New Delhi : Hemophilia patients in India can now have more treatment options as global biotechnology major Shire announced that doctors in India can now prescribe ADVATE, a widely used treatment for Hemophilia A, also called Factor VIII (FVIII) deficiency in which blood does not clot normally.

ADVATE came to Shire as part of the acquisition of US-based rare disease specialist Baxalta last month.

"We are committed to the advancement of hemophilia treatments and elevating the standard of care for hemophilia patients in India because we know that many of them out there are not diagnosed, let alone treated," said Vineet Singhal, Country Head, Baxalta Biosciences India.

"Striving toward a goal of zero bleeds, we are able to bring innovative third generation treatments like ADVATE to patients in India and help them achieve better outcomes in managing their bleeding conditions," Singhal noted.

In India today, there are about 16,000 hemophilia patients but the actual number could be seven times more due to low awareness, diagnosis and treatment, Shire said in a statement.

"ADVATE was approved in the US in July 2003 and has a proven safety and efficacy profile with over 13 years of real-world patient experience data. It is the world's most widely used FVIII treatment to date," the statement added.