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Oct 28 2006, 12:00 PM EST

IDF Center of Excellence Dedicated at Duke University

News source: Business Wire

A special dedication ceremony was held today at Duke University Medical Center for the opening of the Duke IDF Center of Excellence for Primary Immunodeficiency Diseases. The Immune Deficiency Foundation (IDF), through a generous grant from Talecris Biotherapeutics totaling more than $125,000 over two years, has collaborated with Duke to make this center available to patients and physicians with the goal of increasing early diagnosis and improving treatment and care for patients with primary immunodeficiency diseases (PID). The center, housed in the Duke University Medical Center, includes some of the world's leading experts and state-of-the-art facilities focusing on the research and clinical care of PID.

"Through the IDF Center of Excellence, we will continue to pursue our goals to offer the best available options for rapid, accurate diagnosis of primary immunodeficiency diseases, to define the molecular causes, and to ensure the optimum and most effective treatments for those patients," said Rebecca H. Buckley, M.D., center director and the J. Buren Sidbury Professor of Pediatrics and Professor of Immunology at Duke University Medical Center. "Diagnosis of a primary immunodeficiency often takes as long as nine years, primarily because of a lack of familiarity with these diseases by both health care providers and patients. Working collaboratively with IDF and Talecris, we believe this Center of Excellence will go a long way toward improving awareness of PID among referring physicians, speeding diagnosis, and providing the optimal therapy more quickly for our patients."

Along with Dr. Buckley, the following representatives of IDF, Duke, and Talecris participated in the dedication ceremony and presented their views on the importance of the new center and the opportunities it presents.

-- R. Michael Blaese, M.D., Medical Director of the Immune Deficiency Foundation

-- A. Wesley Burks, M.D., Chief, Division of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology, Duke University Medical Center

-- Joseph W. St. Geme, III, M.D., Chair, Department of Pediatrics, Duke University Medical Center

-- Ross McKinney, M.D., Vice Dean for Research, Duke University School of Medicine

-- Alberto Martinez, M.D., President and CEO of Talecris Biotherapeutics

Additionally, two patients, H. Burns Blackwell and Nicholas Schwab, who will be beneficiaries of the new center, shared their views on how the center will support efforts for those with immunodeficiencies to receive the best possible care and optimize opportunities for improved quality of life.

The new IDF Center of Excellence at Duke includes a staff of more than 21 physician-scientists, nurses, post-doctoral fellows, technicians, and other health care professionals who focus on advancing the diagnosis and therapy of PID. Distinguishing features of the center include:

-- having the largest number of faculty in the U.S. with expertise in primary immunodeficiency diseases.

-- developing sophisticated diagnostic testing utilized by many outside physicians.

-- being the largest center in the United States performing life-saving T cell-depleted haploidentical bone marrow stem cell transplants for infants with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID).

-- being the largest center in the world performing life-saving thymic transplants for infants with complete DiGeorge syndrome.

-- treating a large number of patients with antibody deficiency with intravenous or subcutaneous immunoglobulin.

Dr. Blaese spoke about achieving IDF's continuing goals through Centers of Excellence. "This IDF Center of Excellence is an especially gratifying collaboration that brings together the strengths and commitments of IDF with those of a leading

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