International Day of Immunology
Immune-mediated diseases are the result of an imbalance in the immune system. These diseases manifest themselves by chronic inflammations of healthy tissue: the body attacks itself. The impact of immune-mediated diseases on patients' lives is not always recognized. Moreover, people affected by these diseases are often challenged by stigmas surrounding the disease: every day patients have to fight against unjustified prejudices. In the context the International Day of Immunology on 29 April we show our commitment to people living with auto-immune diseases. We show how we, at Janssen, are working day in day out on solutions to treat patients with these diseases and hopefully even cure them in the future. This is how we work For The Peace Within.
What are immune-mediated diseases?
Psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel diseases are well-known examples of immune-mediated diseases. They are all chronic inflammations caused by an imbalance in the immune system.
These immune-mediated diseases cannot be cured yet: people live with them for the duration of their lives. Did you know that approximately 1 in 10 people lives with an immune-mediated disease?1 Yet the impact of this type of disease on daily life is not always recognized. People with an immune-mediated disease have to deal with pain and other physical complaints on a regular basis. In addition, the stigma surrounding some immune-mediated diseases can lead to social and psychological problems.2,3,4
Our mission
It is our mission to improve the diagnosis of immune-mediated diseases and to continue to develop and produce ever better medicines. We work together with patient organizations, healthcare providers, scientists and the government to ensure that people with immune-mediated diseases have access to the best possible treatments the moment they need them.
Restoring the balance
In case of immune-mediated diseases the immune system is overactive, the body literally fights itself. Our goal is to restore the balance. Although immune-mediated diseases can be treated, they cannot yet be cured. But we believe in a future in which auto-immune diseases are a thing of the past.
All over the world, we are working together towards that future, also at our sites in Beerse and Leiden. Our 1.400 colleagues at Janssen Biologics in Leiden, for instance, produce medicines for patients with immune-mediated diseases all over the world. Did you know that more than 150 million vials of a single medicine have been produced from that production facility since 1998? That's how we work to rebalance the immune system. At Janssen, we are working For The Peace Within.
Follow our story about our work in the field of immunology on our social media channels and on our website. On April 29, International Immunology Day, we will start our campaign. Join the conversation via social media!
2: Mease, Philip J. "Assessing the impact of psoriatic arthritis on patient function and quality of life: lessons learned from other rheumatologic conditions." Seminars in arthritis and rheumatism. 2009;38(4):320-335.
3: Walker, Janine G, et al. "Measuring quality of life in rheumatic conditions." Clinical rheumatology 2007;26(5):671-673.
4: Kimball, Alexa B., et al. "The psychosocial burden of psoriasis." American journal of clinical dermatology 2005;6(6):383-392.