Korea AZ Holds In-House Campaign to Commemorate World Rare Disease Day

Korea AstraZeneca's Rare Disease Division announced on the 4th that it conducted the 'Rare, not alone' campaign on the 29th of last month, marking World Rare Disease Day and the 1st anniversary of the Rare Disease Division's launch, to raise awareness of rare diseases in Korea and reaffirm its commitment to improving the treatment environment.

World Rare Disease Day was established by the European Rare Disease Federation (EURODIS) to improve public awareness of rare diseases and support patients. It is celebrated annually on the last day of February, inspired by the rarity of the 29th day occurring once every four years. In Korea, diseases with a patient population of fewer than 20,000 or those difficult to diagnose with unknown patient numbers are defined as rare diseases. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, as of November last year, a total of 1,248 diseases have been designated as rare diseases. The number of diseases is increasing annually, with 83 diseases added last year alone.

Korea AstraZeneca launched its Rare Disease Division in February last year to improve the treatment environment for rare diseases domestically. To commemorate World Rare Disease Day and the division’s 1st anniversary this year, the company planned an internal campaign to raise awareness of rare diseases. Employees of Korea AstraZeneca participated in detailed programs such as the expert-invited rare disease lecture 'AZEB:RA' and an internal event to find hidden pieces, reaffirming their commitment to improving the treatment environment for rare diseases.

AZEB:RA is an internal educational program designed to share information about rare diseases and Korea AstraZeneca’s rare disease treatments with employees. Professor Junho Jang from the Department of Hematology and Oncology at Samsung Seoul Hospital gave a lecture titled 'Understanding Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria and Current Treatment Status,' one of the rare diseases. Following this, employees watched a video depicting the difficulties faced by patients with neurofibromatosis and pledged to improve the treatment environment. Korea AstraZeneca currently supplies Soliris and Ultomiris, treatments for paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, and Koselugo, a treatment for neurofibromatosis, in Korea.

Cheolwoong Kim, Executive Director of the Rare Disease Division, said, “One year ago, Korea AstraZeneca’s Rare Disease Division was launched based on the philosophy that ‘Every single patient is precious.’ This campaign was prepared to show our employees’ solidarity toward improving the treatment environment for rare diseases in Korea.” He added, “Korea AstraZeneca will continue to work alongside patients and their families to research and develop treatments and improve accessibility, ensuring that no rare disease patient is left behind in their treatment journey.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.