that can be relied upon."
About Renal Anaemia
Renal anaemia is caused when the kidneys fail to stimulate the production of red blood cells, which transport the oxygen-carrying protein, haemoglobin, throughout the body. Renal anaemia is present in the early stages of CKD and becomes increasingly more severe and more common as the disease progresses. In fact, as patients reach end-stage renal disease, 90 percent of them will be affected by renal anaemia. If left untreated, renal anaemia can undermine a patient's quality of life, overall health and contribute to the development of cardiovascular disease.(ii)
About Roche
Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Roche is one of the world's leading research-focused healthcare groups in the fields of pharmaceuticals and diagnostics. As the world's biggest biotech company and an innovator of products and services for the early detection, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases, the Group contributes on a broad range of fronts to improving people's health and quality of life. Roche is the world leader in diagnostics and drugs for cancer and transplantation, a market leader in virology and active in other major therapeutic areas such as autoimmune diseases, inflammation, metabolism and central nervous system. In 2006 sales by the Pharmaceuticals Division totalled 33.3 billion Swiss francs, and the Diagnostics Division posted sales of 8.7 billion Swiss francs. Roche employs roughly 75,000 worldwide and has R&D agreements and strategic alliances with numerous partners, including majority ownership interests in Genentech and Chugai. Additional information about the Roche Group is available on the Internet at www.roche.com.
(i) Taking the Pulse Europe v6.0, Manhattan Research, Nov. 2006
(ii) Exposing the Burden of Renal Anaemia - A Reporter's Guide, 2007
For further information, please contact:
Sheila Gies
Roche
Phone: +1-973-235-4347
Nicole Symon
Weber Shandwick Worldwide
Phone: +1-212-445-8175
Web site: http://www.roche.com
http://www.AnaemiaWorld.com
http://www.worldkidneyday.org
Sheila Gies, of Roche, +1-973-235-4347; Nicole Symon, of Weber Shandwick Worldwide for Roche, +1-212-445-8175
