SHARE Program Launched to Address the Challenges of Achieving Blood Pressure Goal

MUNICH - Investigating the Real Burden of Hypertension, Addressing the Challenges of Getting to Blood Pressure Goal and SHARE(ing) the Knowledge (www.SHARE-hypertension.com)

The SHARE steering committee announce the launch of Supporting Hypertension Awareness & Research Europe-wide (SHARE) program on World Hypertension Day 2009 (17th May). SHARE is a collaborative program of top European physicians supported by Daiichi Sankyo Europe to quantify and qualify the real burden of hypertension in Europe; achieved through a pan-European interactive physician survey (www.SHARE-hypertension.com) and a series of knowledge sharing meetings across Europe. The goal is to utilise this information to propose the right combination of simple and effective solutions to overcome the challenges of getting to blood pressure goal.

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www.prnewswire.com/mnr/hhealth/38360/

Why do we need SHARE (www.SHARE-hypertension.com) because worldwide, hypertension is present in almost 1 in 3 of the adult population, affecting as many as one billion people(1). The crippling effects of high blood pressure account for the loss of 92 million life years and 7.6 million premature deaths(1). The situation in Europe is even more critical with 35% of deaths and almost 1 in 5 of all disability adjusted life years (DALYs) being attributed to the long-term effects of hypertension(2), with an annual cardiovascular health bill of 192b Euros(3).

Prof Stéphane Laurent, European Hospital Georges Pompidou Paris, program co-chair, states, “The SHARE program is an excellent example of what can be done, as an interactive internet approach, to better understand how physicians implement guidelines in clinical practice, and how they manage their “challenging” patients according to several variables, including age, specialty, and economic aspects in their country. The results of this survey should help us to better focus our training programs and recommendations on the most effective ways to improve cardiovascular disease prevention.”

SHARE will deliver the information needed to address the challenges of getting to blood pressure goal, so that simple effective solutions can be defined to help the majority of these Challenging Patients reach recommended blood pressure goals and avoid the devastating effects of hypertension driven cardiovascular disease.

World Hypertension Day provides a perfect platform to release details of SHARE because this day crystallizes the efforts in driving awareness of hypertension and highlights the challenges of blood pressure reduction and the harsh consequences of suboptimal control.

Background to SHARE

A White Paper published in the Journal of Hypertension(4) identified a number of challenges that prohibit hypertensive patients from achieving blood pressure goal; the net result being that physicians struggle to control blood pressure in > two thirds of hypertensive patients in Europe(5). Many physicians settle for close to goal as an acceptable compromise with Challenging Patients, but studies have demonstrated that close to goal is not enough as patients are still exposed to increased risk of hypertension induced disability and death(6).

The SHARE Program

To address the challenges of achieving blood pressure goal, programs of activities throughout 2009 and 2010 have been developed to encourage the SHARE(ing) of best practice in hypertension. These activities will provide an arena for hypertension specialists from across Europe to collectively develop solutions for their local healthcare challenges, and to present the right combination for the majority of Challenging Patients to successfully achieve blood pressure goal.

The SHARE program will comprise two key elements: - SHARE European Hypertension Survey, created by a European steering committee of experts in the field of hypertension treatment, to quantify and qualify the key challenges of getting hypertensive patients to blood pressure goal, defining the real burden of hypertension. a) The survey consists of approximately 40 questions and will take participants 10-15 minutes to complete ( www.SHARE-hypertension.com) b) The survey will be open to all European healthcare professionals involved in the treatment of patients diagnosed with essential hypertension (www.SHARE-hypertension.com). - SHARE meeting series to debate the challenges of getting to blood pressure goal and to postulate simple and effective solutions, which will be communicated to the healthcare community, creating the right combination for blood pressure control.

These two elements are interlinked to facilitate SHARE(ing) of best practice and simple, practical solutions. The outputs of the SHARE program are robust peer reviewed publications providing: (1) an overview of key European findings and solutions; (2) reviews of local variations and country best practices; and (3) a set of simple and effective recommendations for use by all European physicians so they can use the right combination to overcome the hurdles which have stopped their Challenging Patients getting to blood pressure goal.

To access the SHARE Survey, please visit: www.SHARE-hypertension.com

For more information on SHARE and The Challenging Patient, please visit:

www.sevikar.com and www.challengingpatient.com

References

1. WHO. The world health report 2002

2. Lawes CM, Vander Hoorn S, Rodgers A. Lancet 2008;371(9623):1513-8.

3. Allender et al. European Heart Network 2008

4. Redon etal. 2008 J Hypertens 26(12):S1-S14

5. ESH Scientific Newsletter 2007;8:No 3, www.eshonline.org/education/newsletter/2007_03.pdf

6. Neal et al Lancet 2000;356:1955-64, Prospective Studies Collaboration. Lancet 2002;360:1903-13

About DAIICHI SANKYO

DAIICHI SANKYO is a global pharmaceutical company that focuses on researching and marketing innovative medications. The company was created in 2005 through the merger of two traditional Japanese enterprises, Daiichi and Sankyo. With net sales of more than 5.9 billion EUR in fiscal year 2008, DAIICHI SANKYO is one of the world’s 20 leading pharmaceutical companies. The company’s world headquarters is in Tokyo, and its European base is located in Munich. DAIICHI SANKYO has affiliates in 12 European countries and has been one of the strongest Japanese pharmaceutical companies located in Europe since it set up European production facilities and marketing offices in 1990. The company’s research activities focus on the areas of: cardiovascular diseases, hematology, diabetes, anti-infectives and cancer. Its aim is to develop medications that are “best” in their class or to create new classes of pharmaceutical drugs. For more information, please visit: www.daiichi-sankyo.eu

Forward-looking statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements and information about future developments in the sector, and the legal and business conditions of DAIICHI SANKYO EUROPE GmbH. Such forward-looking statements are uncertain and are subject at all times to the risks of change, particularly to the usual risks faced by a global pharmaceutical company, including the impact of the prices for products and raw materials, medication safety, changes in exchange rates, government regulations, employee relations, taxes, political instability and terrorism as well as the results of independent demands and governmental inquiries that affect the affairs of the company. All forward-looking statements contained in this release hold true as of the date of publication. They do not represent any guarantee of future performance. Actual events and developments could differ materially from the forward-looking statements that are explicitly expressed or implied in these statements. DAIICHI SANKYO EUROPE GmbH assumes no responsibility for the updating of such forward-looking statements about future developments of the sector, legal and business conditions and the company.

Source: DAIICHI SANKYO EUROPE GmbH and SHARE

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