CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Feb. 28, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:AEGR), an emerging biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel therapeutics to treat debilitating and often fatal rare diseases, announced today its alliance with the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD), Rare Diseases Europe (EURORDIS) and Canadian Organization of Rare Disorders (CORD) in observance of the annual Rare Disease Day.
"We are dedicated to creating awareness about rare diseases and to fostering development of new treatments," said Marc D. Beer, Chief Executive Officer of Aegerion. "Rare Disease Day is an important opportunity to support advocacy groups for rare diseases, including The FH Foundation, and to acknowledge our peers in the orphan drug space whose goals are aligned to treat patients with rare diseases. We are particularly focused on supporting people with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HoFH), and are motivated every day by our commitment to the patients."
In the United States, a rare disease is defined as one that affects fewer than 200,000 persons. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), there are nearly 7,000 rare diseases affecting nearly 30 million Americans. Rare Disease Day was established by EURORDIS and was first observed in Europe in 2008. In 2009, EURORDIS partnered with NORD for this initiative in the U.S. For more information about Rare Disease Day, visit www.rarediseaseday.org.
About Aegerion Pharmaceuticals
Aegerion Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development and commercialization of innovative, life-altering therapies for patients with debilitating, often fatal, rare diseases. For more information about the company, please visit www.aegerion.com.
The Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=16441