Helsinn Group Awarded Global CEO Cancer Gold Standard Accreditation

LUGANO, Switzerland, September 29, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

The prestigious accreditation recognizes Helsinn's commitment to reducing cancer risk through the promotion of healthier lifestyle, earlier disease detection and high quality care in the workplace 

Helsinn, the Swiss Group focused on building quality cancer care, is pleased to announce that it has earned the Global CEO Cancer Gold Standard Accreditation, an important validation of its commitment to reducing cancer risk.

This accreditation recognizes the work of companies around the world to reduce cancer risk by promoting healthy lifestyle choices, encouraging early detection through cancer screenings, and ensuring quality care, thereby improving quality of life and increasing productivity for employees around the globe.

Founded by former US President George H.W. Bush, the CEO Roundtable on Cancer, a not-for-profit organization of CEOs developed to administer the Gold Standard, an employee wellness framework based on taking concrete actions in five key areas to address cancer in the workplace. Nearly 200 private, not-for-profit and government employers in a wide range of occupational categories have earned Gold Standard accreditation, including the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and a number of NCI-designated cancer centers.

To be accredited as a global Gold Standard organization, employers must achieve and maintain CEO Cancer Gold Standard accreditation in the U.S., maintain a tobacco-free policy worldwide, and satisfy the essence and spirit of the five key areas of workplace wellness that are foundations of the Gold Standard; supporting tobacco cessation efforts and further encouraging prevention by promoting physical activity, healthy nutrition and weight management; detecting cancer at its earliest stages; and providing access to quality cancer treatment, including participation in clinical trials.

Today, more than four and a half million employees and family members are benefiting from the vision and leadership of nearly 200 employers who have chosen to become Gold Standard accredited employers.

Christopher A. Viehbacher, Chairman of the CEO Roundtable on Cancer, said: "This Global Gold Standard certification acknowledges the personal leadership of Helsinn Group Chief Executive Officer, Riccardo Braglia, and recognizes that Helsinn's efforts to improve health begin with the company's own employees and their family members."  

Riccardo Braglia, Chief Executive Officer of Helsinn Group, said: "Improving the lives of people with cancer is at the heart of what Helsinn does, and working towards the reduction of cancer risk in the workplace is key to our ultimate shared goal of eliminating cancer from the world. We are honored to have been recognized by the CEO Roundtable on Cancer, which has a progressive and highly effective strategy towards this goal, and we look forward to working closely with them to lower the risk of cancer for all our employees."

About the Helsinn Group 

Helsinn is a family run, privately owned pharmaceutical group focused on building quality cancer care with a large portfolio of products. Founded in 1976 with headquarters in Lugano, Switzerland, Helsinn also has operating subsidiaries in Ireland, the United States and a representative office in China. Helsinn's business model is focused on the licensing of pharmaceuticals, medical devices and nutritional supplement products in the therapeutic area of cancer care.

Helsinn Group in-licenses early-to-late stage new chemical entities, completing their development by performing preclinical and clinical studies and associated manufacturing activities. Helsinn then prepares necessary regulatory filings in order to achieve marketing approvals worldwide. Helsinn's products are out‐licensed to its global network of marketing and commercial partners that have been selected for their local market knowledge and high ethical standards. Helsinn supports these partners by providing a full range of product and scientific management services, including commercial, regulatory, and medical marketing advice. In March 2013, Helsinn established a new commercial organization within its subsidiary, Helsinn Therapeutics (U.S.), Inc., in order to conduct direct sales and marketing activities within the U.S. market. Helsinn's products are manufactured according to the highest quality, safety, and environmental standards at Helsinn's GMP facilities in Switzerland and Ireland from where they are then supplied worldwide to customers.

Further information on Helsinn Group is available at http://www.helsinn.com

About The CEO Roundtable on Cancer 

The CEO Roundtable on Cancer was founded in 2001, when former President George H.W. Bush challenged a group of executives to "do something bold and venturesome about cancer within your own corporate families." The CEOs responded by creating and encouraging the widespread adoption of the CEO Cancer Gold Standard™ which calls for organizations to evaluate their health benefits and workplace culture and take extensive, concrete actions in five key areas of health and wellness to address cancer in the workplace.  For more information on the CEO Cancer Gold Standard and the free web-based accreditation process, please visit http://www.CancerGoldStandard.org.

For more information please contact:
Helsinn Group
Paola Bonvicini
Head of Communication & Press Office
PH +41-91-985-21-21
info-hhc@helsinn.com

For media / external inquiries
Consilium Strategic Communications  
Mary-Jane Elliott / Jessica Hodgson / Matthew Neal / Laura Thornton
Tel: +44(0)203 709 5700
Helsinn@consilium-comms.com