OnePath Gaucher Application available for patients with Type 1 Gaucher disease

Shire plc (LSE: SHP, Nasdaq: SHPGY), the global specialty biopharmaceutical company, today announced the availability of the OnePath(SM) Gaucher Application (app). The first and only application developed specifically for patients in the U.S. with Type 1 Gaucher disease, it is free and ready for download at the iTunes Application store. The OnePath Gaucher app is the first in a suite of iPhone applications in development by Shire that are designed specifically to help meet the needs of patients with rare diseases.

"Twenty years ago patients with a rare disease had to search through a public library to learn about their condition," said Rhonda Buyers, CEO / Executive Director, National Gaucher Foundation (NGF). "While the rare disease community is still underserved, the advent of technology has created opportunities to build disease awareness and help patients better manage their condition. It is exciting to see a company like Shire understand those needs and develop tools that make it easier for patients to connect."

The first of Shire's service and support applications is the OnePath Gaucher Application, which is now available and offers the following for patients:

• I-Gau™ (pronounced i    go): empowers patients with Type 1 Gaucher disease to monitor the progress of their individual therapeutic goals by enabling patients to input data and track changes in disease manifestations including hemoglobin, bone data, spleen and liver volumes, as well as platelet counts.
• Access to personalized OnePath Case Managers: patients are given online access to communicate, via email, one-on-one with service and support representatives.
• News Feed: provides updates on news relevant to their condition.
• Treatment Calendar: helps patients keep track of their treatment schedule, including physician and infusion appointments.

"The availability of Shire's OnePath iPhone application is a direct result of feedback we sought from patients through patient teleconferences and in-person advisory meetings regarding how we could better serve the Gaucher community," said Theresa Heggie, SVP, Global Commercial Operations, Shire HGT. "The development of new offerings like the OnePath application is part of Shire's goal to provide tools and services to empower patients."

This summer, a second phase of the iPhone Gaucher app will be introduced specifically for treating physicians in the U.S.

This application, designed by Shire, is compatible with any iPhone or iPod touch® that users own with operating system version 3.0. An online / internet browser version of this application will be available soon.

SOURCE Shire plc