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Week Ending: November 26th, 2005
Alan Franciscus
Editor-in-Chief
To download pdf version click here
This Issue:
• Fighting Hepatitis C: Why Some Overcome the Disease without Treatment
• New Drugs in the Pipeline for Public Health Diseases
• Short Therapy Regimens Effective for Hepatitis C Virus Genotype 2 and 3: Presented at AASLD
• Asian New Yorkers in Hep B 'Epidemic'
• Hep C Victims Plead for Cash: Demonstrators push Grits to Honour Pledge
• MIGENIX Initiates Enrollment in Phase IIb Hepatitis C Clinical Study of Celgosivir in Combination with PEGETRON(TM)
• Court Hears How Woman with Hep C Bit Man Who Refused Dance
• UTMB, Ciphergen Ink Research Deal
• Canadian Prisons Open Tattoo Pilot Program for Inmates
• Los Angeles County Health Officials Discuss Strategies for Fighting Hepatitis C at Third Annual Summit
• Call for Needle Exchange Program in Jails
• Mr. Zeng Qinghong, Vice-President of the People's Republic of China, Visits Worldwide Biotech & Pharmaceutical, Praising the High Achievements of the Company's Research
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November 21st, 2005
Fighting Hepatitis C: Why Some Overcome the Disease without Treatment
SourceURL:http://www.usnews.com
By Elizabeth Querna
More than 170 million people worldwide have been infected with the Hepatitis C virus that can cause liver failure, cancer, and death. There is no known cure, but about 20 percent of the people who contract the disease fight it off without treatment. Researchers from Great Britain and the United States recently looked at the genetic makeup of people who had hepatitis C to try to find out what was different about the 20 percent who got better on their own.
What the researchers wanted to know: Why does hepatitis C affect some people permanently and not others?
What they did: The researchers looked at the gene structure of 685 people who had hepatitis C and 352 people who had been diagnosed with the disease but whose bodies had gotten rid of the infection. They studied the particular pattern of how genes on different chromosomes interacted with each other and activated specific cells in different people.
What they found: The researchers found that people who had beaten hepatitis C had a different genetic makeup from others whose bodies could not get rid of it. Everyone has certain types of immune cells called natural killer cells, which act as the emergency response team for the immune system, rushing to the site of a new infection. Some people's genes line up in such a way that they are less effective at inhibiting these natural killer cells, meaning that the cells are more often activated. That variation seems to work in their favor in the case of hepatitis C because the natural killer cells respond quicker and more aggressively to the infection.
What it means to you: Hepatitis C still has no cure, and this finding is only a small step toward that goal. However, knowing why the infection is killed in some people but not in others could give doctors a direction for further research into therapies that might help the 80 percent whose genes are not configured to deal with the infection.
Caveats: Hepatitis C is usually contracted through blood, such as a blood transfusion or sharing needles. For people who had contracted the disease in a way where the virus arrived en masse, as in a transfusion, even the winning combination of genes was no match for the hepatitis C virus. Only those who had been exposed to a small amount of blood and had the right genetic lineup were able to rid their bodies of the infection.
Find out more: A basic fact sheet about hepatitis C, including symptoms and prevention, is on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. A much more detailed explanation about the disease, as well as all other types of hepatitis, can be found at www.epidemic.org a site developed by the C. Everett Koop Foundation at Dartmouth College and hosted by Koop, the former U.S. surgeon general.
Read the article: Khakoo, S.I. et al. "HLA and NK Cell Inhibitory Receptor Genes in Resolving Hepatitis C Virus Infection." Science. Aug. 6, 2004. Vol. 305, pp. 872 – 874.
Abstract online: www.sciencemag.org
Email your comments or suggestions to letters@usnews.com
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New Drugs in the Pipeline for Public Health Diseases
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/
Swedish chemists synthesizing substances for blood clots, malaria, and hepatitis C.
Chemists at Linköping University in Sweden have developed three types of molecules, protease inhibitors, that can be further developed into drugs for cardiovascular diseases, malaria, and hepatitis C.
Proteases are a group of enzymes that play a major role in the course of certain diseases. If there is a molecule present that prevents the protease from working, the disease can be cured. Such substances are called inhibitors and are already in use in many drugs today.
Per-Ola Johansson, a doctoral candidate in organic chemistry, describes in his dissertation the synthesis of such protease inhibitors, designed for potential use in combating three different diseases: cardiovascular diseases (to prevent the formation of blood clots), malaria, and chronic jaundice of the type hepatitis C.
Thrombin is a protease that plays a key role when blood coagulates. In some individuals this process is hyperactive, which can lead to the formation of blood clots. The research team at Linköping University has synthesized a series of molecules that inhibit the activity of thrombin in varying degrees. The most active of these molecules give an indication of how to go about creating the optimal thrombin inhibitor to develop a functioning drug.
Malaria, which affects some 500 million people annually, killing nearly 2 million of them, is caused by a single-cell parasite that breaks down the hemoglobin in red blood corpuscles. For tools, the parasite makes use of a number of different protease enzymes. The research team has developed a large number of molecules that inhibit the activity of two of these, plasmepsin I and II. Some of these inhibitors have proven to be extremely effective and could be optimized to become a powerful new malaria drug.
Hepatitis C is caused by the virus HCV. When it proliferates, HCV forms a chain-shaped molecule that is cut in smaller pieces by various protease enzymes, and these pieces then build up new virus particles. The team has synthesized a series of inhibitors of NS3, one of the most important of these enzymes.
This work has been carried out under the supervision of Professor Ingemar Kvarnström, Professor Bertil Samuelsson, and Åsa Rosenquist, Ph.D., and in collaboration with the pharmaceutical companies Medivir and Astra Zeneca.
The dissertation is titled Design and synthesis of inhibitors that target the serine protease thrombin, the malarial aspartyl proteases plasmepsin I and II, and the hepatitis C virus NS3 serine protease.
VETENSKAPSRÅDET (THE SWEDISH RESEARCH COUNCIL)
Regeringstgaton 56,
103 78 Stockholm,
http://www.vr.se
About the VETENSKAPSRÅDET (THE SWEDISH RESEARCH COUNCIL)
The Swedish Research Council bears national responsibility for developing the country's basic research towards attainment of a strong international position. The Council has three main tasks: research funding, science communication and research policy. Research is the foundation for the development of knowledge in society, and the basis of high-quality education. Research is also crucial as a means of enhancing welfare through economic, social and cultural development.
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Short Therapy Regimens Effective for Hepatitis C Virus Genotype 2 and 3: Presented at AASLD
SourceURL:http://www.docguide.com
By Crystal Phend
SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- November 21, 2005 -- Hepatitis C infected patients with genotype 2 or 3 may be able to shorten their course of therapy without losing effectiveness, according to a study presented here at the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases annual meeting (AASLD).
According to presenter Olav Dalgard, MD, PhD, Infectious Diseases Specialist, Aker University Hospital, Oslo, Norway, the viral response at week 4 may be a guide to considering shorter treatment.
Two recently published studies found shorter therapy to be effective, but left unanswered which subgroups are less likely to respond, that is, dosing and baseline predictive factors, Dr. Dalgard said during a presentation on November 14th.
To answer those questions, his group used pooled data from two studies involving a total 403 adults with hepatitis C genotype 2 or 3 who were treatment naïve.
The Norwegian study dosed pegylated interferon alpha-2b at 1.5 mcg/kg once weekly with 800 to 1,200 mg of ribavirin for 14 weeks or for 24 weeks if patients had not achieved a response by week 14.
The Italian study followed the same schedule as the Norwegian study, with a slightly lower 1.0 mcg/kg pegylated interferon alpha-2b dose for 12 weeks or 24 weeks for non-responders at week 12.
Patients were tested for virus RNA levels at weeks 4, 12 or 14 and 24.
The 313 patients who achieved a sustained viral response (SVR) were analyzed by subgroup.
Results show a significant difference in the percentage of patients who achieved SVR according to fibrosis score ( 83% with a score of 0 to 2 vs. 67% with a score 3 to 4).
Patients with genotype 2 were significantly more likely to respond than those with genotype 3 (81% vs. 73%).
"In non-rapid viral response patients, 24 weeks of therapy for HCV 2 patients may be satisfactory whereas longer courses should be considered for genotype 3," Dr. Dalgard said.
Patients who had a rapid viral response by week 4 were significantly more likely to have a sustained viral response than those who did not (85% vs. 62%).
Those who had a rapid viral response at week 4 were significantly more likely to have a low fibrosis score (70% 0 to 2 vs. 56% 3 to 4) and to be at the higher 1.5 dose of peginterferon (78% vs. 64%).
Multivariate analysis found that the response at 4 weeks was a significant predictor of sustained response, although genotype, baseline viral load and treatment regimen were not.
Relapse could not be predicted by any baseline characteristic.
"In HCV 2 or 3, viral response at week 4 may reliably guide treatment duration as the majority of rapid responders may safely receive shorter courses of therapy without compromising SVR," the researchers concluded.
[Presentation title: Short-Term Treatment Duration for HCV-2 and HCV-3 Infected Patients with Chronic Hepatitis. Abstract 849]
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Asian New Yorkers in Hep B 'Epidemic'
SourceURL:http://www.nydailynews.com
BY PAUL H.B. SHIN
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
A mass screening for liver disease among Asian New Yorkers has revealed that a staggering one in five was infected with hepatitis B - a virus that can lurk silently for years and then explode into deadly illnesses.
Because the free screenings - the largest effort of its kind in the United States to date - attracted mostly recent immigrants without health insurance, the results probably skewed higher, doctors involved with the program said.
But the alarming numbers suggest that even among all Asian New Yorkers, the infection rate could be 12% to 16% - about 30 to 40 times higher than the national average, doctors said.
"It is an epidemic," said Dr. Thomas Tsang, medical director of the Charles B. Wang Community Health Center in Manhattan's Chinatown, one of the clinics where the screenings are being offered.
So far, more than 1,800 people have been screened.
The reason hepatitis B is so common in the Asian community is because of immigration from countries such as China, where the disease is widespread and often transmitted from mothers to babies during childbirth, said Dr. Henry Pollack, an infectious diseases expert at NYU School of Medicine.
Pollack's fellow researchers unveiled the shocking findings earlier this month in San Francisco at a gathering of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.
Many people who have hepatitis B don't show any symptoms. But it can spiral out of control unexpectedly, causing cirrhosis, liver failure and liver cancer. "It's responsible for 80% of liver cancer worldwide. So it's a huge burden," Pollack said.
The tragedy is that vaccines and treatments are readily available for hepatitis B, said Dr. Teresa Wright, president of the liver disease association. "The treatments have been greatly improving," Wright said. "In the past, when we couldn't do much about hepatitis B or C, there was less reason to identify people who might be infected."
But the new findings should be a "wakeup call" to all Asian-Americans to get a simple blood test, she said.
The unprecedented screening and treatment effort - officially known as the Asian American hepatitis B Program - is funded by a City Council grant.
All newborns in the United States have been vaccinated against hepatitis A and B for over two decades, which explains the generally low infection rate nationwide, Wright said. A vaccine for hepatitis C does not yet exist, though there are new treatments to keep the virus in check.
Gilbert Lai, 67, who runs an import business in Chinatown, tested positive for hepatitis B a few years ago. But he has been returning to the community health center for checkups to make sure his immune system is keeping the virus in check. "I'm going to recommend everyone I know to get tested," Lai said as a nurse drew a small vial of blood for his latest checkup with Tsang.
In addition to the screenings, the program has allowed doctors to vaccinate nearly 500 people who would otherwise have been at risk of contracting the potentially fatal disease.
"It's not a trivial increased risk," Wright said, noting that one in three people infected with hepatitis B suffer liver failure during some point in their lives. "Everybody who is an immigrant from high prevalence areas such as Asia should be tested."
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November 22nd, 2005
Hep C Victims Plead for Cash: Demonstrators push Grits to Honour Pledge
SourceURL:http://ottsun.canoe.ca
The furious forgotten victims of tainted blood rallied yesterday to make sure the government doesn't forget them again.
They're not satisfied with Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh's commitment Friday to start negotiating payouts for people infected with Hepatitis C before 1986 or after 1990.
Those infected from 1986-90 got a $1.1-billion deal in 1998.
"Here we are -- seven years later -- we're still waiting," said 22-year-old Joe Hache of Ottawa, who cycled across Canada to fight for compensation for all victims.
"The government said it's the right and responsible thing to do. They said it a year ago, they said it last week.
"We aren't going away until they do something."
In April, Parliament passed a motion to immediately compensate those left out of the $1.1-billion 1998 compensation package. But there's been silence from the government since on the fate of an estimated 6,000-7,000 people who got nothing, said Jeff Rice of the Canadian Hemophilia Society.
People with Hepatitis C can't help but be cynical, Rice said.
"It's been 10 years we've been calling for equal compensation," he said. "We're coming into an election period. They want to have good news out there."
Dosanjh didn't have a dollar figure but says details on the payouts will be hammered out in the coming months.
"It keeps going," Rice said. "People are sick, people have died in the last six months who should have been compensated."
Ottawa resident Gloria Roberto, 55, got Hepatitis C during a 1983 surgery. She's been unable to work since.
Her husband, Tony, took early retirement to care for her as she got sicker.
The couple have now sold their home and exhausted their life savings to pay for drugs and therapy.
"This is the first time I've spoken out for all of us," Gloria Roberto said yesterday. "I've been in the dark closet for too long. I'm mad. All they do is promise."
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MIGENIX Initiates Enrollment in Phase IIb Hepatitis C Clinical Study of Celgosivir in Combination with PEGETRON(TM)
SourceURL:http://www.prnewswire.com
VANCOUVER and SAN DIEGO, Nov. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - MIGENIX Inc. (TSX: MGI; OTC: MGIFF), a clinical-stage developer of drugs for infectious and degenerative diseases, has initiated enrollment in a Phase IIb combination therapy clinical trial of celgosivir (MX-3253), supported in part through an agreement with Schering-Plough. Celgosivir is an orally administered, first-in-class alpha glucosidase 1 inhibitor, in development for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections. Results of the study are anticipated in mid-calendar 2006.
Jim DeMesa, M.D., President and CEO of MIGENIX stated, "With the large market potential and unmet need in current hepatitis C treatment, celgosivir is an important component of our value proposition in the short-term. Based on its strong demonstration of synergy in non-clinical studies to date, celgosivir shows great promise as part of a combination therapy approach to improving the success of treatment for patients suffering from chronic hepatitis C infections."
About MX-3253 and the Phase IIb Combination Study
MX-3253 (celgosivir) is an alpha-glucosidase I inhibitor and is currently the only oral anti-HCV drug in clinical development that acts through host-directed glycosylation. In preclinical studies, celgosivir has demonstrated strong synergy with interferon-alpha with and without ribavirin and has the potential to be included as part of a combination therapeutic approach to improve efficacy and/or tolerability. A recently completed Phase Iia monotherapy study demonstrated that celgosivir was well tolerated with some evidence of antiviral activity in treatment-naive chronic HCV patients.
The Phase IIb combination study of MX-3253 is a randomized, multi-center, active-controlled, 12 week evaluation of MX-3253 in three treatment arms of up to 20 chronic HCV "non-responder" patients each: celgosivir plus peginterferon alfa-2b plus ribavirin (3-way combination); celgosivir plus peginterferon alfa-2b (2-way combination); and placebo plus peginterferon alfa-2b plus ribavirin (control). An agreement was completed in July with Schering-Plough Corporation where they are contributing (a) the supply of PEGETRON(TM) (peginterferon alfa-2b powder for solution plus ribavirin 200 mg capsules) and (b) certain technical and laboratory support and other services for the study. In addition, the agreement grants Schering-Plough limited periods of exclusivity for data review of clinical trial results and for the negotiation of a license agreement.
Patients for the Phase IIb study will be selected based on having genotype 1 chronic HCV and having failed to respond to pegylated alpha interferon plus ribavirin therapy (non-responders). Today, there are very limited treatment options for the approximately 50% of HCV patients who have failed treatment with the current standard of care, pegylated interferon plus ribavirin.
About HCV
HCV, the most common chronic blood-borne infection in the United States, causes inflammation of the liver and may progress to more serious complications such as cirrhosis of the liver, liver cancer and death. Approximately 2.7 million people in the United States are chronically infected with HCV, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that by the year 2010, the number of deaths attributed annually to HCV could surpass that due to HIV/AIDS in the US. Worldwide, the World Health Organization estimates that 170 million individuals carry chronic HCV infection, with 3 to 4 million new infections each year.
Therapy for HCV currently employs a drug combination approach, which is anticipated to continue in the future. The current standard of care for chronic hepatitis C is pegylated interferon combined with ribavirin, which fails to provide a satisfactory outcome for approximately 50% of patients infected with HCV genotype 1. In addition, these drugs can cause significant side effects that limit tolerance to therapy, or a frequent lack of sustained treatment response.
About MIGENIX
MIGENIX is committed to advancing therapy, improving health, and enriching life by developing and commercializing drugs in the areas of infectious and degenerative diseases. The Company's clinical programs include drug candidates for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C infections (Phase II), the prevention of catheter-related infections (Phase III), the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases (Phase I) and the treatment of acne (Phase II). MIGENIX is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada with US operations in San Diego, California. Additional information can be found at http://www.migenix.com.
"Jim DeMesa"
James M. DeMesa, M.D.
President & CEO
CONTACTS
Jonathan Burke
MIGENIX Inc
Tel: (604) 221-9666
Extension 241
jburke@migenix.com
Dian Griesel, Ph.D.
Investor Relations Group
Tel: (212) 825-3210
Theproteam@aol.com
Certain statements in this news release contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements frequently, but not always, use the words "intends", "plans", "believes", "anticipates" or "expects" or similar words; that events "will", "may", "could" or "should" occur; and/or include statements concerning our strategies, goals, plans and expectations. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to statements concerning: having results from the Phase IIb MX-3253 combination study by the mid calendar 2006. We may not actually achieve the plans, intentions or expectations disclosed in our forward-looking statements and you should not place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual events or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements to differ materially from any future results expressed or implied by such statements include, but are not limited to: uncertainties related to early stage of technology and product development; dependence on collaborations; dependence on key personnel; and other risks and uncertainties which may not be described herein. Certain of these factors and other factors are described in detail in the Company's Annual Information Form and Annual Report on Form 20-F and other filings with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities and the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and MIGENIX assumes no obligations to update such information to reflect later events or developments.
The Toronto Stock Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
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November 23rd, 2005
Court Hears How Woman with Hep C Bit Man Who Refused Dance
http://news.scotsman.com/
PETE BEVINGTON
A SHETLAND woman is being held in jail after biting a man's ear knowing that she was carrying the hepatitis C virus.
Fiona Manson, 32, admitted biting the man after he refused her invitation to dance.
Lerwick Sheriff Court heard that last January the victim had recently returned from abroad to settle down in Shetland, and had gone out with his fiancée and his brother to celebrate the birth of his sister's baby.
The group ended up at Somewhar Else nightclub, in Lerwick, after midnight.
The procurator-fiscal, Duncan Mackenzie, said Manson was "dancing outrageously on her own on the dance floor" and was "obviously intoxicated by some substance".
She twice asked the man to dance and twice he "politely refused". Mr Mackenzie said: "He assumed she had made her way back to the dance floor, however, she remained standing behind him.
"She then bent down and bit him on the left ear. The victim felt immediate and excruciating pain, and what he described as something crunching through his ear."
Manson returned to the dance floor while the man's friends carried out first aid on his bleeding ear and took him to hospital, where they found the cut was "full depth" and treated him with tetanus and antibiotic injections.
Two days later he went to see his GP, who told him Manson was infected with hepatitis C. For the next six months the man had to be checked for the virus, before he was finally given the all clear.
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UTMB, Ciphergen Ink Research Deal
SourceURL:http://www.bizjournals.com/
Ciphergen Biosystems Inc. inked a deal with The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston to develop a blood test that will measure the progress of liver disease.
Fremont, Calif.-based Ciphergen (NASDAQ: CIPHE) said Monday that the test would reduce the need for painful and expensive liver biopsies of Hepatitis C patients.
Ciphergen will give the university its biomarker technology, which the school will use in its liver disease research. Two professors at the medical school have been studying the way Hepatitis C damages the liver. They believe that certain biomarkers in the blood can reliably be used to predict how far the disease has progressed.
About 3 million adults in the United States have Hepatitis C. Those patients must have a painful liver biopsy to find out how serious their case is and whether they need treatment. A second biopsy is needed to tell if the treatment has worked. A reliable blood test would reduce or eliminate the need for biopsies.
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Canadian Prisons Open Tattoo Pilot Program for Inmates
SourceURL:http://news.yahoo.com
By Emanuella Grinberg, Court TV
(Court TV) – Canadian prison inmate Mark Hewitt was two years into an eight-year sentence for various property offenses when he sat for a "dirty tattoo" session that left him with a black scorpion on his forearm and hepatitis C in his bloodstream.
As Hewitt nears his March 2006 release date, he finds himself on the other side of the needle.
Hewitt is one of two tattoo artists in Ontario's Bath Institution who have been professionally trained in tattoo-shop maintenance and disease prevention as part of a tattoo pilot project operated by Correctional Service Canada.
The agency has opened six tattooing sites in prisons of all security levels across Canada as part of a measure to prevent the spread of blood-borne diseases in the prison population, where the incidence of HIV is 10 times higher than in the general population, and the rate of hepatitis C is nearly 30 times higher.
Hewitt, who has acquired 10 illicit tattoos during his time in prison, says the prospect of safe tattooing is drawing a positive response.
"People are actually waiting to get the tattoos," said Hewitt in a phone interview with Courttv.com. "Usually, when guys want something, they don't wait around to get it, but here, they're waiting a month for a session."
At Bath Institution, 35 inmates have sat for a two-hour session with Hewitt or his colleague, resulting in 28 new tattoos and 12 cover-ups of previous tattoos, all sanctioned by the Canadian government.
Rick Evans, who is serving a life sentence for first-degree murder at Bath Institution, has had three sessions so far in an effort to fill in the black lines etched all over his body with colors, an option he was not able to consider with illicit tattooing.
"This way, you can relax knowing that the artist is working with clean equipment and you won't get in trouble for having it done," said Evans, who also contacted hepatitis C in a "dirty tattoo" session in 2000.
"In prison, tattoos are a way to align yourself with the subculture ... You can't stop it from happening. You can only try to control it," said Evans, who was among a group of inmates to push for safe-tattooing initiatives in order to reduce the rate of infection.
The inmates pay $5 a session for the work, which also includes ointments and bandages for post-session care.
The Bath Institution inmates get approval for their designs from Dave Carmody, coordinator for the Bath Institution tattoo pilot project.
"The whole purpose behind their time here is re-integration into society," said Carmody, explaining why hate symbols or designs above the neck, below the ankles or on hands are unacceptable.
"If they're walking around with tears tattooed near their eye, that makes them pretty identifiable as an offender – the average person is not walking around with tears tattooed in his eyes," he said.
Carmody rejected the suggestion that inmates may try to steal equipment from the tattoo shop.
"There's always the risk that guards will find needles in the cells, but now that they see how secure the site is and that nothing is leaving the shop, there has not been opposition," he said.
Correctional Service Canada also disputes the claim from opponents of the project that the project, which cost about $700,000 to start, puts pressure on taxpayers to fund inmates' tattoos.
"The Center for Disease Control invests 10 times as much as the pilot program costs to treat offenders affected by HIV and hepatitis C," said Michle Pilon-Santilli, spokesperson for Correctional Service Canada. "For us, it is a public health issue."
Though the program is still in an experimental phase and its ongoing progress is contingent upon a review in March 2006, for people like Hewitt, the program offers inmates a chance to learn a new trade.
"It's a good-paying job on the outside," said Hewitt, who makes $5 a day as a prison tattoo artist. "It's getting so popular, there's going to be a lot of business."
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November 24th, 2005
Los Angeles County Health Officials Discuss Strategies for Fighting Hepatitis C at Third Annual Summit
SourceURL:http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/
Los Angeles County, the state of California and the US government have not done enough to fight hepatitis C, Stephen Simon, AIDS coordinator for the city of Los Angeles, told health officials gathered for the Third Annual Los Angeles County Hepatitis C Summit on Thursday, KPCC's "KPCC News" reports. Simon said one in 50 U.S. adults and as many as 650,000 California residents are infected with the virus, which is the leading cause of liver transplants in the U.S. According to a study published in 2000 in the American Journal of Public Health, if a more effective strategy is not adopted to fight hepatitis C, the virus could cause 193,000 deaths, $11 billion in health care costs and up to $54 billion in societal costs in the U.S. between 2010 and 2019, KPCC reports. Health officials at the summit discussed logistical problems involved in providing treatment to incarcerated populations and the homeless, such as poor prison health care infrastructures and hepatitis C medications requiring refrigeration. The segment includes comments from Neva Chauppette, project director of a mobile medical clinic that provides free hepatitis, HIV and STD services, and state Assembly member Paul Koretz (D), who is sponsoring legislation that would allow residents with hepatitis C or HIV to receive liver transplants from the national registry (Rabe, "KPCC News," KPCC, 11/21). The complete segment is available online in RealPlayer. Complete audio of a lecture presented at the summit by Chauppette is also available online in RealPlayer.
In addition, KPCC's "Talk of the City" on Monday included an interview with Peter Anderson, a nurse practitioner at the University of Southern California Medical Center, and Alberto Mendoza, co-chair of the Hepatitis C Task Force for Los Angeles County and director of the Southern California office of the Drug Policy Alliance, about what is being done to fight hepatitis C in the state (Beaupre, "Talk of the City," KPCC, 11/21). The complete segment is available online in RealPlayer.
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November 25th, 2005
Call for Needle Exchange Program in Jails
SourceURL:http://au.news.yahoo.com
Australian governments are being urged to implement needle exchange programs in prisons because of high levels of hepatitis C infections among inmates.
Irish Penal Reform Trust spokesman Rick Lines has told a workshop on blood-borne viruses in Sydney today that prison needle exchange programs have been implemented successfully in 50 countries around the world.
In Australia, 34 per cent of all inmates have hepatitis C, while more than 50 per cent of drug users in prisons have the disease.
Mr Lines says needle exchange programs do not condone drug use.
"Syringe exchange programs in prisons don't condone drug use any more than syringe exchange programs in the community," he said.
"They should be working hand-in-hand with other approaches to drugs in the community, including supply reduction and interdiction and drug treatment programs for people seeking to get off drugs."
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Mr. Zeng Qinghong, Vice-President of the People's Republic of China, Visits Worldwide Biotech & Pharmaceutical, Praising the High Achievements of the Company's Research
SourceURL:http://biz.yahoo.com
YANGLING, China, Nov. 25 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Worldwide Biotech & Pharmaceutical Company (OTC Bulletin Board: WWBP - News) has received positive response from Mr. Zeng Qinghong, Vice-President of the P.R. of China (''President Zeng''), for its accomplishments in the research of the Hepatitis C Virus (HCV).
President Zeng visited Yangling Daiying Biotech & Pharmaceutical (Group) Co., Ltd. (''Yangling DAIYING''), WWBP's China company, on November 5th, 2005, accompanied by the deputy director of Chinese State Food & Drug Administration and Provincial Governor, Secretariat and other senior officers of the local government of Shannxi province. During his visit, President Zeng expressed strong interest in WWBP's break-through researches -- "Intact HCV Culturing System and its applications in prevention and treatment of Hepatitis C.''
''China should greatly support the development of hi-technologies with original intellectual property rights (IPR), in order to demonstrate the competitive status of our original IPR in the international world,'' President Zeng stressed after visiting Yangling DAIYING's research and manufacturing facilities.
''The visit of President Zeng and other senior officers greatly encouraged us and lifted the moral of our staff. We understand this represents great recognition from the government and the central government on our contributions to the development of original IPR,'' Ms. GUO Wenxia, the President & Chief Executive Officer of Yangling DAIYING, thus evaluated, ''President Zeng's encouragement enhances our faith in continuing our researches pioneering in the world HCV study area. We believe it is our responsibility to utilize our research abilities to benefit the world.''
About Worldwide Biotech and Pharmaceutical Company
Worldwide Biotech & Pharmaceutical Co. (''WWBP'') is a hi-tech biotech company with top-ranking pharmaceutical R&D abilities; Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) licensed manufacturing facilities and well-established marketing network in China and Southeast Asia. The product range of WWBP covers Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) products, diagnostic medicines and Over-The- Counter (OTC) drugs. WWBP currently possesses 35,940 square meter land and 5,359 square meter GMP standard facilities. With strong pharmaceutical R&D abilities, especially in HCV field, WWBP has been known as the first biotech company in the world to hold the technology of culturing intact HCV in vitro by cell culture. Its principle project, ''The intact hepatitis C virus (HCV) and method for culturing HCV in vitro by cell culture,'' was awarded Chinese Patent by the China Patent Bureau and the prestigious China Patent Golden Medal by the World Intellectual Property Organization and China Patent Bureau. The medal is the only one issued for achievement in the biomedical sciences during the past 10 years. WWBP has achieved a GMP production scale level of 10,000 ml for concentrated HCV virus and 10 grams HCV antigen per month, which is expected to bring WWBP considerable gross sales revenue each year and greatly strengthen the company's R&D on anti-HCV drug screen system and HCV human vaccine. WWBP had successfully reached two merger agreements with pharmaceutical companies in China, both of which have scalable production and well-established sales network and the acquiring is expected to be finished before the end of 2005. The acquisitions will strengthen WWBP's R&D abilities and production scale, as well as extend its marketing network throughout China and Southeast Asia. WWBP has been working closely with pharmaceutical research institutes, and has established sound connections with both central & local governments.
About Mr. Zeng Qinghong
Zeng Qinghong was elected Vice-President of the People's Republic of China on March 15, 2003. He is now member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and member of the Secretariat of the CPC (Communist Party of China) Central Committee. He was member of the 15th CPC Central Committee, an alternate member of its political bureau and member of its Secretariat. He is member of the 16th CPC Central Committee, member of the Standing Committee of its Political Bureau, and member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee.
http://www.china.org.cn/english/PP-e/48927.htm
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Information in this news release or on this website may contain statements about future expectations, plans, prospects or performance of Worldwide Biotech & Pharmaceutical Co. that constitute forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The words or phrases "can be," "expects," "may affect," "believed," "estimate," "project," and similar words and phrases are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Worldwide Biotech & Pharmaceutical Co. cautions you that any forward-looking information provided by or on behalf of Worldwide Biotech & Pharmaceutical Co. is not a guarantee of future performance. None of the information on this website constitutes an offer to sell securities or investment advice of any kind, and visitors should not base their investment decisions on information contained in this website. Worldwide Biotech & Pharmaceutical Co.'s actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, some of which are beyond Worldwide Biotech & Pharmaceutical Co.'s control. In addition to those discussed in Worldwide Biotech & Pharmaceutical Co.'s press releases, public filings, and statements by Worldwide Biotech & Pharmaceutical Co.'s management, including, but not limited to, Worldwide Biotech & Pharmaceutical Co.'s estimate of the sufficiency of its existing capital resources, Worldwide Biotech & Pharmaceutical Co.'s ability to raise additional capital to fund future operations, Worldwide Biotech & Pharmaceutical Co.'s ability to repay its existing indebtedness, the uncertainties involved in estimating market opportunities and, in identifying contracts which match Worldwide Biotech & Pharmaceutical Co.'s capability to be awarded contracts. All such forward- looking statements are current only as of the date on which such statements were made. Worldwide Biotech & Pharmaceutical Co. does not undertake any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which any such statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
For more information, please contact:
Worldwide Biotech and Pharmaceutical Company
Ivy Liu
Mobile: +86-29-8819-3339
Email: wwbp@worldwidebio.com
Source: Worldwide Biotech and Pharmaceutical Company
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