Santhera Launches "Take a Breath DMD" Respiratory Disease Awareness Campaign for patients with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

Santhera Pharmaceuticals Holding AG / Santhera Launches "Take a Breath DMD" Respiratory Disease Awareness Campaign for patients with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy . Processed and transmitted by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

Liestal, Switzerland, December 19, 2017 - Santhera Pharmaceuticals (SIX:SANN), a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative treatments for patients with rare diseases, announces the launch of a disease awareness campaign for the Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) community in the U.S. with a focus on respiratory care.

The "Take a Breath DMD" campaign will underscore the importance of respiratory care for people living with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The mission of this educational campaign is to help people living with DMD and their families receive information to help manage respiratory complications, including information about breathing, coughing and pulmonary care.

"I applaud Santhera for developing such an educational resource focused on the respiratory aspects of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. DMD is one of the most common and devastating types of muscular degeneration, and results in progressive muscle weakness and respiratory function decline that typically start in the first decade of life and lead to substantial life limitation," said Oscar H. Mayer, MD, pediatric pulmonologist focused on treating neuromuscular diseases.

On the campaign's new educational website, TakeABreathDMD.com, patients and families residing in the U.S. can find practical, in-depth information in one centralized location. Visitors to the site can also sign up to receive additional interactive tools and resources in the future, as well as stay informed about new advances.

"Santhera's mission is to support people living with DMD and their families by providing information to help manage the respiratory impact of the disease. We remain dedicated to working with the DMD patient community to help slow respiratory decline in people living with DMD," said Thomas Meier, PhD, CEO of Santhera.

In 2018, Santhera also plans to launch a similar respiratory awareness campaign for patients with DMD, their families and caregivers, not residing in the United States.

About Santhera
Santhera Pharmaceuticals (SIX: SANN) is a Swiss specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative pharmaceutical products for the treatment of orphan mitochondrial and neuromuscular diseases. Santhera's lead product Raxone® (idebenone) is authorized in the European Union, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Israel for the treatment of Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON). For Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), Santhera has filed a Marketing Authorization Application in the European Union and Switzerland for DMD patients with respiratory function decline who are not taking glucocorticoids. In collaboration with the U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) Santhera is developing Raxone® in a third indication, primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS), and another product - omigapil - for congenital muscular dystrophy (CMD), both also areas of high unmet medical need. For further information, please visit the Company's website www.santhera.com.