Pfizer's commitment to rare diseases
As one of the world’s largest research-based pharmaceutical companies, Pfizer is committed to helping address the unmet medical needs of people with rare diseases.
Pfizer: committed to discovering new therapies for rare diseases
Rare diseases are among the most serious of all illnesses and collectively affect millions of patients worldwide, representing an opportunity to apply our knowledge and expertise to help make a significant impact in addressing unmet medical needs. The Pfizer focus on rare diseases builds on more than a decade of experience and a global portfolio of over 20 medicines approved worldwide that treat rare diseases in the areas of hematology, neuroscience, inherited metabolic disorders, pulmonology, and oncology.
Protalix: an Israeli-based biotechnology company
Even though Gaucher disease is a rare disease, it is familiar to the employees of Protalix Biotherapeutics, the Israeli-based biotech company that manufactures ELELYSO® (taliglucerase alfa) for injection. Several have family members and friends who have personal experience with Gaucher disease, so the employees truly understand the impact it can have on patients and their families. Out of their passion to help people, ELELYSO was developed as a treatment for Type 1 Gaucher disease.
To learn more about Protalix, visit their Web site.
This Web site is neither owned nor controlled by Pfizer. Pfizer does not endorse and is not responsible for the content or services of this site.
The Orthodox Union (OU)
ELELYSO is the first prescription medication to receive kosher certification from the OU.
The OU is a not-for-profit global organization headquartered in New York City that serves the Jewish community on multiple levels. The OU Kosher division is the largest and most well-known kosher certification agency in the world. Products the OU certifies kosher—and the facilities making them—are rigorously monitored, regularly inspected, and held to high-quality standards.
While Gaucher disease occurs at rates of around 1 in 50,000 to 1 in 100,000 in the general population, people of Ashkenazi Jewish heritage are affected roughly 1 in 600.
Although injectable medicines do not require kosher certification, the OU agreed to grant kosher certification to show support for Pfizer’s commitment to a small population within the Jewish community afflicted with Type 1 Gaucher disease.
To learn more about the OU, please visit their Web site. To learn more about kosher certification, please visit the OU Kosher Web site.
These Web sites are neither owned nor controlled by Pfizer. Pfizer does not endorse and is not responsible for the content or services of these sites.