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Dey, L.P. Co-Sponsors First Patient COPD Education Day with COPD Resource Network
Sponsorship marks Dey’s salute to November as COPD Awareness Month
Napa, CA, November 24, 2003 - Dey, L.P., a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on prescription drug products for the treatment of selected respiratory diseases and allergies, co-sponsored the first patient COPD Education Day through the COPD Resource Network (formerly NECA) in Orlando, Florida, on 26 October. The event, which brought together leading respiratory disease researchers and policymakers, provided a current snapshot of the most up-to-date research and public policy issues on the disease and its treatment. The COPD Resource Network provided the full day of educational sessions for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and their families, as well as for healthcare providers, educators, researchers, and industry representatives.
Barbara Rogers, President of the COPD Resource Network, said:
“My hope is that our first COPD Education Day will be a call to action and the launch of a vigorous disease awareness campaign in this country and internationally. Although COPD is a major killer, ranking 4th in the US in terms of annual deaths, victims of COPD too often suffer and die in obscurity, underdiagnosed and undertreated for a condition that strikes an estimated 36 million Americans."
“I want to extend my profound thanks to the distinguished researchers, clinicians, and policymakers who were gracious enough to join us at our first education day. Their support will help us begin to bring COPD into the national spotlight, where the disease and its treatments can become more widely understood."
“In particular I want to salute Dr. Tomas L. Petty, President of the National Lung Health Education Program and Professor at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. Tom is an internationally respected expert in respiratory disease who pioneered the use of oxygen as adjunctive therapy for COPD. In recognition of his pathbreaking scientific contributions to our understanding of COPD, we have honored him with our first annual Thomas L. Petty Distinguished Achievement Award. In years to come, this ongoing award will recognize individuals who make fundamental contributions to the fight against COPD.”
Enhancing the quality of life of individuals suffering from COPD is a prime focus of the COPD Resource Network. With this goal in mind, the individual talks, panels, and roundtables at the COPD Education Day were supplemented with hands-on opportunities for attendees to try innovative medical equipment and to participate in two premiere self-care activities: yoga-based breathing and stretching, and t’ai chi chih.
“The COPD Resource Network is working to become a catalyst for an ever-expanding network of patient and clinician educational initiatives,” said Hannah Hedrick, PhD, Director of the Fern Forest Haven and Board Secretary of the COPD Resource Network. “As the number of COPD cases rises year after year, approaching pandemic proportions, we all have an obligation to become involved in raising the public awareness about the symptoms, prevention, and treatments for this devastating disease. The COPD Resource Network will continue to work with other concerned groups to make this happen. And most importantly, we want to empower COPD patients to become more proactive in understanding and managing their disease, and encourage them to join our organization.”
The COPD Resource Network was joined in providing the day’s sessions by the Alpha-1 Foundation, a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to facilitate research, improved health, worldwide detection, and a cure for Alpha-1. Alpha-1 is a genetic abnormality that is implicated in disease, including certain types of COPD.
The day’s speakers and roundtable panelists included over two dozen of the most distinguished names in respiratory medicine and research, both nationally and internationally. In addition to Dr. Petty, individual presentations were made by:
- Bartolome R. Celli, MD, FCCP, St. Elizabeth's Medical Center; Medical Advisory Council, COPD Resource Network
- Jim Kiley, MD, Director, NHLBI Division of Lung Diseases
- Fernando Martinez, MD, University of Michigan Hospitals; Medical Advisory Council, COPD Resource Network
- Stephen Rennard, MD, FCCP, University of Nebraska Medical Center; Medical Advisory Council, COPD Resource Network
- Lauren Smith, from the office of The Honorable Cliff Stearns
- Joseph F. Tascone, PhD and COPD patient
- Byron Thomashow, MD, Jo-Ann Le Buhn Center for Chest Disease and Respiratory Failure; Director and Medical Advisory Council, COPD Resource Network
- Gerald Turino, MD, Director, Mara Center for Lung Disease; Director, COPD Resource Network
- John Walsh, CEO, Alpha-1 Foundation; Special Advisor to the Board, COPD Resource Network
Les Thompson, Dey’s Group Product Director for the COPD medication DuoNeb®, remarked, ”Dey is proud to support the COPD Resource Network by sponsoring the first annual COPD Education Day. The group works tirelessly to provide hands-on assistance to COPD patients, helping them find greater access to information and improve their quality of life. Additionally, the COPD Resource Network has also found its voice in the clinical and public policy arenas, advancing both physicians’ and the general public’s understanding of this major killer.”
About COPD
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, refers to a number of slowly progressive but chronic lung disorders that obstruct the airways. The most common forms of COPD are chronic bronchitis, chronic obstructive bronchitis or emphysema, or both. In chronic bronchitis, the airways in the lungs become partially clogged with mucus. Emphysema occurs when air sacs in the lungs become enlarged and damaged, preventing full exhalation and causing the surrounding airways to collapse. According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health, COPD is the fourth leading cause of death in the US, with more than 12 million Americans currently diagnosed with the disease and an estimated 24 million additional persons suffering from it but undiagnosed. Although the disease has no cure, treatment plans can provide symptomatic relief and improve the quality of patients’ lives.
About Dey, L.P.
Dey, L.P., is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development, manufacturing and marketing of prescription drug products for the treatment of respiratory diseases and respiratory-related allergies. Since 1978, patients have benefited from Dey's commitment to innovative and affordable health care solutions.The Web sites for DEY include www.dey.com, www.accuneb.com, www.curosurfusa.com, www.duoneb.com and www.epipen.com. Dey is an affiliate of EMD, Inc, a division of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany.
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Contact: Dey, L.P. Media Line 1-800-755-5560 ext. 8363
