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Bio/Data Sounds Alarm Over Von Willebrand Disease; 1 Million American Women Undiagnosed, Activist Says

Posted on: Friday, 20 January 2006, 12:00 CST

"An era of reasoning, imploring and campaigning is over for Mason Loika. For five years he has been the sole voice in the Greater Miami Jaycees saying, 'It's time to admit women as equal members.'" - Miami Herald, August 11, 1978.

As a civic activist, Loika stood up for what he believed was right. Twenty-seven years later and a long way from Miami, Loika has found a new niche at Bio/Data Corporation ("Bio/Data"), where he serves as corporate communications manager for the Horsham-based manufacturer, seller and distributor of hemostasis and platelet function medical laboratory products.

"I was doing some research to learn about von Willebrand Disease," Loika said, "because our flagship product - the Platelet Aggregation Profiler(R) - assesses the quantity of von Willebrand Factor ('vWF') in blood samples." A deficiency of vWF affects platelet function and serves as a warning that vWD may be present.

"That's when I discovered some amazing statistics," Loika recalled. "von Willebrand Disease is nearly 100 times more common than hemophilia. And what's more, I read a grant proposal by the National Hemophilia Foundation that said Dr. Stephanie Seremetis 'found that 10 to 25% of women with vWD had undergone hysterectomy before being diagnosed with the bleeding disorder.'

"That's alarming enough. But then I discovered Redbook magazine's website. It quotes Dr. Seremetis as saying, 'For every woman diagnosed with von Willebrand Disease, another 50 have it.'

"That means a million American women are undiagnosed," Loika said. "This is bigger than big. It's huge!"

The "modern-day suffragist," as The Miami Herald described Loika, believes that increasing the flow of information about vWD is the perfect way to combat ignorance about this often-inherited disease. "This is about a woman's right to enjoy good reproductive health," he noted.

Other hemostasis disorders effectively monitored by Bio/Data's laboratory instrument include hemophilia and Glanzmann's disease, in addition to measuring the effects of antiplatelet drugs, such as Plavix(R) and aspirin. Bio/Data's other products consist of reagents and disposables to augment the variety of platelet function testing. Last week, Bio/Data announced it was releasing a new control plasma, completing the assay system components manufactured exclusively by Bio/Data.

The company is ISO 9001:2000 registered, and all its aggregation products are CE marked.

"Make no mistake about it, this is a women's rights issue," Loika added.

Source: Business Wire

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