Acorda Therapeutics Announces Company Intranet Named One of Ten Best in the World
Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ACOR)
and partner Klick Health today announced that Acorda’s intranet site has
been named as one of the ten best in the world by the Nielsen Norman
Group, leading experts in web usability, which annually recognizes the
global top 10 intranet sites for innovation and usability.
Acorda’s intranet was launched in late 2011. Prior to designing the
site, the internal development team and Klick Health conducted
interviews throughout the company to determine what types of
functionality and features would best allow employees to access and
share information, improve efficiency across the organization, and help
Acorda’s associates stay connected to the Company’s mission and to one
another.
The site launch was preceded by a company-wide contest to name the new
intranet. The Acorda intranet development team selected “Synapse,” a
specialized structure in the brain necessary for nerve conduction and
communication, to tie the site’s purpose and name back to Acorda’s
mission to develop therapies for people with neurological diseases.
“We’ve expanded rapidly over the past five years. We needed to develop a
tool that would help our associates remain connected to the Company’s
culture and values, and keep pace with the growing business needs of our
organization," said Ron Cohen, M.D., Acorda’s president and CEO. “We
invested a lot of time, together with Klick, in learning how our
employees wanted to use an intranet. Synapse now houses easily
accessible information ranging from human resources forms to R&D
updates; it’s also a living site with social features that allow
employees to communicate with company-wide updates and messages. And
we’re excited about the potential for new applications of Synapse as we
continue to grow.”
Klick Health has been working with Acorda since 2009 on a variety of
online initiatives.
“Through our partnership with Acorda we’ve been able to accomplish some
amazing things this year, earning a place atop the coveted Nielsen
Norman Group global top 10 intranet list being chief among them,” said
Leerom Segal, president and CEO of Klick Health. “With similar cultures,
growth rates, and company size, we were a natural partner to develop
this tool to truly address Acorda’s needs. Building off the success of
our own intranet system, Genome, we were able to work with Acorda to
provide its employees with a great opportunity to preserve their culture
while optimizing the way they get things done.”
About Acorda
Therapeutics
Acorda Therapeutics is a biotechnology company focused on developing
therapies that restore function and improve the lives of people with MS,
spinal cord injury and other neurological conditions.
Acorda markets AMPYRA®
(dalfampridine) Extended Release Tablets, 10 mg, in the United
States as a treatment to improve walking in patients with multiple
sclerosis (MS). This was demonstrated by an improvement in walking
speed. AMPYRA is marketed outside the United States as FAMPYRA®
(prolonged-release fampridine tablets) by Biogen Idec under a licensing
agreement from Acorda. AMPYRA and FAMPYRA are manufactured under license
from Alkermes Pharma Ireland Limited.
The Company also markets ZANAFLEX
CAPSULES® (tizanidine hydrochloride) and Zanaflex
tablets, a short-acting drug for the management of spasticity. Acorda
also receives sales royalties on tizanidine hydrochloride capsules, an
authorized generic version of ZANAFLEX CAPSULES, distributed by Actavis,
Inc. under its agreement with Acorda.
Acorda has an industry-leading pipeline of novel neurological therapies.
The Company is developing Diazepam Nasal Spray for treatment of certain
epileptic seizures. It is also studying AMPYRA to improve a range of
functional impairments caused by MS, as well as its potential for use in
other neurological conditions, including cerebral palsy and post-stroke
deficits. In addition, Acorda is developing clinical stage compounds
AC105 for acute treatment of spinal cord injury, GGF2 for treatment of
heart failure and rHIgM22, a remyelinating monoclonal antibody, for the
treatment of MS. GGF2 is also being investigated in preclinical studies
as a treatment for neurological conditions such as stroke and spinal
cord injury. Chondroitinase, an enzyme that encourages nerve plasticity
in spinal cord injury, is in preclinical development.
About Klick
Klick Health is the world’s largest independent digital health agency.
They are laser focused on creating digital solutions that engage and
educate healthcare providers about life-saving treatments. Klick also
helps inform and empower patients to manage their health and play a
central role in their own care. Every solution hinges on Klick’s
in-house expertise across the digital universe – strategy, creative,
analytics, instructional design, user experience, relationship
marketing, social and mobile.
www.klick.com
About Nielsen Norman Group
Nielsen Norman Group (http://www.nngroup.com)
in an evidence-based user experience research, training and consulting
firm that advises companies on how to improve the bottom line through
human-centered design of products and services. NN/g principals Jakob
Nielsen, Don Norman and Bruce "Tog" Tognazzini are each world-renowned
user experience experts who were advocating human-centered design and
usability long before it became popular to do so. Founded in 1998 and
headquartered in Silicon Valley, NN/g evaluates interfaces of all kinds
and guides the critical design decisions that make websites,
applications, intranets and products achieve their full potential for
businesses and their users.
Acorda Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes forward-looking statements within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All
statements, other than statements of historical facts, regarding
management's expectations, beliefs, goals, plans or prospects should be
considered forward-looking. These statements are subject to risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially,
including our ability to successfully market and sell Ampyra in the
U.S.; third party payers (including governmental agencies) may not
reimburse for the use of Ampyra or our other products at acceptable
rates or at all and may impose restrictive prior authorization
requirements that limit or block prescriptions; the risk of unfavorable
results from future studies of Ampyra or from our other research and
development programs, including Diazepam Nasal Spray or any other
acquired or in-licensed programs; we may not be able to complete
development of, obtain regulatory approval for, or successfully market
Diazepam Nasal Spray or other products under development; the occurrence
of adverse safety events with our products; delays in obtaining or
failure to obtain regulatory approval of or to successfully market
Fampyra outside of the U.S. and our dependence on our collaboration
partner Biogen Idec in connection therewith; competition, including the
impact of generic competition on Zanaflex Capsules revenues; failure to
protect our intellectual property, to defend against the intellectual
property claims of others or to obtain third party intellectual property
licenses needed for the commercialization of our products; failure to
comply with regulatory requirements could result in adverse action by
regulatory agencies; and the ability to obtain additional financing to
support our operations. These and other risks are described in greater
detail in Acorda Therapeutics' filings with the Securities & Exchange
Commission. Acorda may not actually achieve the goals or plans described
in its forward-looking statements, and investors should not place undue
reliance on these statements. Forward-looking statements made in this
release are made only as of the date hereof, and Acorda disclaims any
intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a
result of developments occurring after the date of this release.
