Welcome to EHA 2019 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands
From June 13-16, 2019, the European Hematology Association holds the 24th EHA annual congress at RAI Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Address details RAI Amsterdam Europaplein 24, 1078 GZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands www.rai.nl/en
More than 10.000 hematologists coming from all over the world, patient organisations, patient advocates representing hematological diseases and other stakeholders will be attending this impressive meeting. Up to 60 free congress registrations were offered to patient advocates, including more than 20 advocates interested in CML, so we hope there will be strong patient attendance!
Click "Read more" to see what has been offered specifically for patient advocates, haematologists and other stakeholders at #EHA24 this year.
Welcome, Patients with chronic myeloid leukemia in Kyrgyzstan!
Now 122 patient organisations from 92 countries in the CML Advocates Network
We are proud to welcome a new member organisation to the CML Advocates Network: Patients with chronic myeloid leukemia in Kyrgyzstan.
The CML Advocates Network now totals at 122 member organisations in 92 countries worldwide!
Read more to see the list of CML groups in the Network on our world map.
Apply for an EHA 2019 Fellowship until 9th April
The European Hematology Association (EHA) has already opened the Fellowship Application and Registration process by providing 60 free congress registrations for leaders of hematology patient organisations. This year, EHA has increased their fellowship and is offering an additional 10 fellowships, to provide patient advocates the opportunity to attend the 24th annual EHA congress which is taking place in Amsterdam from June 13-16, 2019.
If you are a representative of a CML patient organisation interested in attending this Congress, you have the possibility to apply for an EHA Fellowship and attend the 24th EHA Congress HERE.
Welcome, ASUL, Uruguay!
Now 121 patient organisations from 91 countries in the CML Advocates Network
We are proud to welcome a new member organisation to the CML Advocates Network: Asociación Uruguaya de Leucemia ASUL, based in Uruguay.
The CML Advocates Network now totals at 121 member organisations in 91 countries worldwide!
Read more to see the list of CML groups in the Network on our world map.
CML Advocates Network with the Rare Disease Day 2019
Chronic Myeloid Leukemia is a Rare Disease
What a Rare Disease is?
According to the European Commission, any disease affecting fewer than 5 people in 10,000 in the EU is considered rare. Although this might appear small, it translates into approximately 246,000 people.
Most patients suffer from even rarer diseases affecting 1 person in 100,000 or more. Approximately 5,000-8,000 distinct rare diseases affect 6-8% of the EU population i.e. between 27 and 36 million people.
In the USA, a disease is defined as rare when it affects fewer than 200,000 Americans at any given time.
The actual prevalence of rare diseases can vary between populations, making it difficult to provide a precise numerical definition
- 80% of rare diseases have identified genetic origins whilst others are the result of infections (bacterial or viral), allergies and environmental causes, or are degenerative and proliferative.
- 50% of rare diseases affect children.
Click here to check more information about Rare Diseases at Eurordis, Rare Diseases Europe.
UPDATE: Falsified Iclusig traded globally, discovered in Malaysia (new), Turkey, Switzerland, Argentina and Internet sales with UK/Ireland product batch numbers PR072875 (45mg) and 25A19E09 (15mg)
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has issued a medical product alert today that falsified versions of ICLUSIG (Ponatinib) have been discovered in Turkey, Argentina and Switzerland, and in Internet sales. The falsified (counterfeit) medicines do not contain any of the CML drug ponatinib, but only low quantities of paracetamol. These falsified medicines are not going to have any effect against CML. The falsified English language packs contain the lot/batch numbers
- PR072875 (UK/Ireland pack, English language, 60 tablets á 45mg, Expiry date 12/2019) and
- 25A19E09 (UK/Ireland pack, English language, 30 tablets á 15mg, Expiry date 10/2020).
In addition, on 20 February 2019, we were notified of a new falsified Iclusig pack:
- PR0834170 (German pack, German language, 30 tablets á 45 mg, Expiry date 06/2020).
The WHO page which is available in English, French, Russian and Spanish provides photos of the packages and pill bottles so patients can find the batch numbers. The WHO page has not yet been updated on the third falsified pack, which is expected those days.
To identify falsified product batches both the batch number and packaging (language, country of the pack) are important.
No UK/Ireland ORIGINAL product has been produced by the manufacturers Incyte/Takeda that carries those batch numbers in languages from those countries and with these languages. Products with the above batch numbers, country and language are most likely falsified.
In case of PR072875, the counterfeiters used this genuine lot number originally issued on a German ICLUSIG box and created a falsified UK packaging. In case of 25A19E09 and PR0834170, no original products were manufactured wih those batch numbers.
And so far, the manufacturer and medicines authorities are NOT aware of additional FALSIFIED ponatinib products bearing different batch numbers, so patients taking Ponatinib with other batch numbers than those listed above should NOT yet be concerned.
Patients, physicians and distributors should make sure to obtain CML medication from validated and reliable sources that are able to demonstrate the authenticity of origin of the products.
In case of any concern, check the batch number against the two identified falsifications, and contact Incyte Medical Information in case of persisting suspicion at eumedinfo@incyte.com or +800 00027423.
Please let the CML Advocates Network know via info@cmladvocates.net if you come across the falsified product with these batch numbers, so we know whether the falsified medicines have been shipped to any other regions or countries. National CML patient groups are also encouraged to notify their local health authorities and leading physicians.
