AOP Orphan is the winner of the innovation award MERCUR’18 in the category ”Life Science”
AOP Orphan was awarded with the MERCUR prize for Innovation in Life Science by the Chamber of Commerce in Vienna, Austria in November 2018. We feel very proud to receive this recognition and want to thank all colleagues, partners and the scientific community who have supported and made this project happen over the last years and work every day to bring it even further for the benefit of the patients with the rare disease Polycythemia Vera.
AOP Orphan award’s submission referred to the clinical phase III study PROUD-PV which included patients diagnosed with Polycythemia Vera. This is the largest randomized study performed so far in this indication. The data have and will be shared at major scientific meetings, like the renowned Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH).

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Polycythemia Vera: unspecific symptoms due to genetic mutations
Headache, dizziness, depression - at the start of the disease the symptoms tend to be unspecific in many persons. Due to that the final diagnosis gets very difficult and usually takes a long time. The cause of the disease is a change in the person’s genetic material, also known as the so-called JAK2 mutation. The body then produces too many blood cells – especially too many red blood cells and occasionally also too many blood platelets or white blood cells.
More precisely Polycythemia Vera is a rare disease of the blood-building cells in the bone marrow primarily resulting in a chronic increase of red blood cells – erythrocytes - thereby decreasing the flowability of blood.
Ropeginterferon alfa‐2b: substance against Polycythemia Vera
Ropeginterferon alfa-2b/BESREMi® is a novel, long-acting, mono-pegylated proline interferon (ATC L03AB15) with improved pharmacokinetic properties offering improved tolerability and adherence to the treatment. It is administered once every two weeks, or monthly during long-term maintenance, and is the first interferon approved for PV worldwide.
MERCUR: to empower and celebrate innovation!
MERCUR is the innovation prize of the Vienna Chamber of Commerce, acknowledging Viennese entrepreneurs and their innovative projects since more than 30 years.
Each year, the competition places the spotlight on companies that make a decisive contribution to the success and growth of Vienna's economy through their innovative strength.


“We feel very proud to receive this recognition and want to thank all colleagues, partners and the scientific community who have supported and made this project happen over the last years and work every day to bring it even further for the benefit of the patients with the rare disease Polycythemia Vera.”