CHIR Chiron (MM)

The Chiron Foundation, a nonprofit philanthropic organization funded by Chiron Corporation (Nasdaq:CHIR), announced today that it has awarded a total of $358,000 to seven organizations for programs addressing public health issues in the United States and abroad. The recipients are the American Liver Foundation, Association of Physicians of Pakistani Descent, CDC Foundation, Cystic Fibrosis Worldwide, Every Child by Two, Pan American Health and Education Foundation and Sustainable Healthcare Enterprise Foundation. These grants will support each of the organizations in their efforts to fight global health threats and further the reach of health care services and education. "As a company committed to improving human health and enhancing the quality of life not only in our local communities but in the world community as well, Chiron is pleased to support the goals and missions of these exceptional organizations," said Jay Grover, president of the Chiron Foundation. "We believe in the vital role each of these organizations and their programs play in combating disease and educating and contributing to the well-being of populations and countries in need." The Chiron Foundation's grant to the American Liver Foundation (ALF), headquartered in New York, N.Y., will support the development of a "Hispanic Hepatitis C" project in Oakland, Calif. as a pilot that will be replicated in other cities throughout the country. Currently, only limited information is available in Spanish about hepatitis C, a disease that disproportionately affects minority populations. Bilingual materials will be developed to increase awareness about hepatitis C, risk factors, prevention, and importance of testing and early detection. The ALF is the nation's leading nonprofit organization promoting liver health and disease prevention. The Chiron Foundation's grant to the Association of Physicians of Pakistani Descent of North America (APPNA), headquartered in Westmont, Ill., will support Pakistan Earthquake Relief, an ongoing humanitarian relief effort for the victims of the October 8, 2005, 7.6 magnitude Pakistan earthquake. In response to the disaster, APPNA mobilized teams of volunteer physicians to provide emergency medical treatment to the injured and to provide food, medicines, tents, blankets and water purification kits to displaced families facing the onset of the harsh winter of the region. The Chiron Foundation's grant to the CDC Foundation, headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., will provide funding for a new collaborative effort between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) and other partners in the organ and tissue procurement and transplantation community. The program aims to establish a surveillance network and registry to improve identification and speed response to infectious diseases transmitted via blood transfusion and/or organ/tissue transplant in order to improve blood, organ and tissue safety. The Chiron Foundation's grant to Cystic Fibrosis Worldwide (CFW), headquartered in Worcester, Mass., will support an epidemiology study to determine the incidence of cystic fibrosis (CF) in India, a country in which CF is largely unrecognized and is therefore frequently undiagnosed by clinicians and overlooked by policy-makers. Chiron's grant will also help strengthen existing CF services and increase the availability of trained professionals to treat CF patients. CFW is an international organization dedicated to improving the quality of life and life expectancy for people living with CF in developing countries. The Chiron Foundation's grant to Every Child by Two (ECBT), located in Washington, D.C., will fund an outreach campaign to all U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Women, Infant and Children (WIC) staff agencies to promote new vaccine recommendations for children and pregnant women. Approximately seven million children, nearly half of all children in the United States, participate in WIC programs. ECBT strives to protect all children from vaccine-preventable diseases by raising parental awareness of the critical need for timely immunization by age 2. The Chiron Foundation's grant to the Pan American Health and Education Foundation (PAHEF), headquartered in Washington, D.C., will support a pilot project headed by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) in conjunction with the Ministries of Health and the National Blood Programs in Guatemala and Paraguay to support and strengthen the national blood systems of those countries. The nine-month project will identify the specific interventions and government policies needed for the efficient increase in the collection and use of safe blood in Guatemala and Paraguay, with the eventual goal of strengthening a regional program in Latin America and the Caribbean and increasing the blood collection rate from 13 units to 40 units per 1,000 inhabitants by 2010. PAHO technical coordinators will provide training in the specific technical skills to implement those interventions. PAHEF is an independent philanthropic organization working to combat disease, lengthen life, improve health care services, foster health research and enhance capacities of health care workers primarily in the Americas through grant-making and direct program implementation. PAHO is an international public health agency with 100 years of experience in working to improve health and living standards of the countries of the Americas and also serves as the regional office of the World Health Organization. The Chiron Foundation's grant to Sustainable Healthcare Enterprise Foundation (SHEF), headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn., will support SHEF's Global Development Alliance, a public-private partnership with the U.S. Agency for International Development. SHEF's mission is to prevent needless death and illness by sustainably improving access to essential drugs and basic health services for children and families in the developing world. Through its innovative micro-franchising network of 64 independently owned and operated child and family wellness health outlets in Kenya, SHEF targets the most common killer diseases including malaria, respiratory infections and dysentery. About the Chiron Foundation Established in 2004, the Chiron Foundation is an independent, nonprofit organization committed to improving lives through better health care, empowering lives through better education and enriching lives through better communities. The Foundation awards grants in three major focus areas: health and medicine, education, and community. For further information about the Chiron Foundation, please visit www.chiron.com/foundation. About Chiron Chiron delivers innovative and valuable products to protect human health by advancing pioneering science across the landscape of biotechnology. The company works to deliver on the limitless promise of science and make a positive difference in people's lives. For more information about Chiron, please visit www.chiron.com.