RALEIGH, N.C., Jan. 22, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The American Heart Association (AHA) proudly announces Chiesi (key-A-zee), a Cary-based specialty pharmaceutical company, as the first Life is Why sponsor in the Triangle.
The market-wide sponsorship, the first of its kind in the eastern portion of North Carolina, joins Chiesi with the AHA to support research, education campaigns and awareness activities in the region. According to the State Center for Health Statistics, cardiovascular disease took the lives of more than 23,000 North Carolinians in 2016 alone.1 This sponsorship aims to further the mission of the nation’s oldest and largest voluntary organization dedicated to building healthier lives free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke.
“We are excited to extend our Chiesi in the Community therapeutic efforts to partner with the American Heart Association in the Triangle,” said Ken McBean, President of Chiesi USA. “Through this relationship, we extend our commitment to the community by increasing education to improve the health of the people that live in our region.”
Heart disease is the number one killer of both men and women in the United States and the second leading cause of death in North Carolina.2 Stroke is the fifth leading cause of death in the U.S. and is the number four killer in North Carolina, according to the NC State Center for Health Statistics.1 Chiesi and the AHA will collaborate on mission-focused events throughout the year to educate the Triangle community on how they can prevent heart diseases and stroke for themselves and their families. The aim is to impact the Center for Disease Control’s reported 80 percent of heart disease and stroke-related illnesses that are preventable with healthy lifestyle changes such as getting more active, managing blood pressure, cholesterol and weight, eating healthy and remaining smoke-free.3
“We are thrilled to have Chiesi, a company so focused on giving back to the community, join us in our fight to eliminate heart disease and stroke in the Triangle,” said Anne Miller, Executive Director & Vice President of Development for the American Heart Association. “This relationship will both raise awareness of our leading health threat and will help to enhance the culture of health through education, prevention and research programs designed to make an impact right here where we live, work and play.”
Life is Why is a new national brand element which emphasizes an emotional connection to the work of the AHA. The campaign encourages people of all ages, ethnicities and backgrounds to consider what or who they are living for and turn that into their personal motivation for making lifestyle changes that add up to healthier, happier and longer lives with the ones they love.
For more on Life is Why, visit www.heart.org/lifeiswhy. For more information about the work of the AHA in the Triangle connect at www.facebook.org/TriangleAHA, @americanheartnc and @triangleaha.
About the American Heart Association
The American Heart Association is devoted to saving people from heart disease and stroke – the two leading causes of death in the world. We team with millions of volunteers to fund innovative research, fight for stronger public health policies and provide lifesaving tools and information to prevent and treat these diseases. The Dallas-based association is the nation’s oldest and largest voluntary organization dedicated to fighting heart disease and stroke. To learn more or to get involved, call 1-800-AHA-USA1, visit heart.org or call any of our offices around the country.
About Chiesi USA
Chiesi USA, Inc., headquartered in Cary, N.C., is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on commercialization of products for the hospital, rare disease and target office-based specialties. Key elements of the company's strategy are to focus its commercial and development efforts in the hospital and adjacent specialty product sector within the U.S. pharmaceutical marketplace; continue to seek opportunities to acquire companies, marketed or registration-stage products and late-stage development products that fit within the Company's focus areas. Chiesi USA, Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A. For more information, visit www.chiesiusa.com.
About Chiesi in the Community
Chiesi in the Community is Chiesi USA’s employee-led corporate social responsibility program. This mission of the program is to improve the health and well-being of the communities where we live and serve. CITC is comprised of four main pillars: Stakeholder Engagement; Local Sociocultural Enhancement, Therapeutic Areas and Keystone Initiative. Chiesi works with many non-profits in the Triangle area focused on underserved youth. In addition to local non-profit support, the company’s Keystone Initiative is focused on local elementary schools; working with staff, parents and local partners to implement sustainable programs designed to make positive change in the overall student learning experience. On a national scale, Chiesi continues to support the efforts of groups within the therapeutic areas they serve, such as the March of Dimes, American Heart Association and cystic fibrosis nonprofits.
For Media Inquiries:
AHA: Sloan Garner, (919) 463-8309, Sloan.Garner@heart.org
Chiesi Media: Elizabeth Romero, (919) 457-0749, elizabeth.romero@fleishman.com
Chiesi Business Development: Josh Franklin, (919) 678-6520, josh.franklin@chiesi.com
1 http://www.schs.state.nc.us/data/vital/lcd/2016/
2 http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/early/2017/01/25/CIR.0000000000000485
3 https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6235a4.htm?s_cid=mm6235a4_w
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