Join Lundbeck and the Hereditary Disease Foundation to Build Hope for HD During Huntington’s Disease (HD) Awareness Month

DEERFIELD, Ill. May 5, 2010 – In recognition of Huntington’s Disease (HD) Awareness Month in May, Lundbeck Inc. today launched the Build Hope for HD donation campaign. The web-based initiative, conducted in conjunction with the Hereditary Disease Foundation and the Huntington Study Group, is aimed at raising awareness of HD and generating support for a unique clinic in Venezuela that provides care exclusively for people affected by HD in a community greatly impacted by the disease.  

To learn more about HD and make a donation, individuals can simply visit www.BuildHopeForHD.com and click on the campaign icon, which will trigger Lundbeck to donate $10 toward the clinic. These funds will support the clinic/nursing home, Casa Hogar Corea de Huntington, Amor y Fe (Huntington’s Chorea Home of Love and Faith).

The Casa Hogar provides treatment, food, integrated nursing home and respite care with dignity and love to thousands of family members with HD, living along the shores of Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela. These HD families represent the largest communities with HD worldwide. The Casa Hogar is unique in providing this type of care.

The Hereditary Disease Foundation organized and supported the “Gene Hunters,” a group of investigators who worked for more than a decade looking for the HD gene. In 1983, the Gene Hunters found a linked DNA marker that identified that the gene was on the top of chromosome 4. It took another decade of arduous work to isolate the gene itself.  All of these discoveries were done in collaboration with the Venezuelan HD families and their success was due to their participation.

“The help of these families in Venezuela was absolutely essential in finding the HD gene and in making many critical breakthroughs since. The Venezuelan HD families have already impacted the lives of thousands of families around the world struggling with HD and we are grateful to them,” said Nancy Wexler, Ph.D., President of the Hereditary Disease Foundation and Higgins Professor of Neuropsychology, Columbia University.  “At the Hereditary Disease Foundation, we look forward to sharing new treatments and cures with these families and all others worldwide. Lundbeck’s support in our mission is greatly appreciated.”

“Through our work with patient advocacy groups and physicians, we appreciate the major challenges that people with HD and their families face each day,” said Sean Nolan, President of Lundbeck Inc. “We are proud to support this critically important clinic in South America.  This is just one small way for us to give back to the HD community in Venezuela that has made unparalleled contributions to the scientific understanding of HD while continuing to deal with the major personal burden of the disease.”

In gratitude for the participation of the families, the Hereditary Disease Foundation worked, together with the Venezuelan local authorities, to build the Casa Hogar. It took ten years to complete and has now been open for a decade. The Hereditary Disease Foundation continues to support the costs of medicines and salaries. By policy of the Casa Hogar, almost all of the people who work there are HD family members. 

About Huntington’s Disease
Huntington’s disease is a hereditary, progressive neurodegenerative disease that results in uncontrolled movements, emotional disturbances, and cognitive problems. These symptoms vary from person to person. The average survival time after the onset of symptoms is 15 to 20 years, but can range from 10 to 30 years. Currently, there is no known cure for HD. For more information on HD, please visit the Hereditary Disease Foundation web site (www.hdfoundation.org).

About the Hereditary Disease Foundation
The Hereditary Disease Foundation aims to cure Huntington’s disease by supporting research aimed at developing new treatments and cures. The Hereditary Disease Foundation was started by Dr. Milton Wexler in 1968 when his wife was diagnosed with Huntington's disease. The Foundation uses a variety of strategies – workshops, grants, fellowships, and targeted research contracts – to solve the mysteries of genetic disease and develop new treatments and cures. The Hereditary Disease Foundation initiated the International-Venezuela Huntington’s Disease Collaborative Research Project and played a key role in the discovery of the HD gene, which was localized in 1983 and isolated in 1993.

For more information, visit the Hereditary Disease Foundation web site (www.hdfoundation.org).

About the Huntington Study Group
The Huntington Study Group (HSG) is a non-profit group of clinical investigators from medical centers in the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and South America, experienced in the care of Huntington patients and dedicated to clinical research of Huntington's disease. The HSG was formed in 1993, prompted by the recognition that clinical research in HD required the participation of large numbers of research participants under the cooperative effort of skilled and experienced research physicians. The HSG aims to advance knowledge about the cause, disease progression and treatment of HD and related disorders. For more information, visit www.huntington-study-group.org.

About Lundbeck Inc.
Lundbeck Inc. was established in March 2009 following the acquisition of Ovation Pharmaceuticals, Inc. by Lundbeck and has proven successful in developing and commercializing high-need treatments. The company is committed to providing innovative therapies that fulfill unmet medical needs of people with CNS disorders and rare diseases for which few, if any, effective treatments are available. For more information, please visit www.lundbeckinc.com.

About Lundbeck
H. Lundbeck A/S (LUN.CO, LUN DC, HLUKY) is an international pharmaceutical company highly committed to improve the quality of life for people suffering from central nervous system (CNS) disorders. For this purpose Lundbeck is engaged in the research and development, production, marketing and sale of pharmaceuticals across the world, targeted at disorders like depression and anxiety, schizophrenia, insomnia, Huntington's, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Lundbeck was founded in 1915 by Hans Lundbeck in Copenhagen, Denmark, and employs today over 5,700 people worldwide. Lundbeck is one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies working with CNS disorders. In 2009, the company's revenue was DKK 13.7 billion (approximately EUR 1.8 billion or USD 2.6 billion). For more information, please visit www.lundbeck.com.

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Lundbeck Media Contact
Clarissa Trujillo
(847) 282-1161
ctuj@lundbeck.com