Amgen 2000 Annual Report Download - page 13

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15
“The best way to illustrate the remarkable breakthrough for
dialysis patients that EPOGEN®has been is to relate a story
about one of my patients.
Congenital malformations in his urinary tract led to kidney
failure when he was 14. He then started hemodialysis. Two
years later he received a cadaveric kidney transplant. But after
one year of slow rejection, he returned to hemodialysis. At age
19, he moved to Los Angeles and was struggling to graduate
from high school. On top of kidney failure, he was severely
anemic. Without blood transfusions his hemoglobin was
7.0-8.0 g/dL; twice that level would have been normal for his
age. To have enough energy to go to school and concentrate
on his work, he required two to three blood transfusions
monthly. Even with these, his hemoglobin rarely was higher
than 10 g/dL.
In 1986 he agreed to participate in the phase 3 clinical trial
with Epoetin alfa. Within 12 weeks of starting, his hemoglobin
was 12 g/dL, and he said he felt as well as he had before his
kidneys failed. He has since received no blood transfusions,
although he has continued with hemodialysis. In 1991 he had
hip replacement surgery to repair damage done by the high
doses of steroids he had received during his kidney transplant
experience. Prior to surgery, he donated two units of his own
blood, to be held in the blood bank. What a remarkable
reversal—from requiring blood transfusions just to get by to
donating his own blood prior to surgery! His hip replacement
was successful. He went on to get his bachelor’s degree in
accounting and is now a practicing CPA. Just last year he
was married.
This story illustrates the huge contribution EPOGEN®has
made to the lives of kidney patients. ARANESP™, by requiring
less frequent administration, may be another significant step for-
ward in the treatment of anemia in patients with kidney disease.”
Dr. Allen Nissenson, MD
Professor of Medicine, Director, Dialysis Program
UCLA School of Medicine
Chair, Amgen Nephrology National Advisory Board