Biogen Idec has signed up former NFL player Earl Campbell and his son Tyler to support a campaign to encourage people affected by multiple sclerosis (MS) to share their stories.
Earl Campbell was a successful American football player for Houston Oilers in the 1970s and 1980s and Tyler had hoped to follow his father’s success in the game.
However, after a promising college career Tyler Campbell was diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) and had to give up his sports dream.
Campbell has since dedicated his life to raise awareness of RRMS and supporting people with the condition and Biogen hopes that his story will encourage others living with RRMS to share their own stories.
As part of the campaign Biogen has launched the website MSInspiration.com where people living with RRMS, or their friends or loved ones, can submit a short essay about how living with or knowing someone who lives the condition has shaped and inspired them.
Three winning entries will be picked to win a prize of tickets to a sporting event with Campbell or Chris Wright, a professional basketball player who also has RRMS.
The website also includes further information on the stories of Campbell and Wright, as well as dancer-turned-director Jessica Pelle and campaigner Marci Viland.
“I was devastated by my diagnosis, but I soon realised that everything happens for a reason,” said Tyler. “While it may be hard to believe, relapsing MS has made my life richer and more meaningful, and has strengthened my bond with my family.”
According to Biogen Idec there are around 400,000 people in the US living with MS, of which 85% are initially diagnosed with RRMS, which is characterised by acute attacks of symptoms such as numbness in the limbs, paralysis or loss of vision.
Biogen Idec has long been in leader in MS therapies, with major products including Tysabri (natalizumab) and the oral medicine Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate).