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Week Ending: February 3rd , 2007
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January 27th , 2007
Fighting the Enemy Within
http://www.sundayherald.com
By Peter Ross
Meet the scientists battling to defeat killer viruses
BEHIND A door marked "Biohazard" they are playing The Beatles. Seated at a laboratory bench, a white-coated researcher peers through a microscope as A Day In The Life reaches its noisy climax.
In a corner office, just to the right of a small inflatable dinosaur, Dr David Bhella is rhapsodising about viruses. "They are like snowflakes," he says, "geometrically and aesthetically fascinating. Rotavirus, for example, is a very common virus which causes diarrhoea in young children, and through a microscope it sort of looks like a wheel. That's a beautiful structure. Herpes virus is very beautiful, actually."
This is one of around 20 labs in the Medical Research Council's Virology Unit. Housed on Glasgow's Church Street in an ugly building with so many tiles missing from its facade it appears to be suffering from some disfiguring pox, the unit is Britain's leading centre for the study of viruses. In a room full of freezers - which since 9/11 has had a secure-card entry system - a quarter of a million live samples slumber at -70˚C. The scientists who work here are world experts in these microscopic miseries.
They know, for instance, that mankind is engaged in a constant struggle with viruses, our immune systems grappling with their protean proteins, and that we do not always win. Several hundred viruses affect humans; some are devastating. Measles claimed 345,000 lives in 2005. HIV infects a new person every six seconds. Deadly African viruses such as Ebola and Lassa fever, which can cause bleeding from the orifices, are on the increase as man pushes his way into new territories, and global business and tourism mean these killer bugs can make their way to the West. Viruses were once famously defined as "a piece of bad news wrapped in protein" and in 2007 bad news travels fast.
The men and women of the unit are not concerned primarily with prevention or cure; their role is to understand viruses at a more fundamental level - what they are and how they work. They specialise in hepatitis C, respiratory syncytial virus, and herpes. They are looking for an Achilles heel, the weakness in a virus which might allow it to be defeated, but are not themselves forging the weapons.
Twenty-seven scientists work here, plus postgraduates and support staff, and there is an almost tangible air of dedication and expertise. You might say these people live and breathe viruses. They are passionate about the subject, and their enthusiasm is infectious. Most admit to respecting viruses, the sort of feeling an athlete might have for a rival - appreciating their ability is an essential step towards defeating them.
Dr Samantha Willey joined the unit five months ago. She previously researched HIV at Edinburgh University, and although that virus is not studied by her new employers, she retains a sense of awe about its capabilities. "Once you learn more about the virus you just think how amazing it is," she says. "In comparison to humans, it is tiny - it has nine genes with which it can infect our cells, reproduce many more copies of itself and evolve to evade being found by the immune system, therefore enabling it to be passed to others. I know it seems strange to admire something so devastating, but HIV is perfectly adapted to infect us by exploiting the very immune cells which we use to get rid of pathogens and microbes. It's very clever."
Most of the scientists interviewed ascribe viruses human or animal characteristics, for example describing them as clever or wretched. "I respect viruses in the same way you might have respect for a lion," says Bhella. "It's beautiful but it can kill you."
The beauty of viruses is something he knows a lot about. An expert in electron microscopic analysis of their structure, he is looking forward to the arrival of a new microscope worth £780,000, which will allow the unit to study viruses in more detail than ever before. "Viruses give an insight into how small things can be," he says. "When you look at them under an electron microscope you use a magnification of typically 30,000-50,000 times. It seems abstract until you consider how many viruses could fit into a small space. For example, in a teaspoonful of sea water there are more viruses than there are people on Earth."
Two similarly jaw-dropping facts: an average virion (a single particle of virus) placed beside a flea is comparable to an adult human standing at the foot of a mountain twice the size of Everest; eight billion viruses could fit on a pinhead. Obviously these things are too small to be seen with the naked eye, and that's partly why seeing electron microscope images of their structure is such a thrill.
An exhibition of such images opens at Glasgow Science Centre this week. Molecular Machines is a collaboration between the virology unit and the artist Murray Robertson. On his office computer, Bhella scrolls through the astonishing exhibition. Cytomegalovirus is a pink and violet Jackson Pollock; hepatitis B resembles a tangle of malevolent fusilli; a cell infected with herpes simplex virus looks like the firebombing of Dresden as seen from above. It prompts one question: what exactly is this stuff?
A virus is a bundle of genes protected by a protein coat known as a capsid. Viruses cannot reproduce on their own and require the cells of another organism in order to do so. They are parasites, predators, pirates. Once inside the body, virions attach to cell receptors, penetrate and begin replicating. They turn each cell into a factory for manufacturing viruses, which then leave that cell, sometimes bursting it open, and go on to infect others.
It can be frighteningly efficient. If one particle of rhinovirus - the common cold - gets inside a cell in your throat, it can replicate itself 10,000 times in a single day. Then those 10,000 virions infect a further 10,000 cells, and so on. Rhinoviruses have only 11 genes, human DNA has around 25,000 and yet we are at their mercy. Adults usually catch two to four colds every year, we sneeze the virus out, and it goes on its way to the next person. Indeed the most devious thing about the virus is that it makes us develop symptoms that aid its spread, but not so sick that we have to go to bed, away from other potential hosts.
"Speed and numbers are the two key factors for the success of viruses," explains Dr Frazer Rixon. Some reproduce so quickly and in such quantities that they use the evolutionary process of natural selection to their advantage, mutating faster than the human immune system can keep up.
This isn't such a problem with the common cold, but when it comes to more serious viruses this mutability can be devastating. Influenza is estimated to infect one billion people annually, leading to between 300 and 500,000 deaths. Major flu pandemics, such as the 1918 outbreak which claimed the lives of more people than had died in the first world war, occur when the virus makes a sudden genetic change, becoming unrecognisable to antibodies that a person has acquired from previous infections.
Although these pandemics are mercifully infrequent, experts believe we may be on the brink of another, possibly caused by H5N1, the bird flu. The World Health Organisation estimates that if H5N1 emerges as a fully contagious virus (at present it does not jump easily between birds and humans, or spread readily among us) then it could reach all continents in less than three months and kill anything from 2 to 7.4 million people, a conservative estimate.
"Sooner or later there will be a new influenza virus and it will be a large killer," confirms Virology Unit director, Professor Duncan McGeoch. "It has happened regularly every few decades for as far back as we can characterise flu, and there's no reason to think that has stopped."
McGeoch led the team that sequenced the genome of herpes simplex virus type one (in other words identified its genes). Understanding the genetic structure of viruses is a key strategy in the war against infection, and work done at the unit is reaching a point where it may be possible to prevent reactivation of latent herpes simplex viruses, which cause painful blisters on the lips and genitals.
Latency is a stumbling block for virologists. If we think of viruses as criminals, then those which use mutation as their primary strategy are masters of disguise, evading antibodies by concealing their identities. Viruses which use latency, however, are more like burglars who hide inside a bank they plan to raid, emerging only when security - the human immune system - is weakened, and wreaking violence in the vaults.
"How do we get at these latent viruses?" Dr Chris Preston asks, rhetorically. "It's hard for people with genital herpes. You can treat the blister, but the virus itself is in the person's nerve cells, just sitting there, and you can't get at it." Will it be accomplished one day? "Yes," he says. "It's a difficult problem. You've got to try and distinguish the virus from the cell it's in. But our basic philosophy is that if you keep working and understanding then it will be done."
"Science is not about great people making great discoveries every day," says McGeoch. "It's about coming to work and slogging on. Experimentation has to be worked at very hard. You have to keep knocking your head against the wall until it falls down."
In the virology unit, the sound of cranium against plaster emanates loudly from those labs concerned with hepatitis C virus (HCV), an infection which can cause chronic liver diseases including cirrhosis and cancer. "In terms of numbers of people infected, it's a much bigger problem than HIV," says John McLauchlan, who leads a team dedicated to HCV.
Hepatatis C virus has infected 170 million people worldwide, but is also a particularly local problem. Half a per cent of the UK population are thought to be infected. In Scotland the rate is 1%, and in Glasgow 2.5%. HCV is spread primarily through direct contact with infected human blood, and in Glasgow that happens for the most part when intravenous drug users share needles. There is a six out of 10 chance that the person whose needles they use is already infected.
There is no vaccine against HCV and current anti- viral drug treatments are problematic. They only work in 40% of cases, are costly, and can cause depression. "So the scale of the problem is increasing," says McLauchlan. "We don't know how many infected people will progress to serious liver disease. If they do, that puts a significant burden on healthcare services. For those who don't respond to treatment and develop serious liver complications, a liver transplant may be the only option."
Even with a donated organ the patient is not cured. The virus remains in the blood and the new liver becomes infected almost immediately. Worse, while it may have taken 20 years to progress from initial infection to chronic disease, this process will be significantly shorter second time around. "At some point we hope to have a magic bullet that will stop the effects of the virus, and there is a huge amount of work going into that," says McLauchlan. "But the current UK estimate is that this will be a pressing problem for at least 20 years."
The search for a cure is complicated by the fact that hepatitis C is tricky to study. For one thing it's quite dangerous; in the unit the work goes on in a special restricted-access containment facility kept under negative pressure, meaning that when the door is opened all the air flows into the lab rather than out. Also, it has only recently been possible for scientists to grow HCV and it remains difficult; if you can't actually follow how the virus spreads from cell to cell then it's hard to know how to target it.
It must be easy to become disheartened, but speaking to people infected with the virus keeps McLauchlan motivated. "If you are infected with hepatitis C the standard treatment is a combination of Interferon and Ribavirin. We can study our cell lines here and treat them with those drugs and see the effects on the virus; that all seems good and well, but when you talk to people who take the treatment you understand it's not pleasant and many come off the therapy as a result. Meeting those people gives you a human perspective on the disease, and you hope that some of the work you do leads to treating people."
Spend time thinking about viruses and larger questions emerge. What are they for? Where have they come from? Their evolutionary origins are open to speculation. The accepted thinking is that millions of years ago viruses began as genetic material which somehow broke away from the genome of a primitive form of life. Viruses then evolved alongside their host organisms, and may actually have played a role in the evolutionary development of the hosts.
Humans, for example, have viruses within our DNA. Some 8% of our genome is made up of ancient human endogenous retroviruses (HERVs) which at some point in the distant past used molecular tricks to insert themselves into our genetic structure and have then been passed down. In this sense, we are actually part virus. This is not to say that the HERVs act directly in specifying composition of our bodies, but arguably we do need them inside us.
So, finally, what are viruses for? The "intelligent design" movement argues that nature is too complicated and intricately balanced to have arisen accidentally, and therefore must be the creation of God. If we assume this mindset for a moment and consider viruses - structurally perfect entities which can cause pain, misery and death - then it's tempting if fanciful to see some sort of Satanic intelligence at work.
"You can't think of a virus as good or evil," insists Rixon. "It is not there for our benefit, but for itself. The imperatives of a virus are to reproduce, metabolise and survive. They don't go around eating grass, and I'm sure they don't have romantic attachments, but at a basic level they are doing what all living things have to do, and are perfectly designed to do so or they wouldn't be here. They've been around for the whole history of life on Earth, and in terms of numbers and diversity this is the viruses' planet not ours."
That is not to say viruses do not have some functions which benefit mankind. For instance, bacteriaphages are viruses which target bacteria. They are probably the most populous organism on the planet, and without them we would be completely overrun by bacteria. We have not had much success in wiping out viruses, smallpox being the only one to be completely eradicated, but were we somehow able to make our planet virus-free then there might be negative consequences. One unit scientist speculates that without viruses to occupy them, our immune systems could start attacking our own bodies.
Thankfully, that problem need not concern us for the moment. As the continuing HIV disaster demonstrates, even decades of focused attention by the best minds on the planet cannot outwit viruses. So, while the quest for anti-virals and vaccines continues, perhaps our best hope is to harness viruses to our own advantage, using them just as they use us. A recent news story suggested that in future we might actually be able to use viruses to fight cancer. British scientists have been exploring the possibility of killing tumours by infecting them with adenoviruses, a virus associated with the common cold.
"The caveat," says McGeoch, "is that viruses have been evolving for millions of years and all the subtleties included in a virus genome are mostly still unseen by us. Just changing it from a baddie to a goodie is fairly challenging. But people are working hard at getting a virus that could destroy a cancer cell and it's not to be sneered at."
He laughs, however, when asked whether he can see some point in the future when we will understand viruses totally. "Most of the virology of today has only developed in the last 50 years, and what I would classify as total understanding of even the simplest virus is a long way off."
So it seems that for the moment viruses must remain mysterious enemies within. They are simple, yet extraordinarily sophisticated and the clearer a view we get of them the more brutally effective they appear. Even the humble common cold, when looked at in detail, seems astounding. To paraphrase The Rolling Stones, it makes you blow your nose and then it blows your mind.
Molecular Machines - Images From Virus Research is at Glasgow Science Centre, February 3-April 30, before touring in Edinburgh, Dundee and Aberdeen.
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Adolfo Flora's OHIP Odyssey
http://www.thestar.com
Isabel Teotonio, staff reporter
He had six months to live. He was rejected for a transplant in Ontario. Then he went overseas and beat the odds. But his fight had just begun, Isabel Teotonio reports
After receiving the grim diagnosis that he had six months to live, Adolfo Flora did exactly what the doctors instructed – he got his affairs in order.
He updated his will and made financial arrangements so his wife and 13-year-old son would be cared for after he was gone.
It was Christmas 1999 and the 50-year-old Toronto high school teacher had been diagnosed with liver cancer – the result of a tainted blood transfusion that gave him Hepatitis C.
"The biggest blow was them saying you have six months, go home and get your papers in order," said Flora, the retired chemistry teacher, in an interview this week. "Even now, seven years later, the impact is indescribable."
Specialists told him a transplant was useless because the cancer was spreading. It was, he said, "the final nail in the coffin."
But a month and a half later, that nail loosened when Flora sought a second opinion and was told the outlook wasn't so bleak. Suddenly, the spectre of death was replaced with a will to live. "We now had hope where before there was none," recalled Flora, who eventually went to England for a liver transplant after being denied in Ontario.
That turning point sparked a long fight with the health-care system, one that ended last week when the Ontario Divisional Court rejected his appeal of an earlier decision and ruled he would have to pay the $450,000 cost of his life-saving treatment.
Back in 1999, transplant specialists in Ontario said he was unsuitable for a transplant because the tumours in his liver had grown too large. Even with a new organ, his chances of survival were slim.
It was a prognosis his friends, family and even his physician refused to accept. They scoured the Internet, rifled through medical texts and contacted international experts. His brother, an ophthalmologist, drafted a list of about 40 experimental treatments being done overseas. Even Flora's 82-year-old mother offered up her own liver.
In England, doctors recommended chemoembolization – a treatment that Ontario considered then to be experimental.
British doctors told Flora his only shot at beating the cancer would be a liver transplant from a living donor – his brother, Dr. Peter Flora, who agreed, without hesitation.
"There was no choice, nothing to think about, no decision other than `When is it going to be done?'" recalled the 59-year-old eye specialist. "Livers regrow. And so what if you have a scar that looks like a Mercedes symbol on your gut?"
To pay for the $450,000 treatment, Flora drained his savings, borrowed money from a close friend and used the proceeds from the sale of his mother's home.
Although the operation was a great success, with Flora beating the odds and the cancer, his fight wasn't over.
The Ontario Health Insurance Plan refused to pay for the overseas treatment because the experimental chemo was not part of the insured services and Ontario specialists had rejected him as a transplant candidate. The Health Services Appeal and Review Board later upheld the decision.
In last week's court ruling, the judges said the government does not have to do everything possible to save the lives of its citizens in every circumstance.That ruling was the final blow for a man who, for the past seven years, has been on what he describes as a "debilitating" emotional roller coaster. He had hoped that the one indisputable piece of evidence in his case – being free of cancer and Hep C – would have tipped the balance in his favour.
"People have to know there are limitations with their health-care system, and those limitations may impact their lives," said Flora. "People tend to get lulled into a sense of complacency. I did." Flora's story begins with a routine surgery in 1973 to remove a benign tumour from his esophagus that was causing his stomach to contract.
But during the procedure, a vein was accidentally nicked, which caused heavy bleeding and he consequently required a blood transfusion.
A routine check three years later revealed he had contracted Hepatitis C, a viral disease that can result in cirrhosis of the liver and liver cancer.
He says he could have launched a lawsuit but didn't. Having doctors in his family, he knew that doctors can also make mistakes.
From 1979 to 1999, liver specialists monitored Flora's condition. But a couple of years passed without doctors running a full battery of tests on him. By November 1999, Flora was already in the advanced stages of liver cancer and not a suitable candidate for a transplant.
The death sentence came when specialists said the cancer had invaded the portal vein, which carries blood to the liver.
"I was at fault. I wasn't an aware consumer," recalled the soft-spoken Flora, as tears welled up in his eyes. "A simple test would've picked up the cancer at an earlier stage..." The weeks following that bleak prognosis were the most difficult of his life. He and wife Marijana tried to remain optimistic for their son, Christopher, but each time Flora sat down to deal with his estate, the grief was overwhelming.
The couple, who taught at the same school, stayed on until Christmas when he took early retirement. Marijana also did not return in the new term because she planned to spend those final months with her husband.
A flicker of hope appeared after a new physician, Dr. Florence Wong, sent him for a second ultrasound. It turned out the portal vein was not invaded.
Wong explored treatment options with various Ontario specialists, but because his cancer was advanced, they said he wasn't a suitable candidate for a transplant from a dead donor, given the scarcity of organs. And a living-related liver transplant from adult to adult, in which a portion of a living donor's liver is transplanted, had never been done in Canada.
"We were running into closed doors in Ontario so we decided to go to Europe," said Flora. At London's Cromwell Hospital, chemoembolization treatments shrunk the tumours substantially but doctors warned the only way to get rid of the cancer was with a transplant. But the wait for an organ from a dead donor was eight months – time Flora didn't have.
His only alternative was a living-related transplant, which had been done at that British hospital numerous times. And his brother was the only potential donor.
There was "zero choice," explained Peter Flora, a father of two daughters. "You either help someone you love or you ignore someone you love. ... I think everybody would make the same choice."
Before the brothers and their wives set out for England, Wong completed a form seeking reimbursement from OHIP for the cost of his treatment in England. The claim was denied, but it did not dissuade them from pushing ahead with the 10-hour operation in March 2000.
A week after the procedure, the first living-related liver transplant on adults in Canada was performed in London, Ont.
Flora believed the worst was behind him, but he was forced to relive much of it when he appeared before the review board to fight OHIP's refusal to pay his treatment bills. "It brought back everything in vivid technicolour," recalled Flora, adding the lengthy legal battle also opened fresh wounds.
On one occasion, a lawyer for OHIP said his treatment should not be funded because it was still uncertain if Flora would even survive.
"She said that in front of me to the review board," he recalled. "I felt like screaming at her and saying I was going to be here longer than she was."
Flora appealed the board's decision to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice and believed the mere fact that he was alive had proven his case.
But not so.
Now Flora says the "apparent callousness" of last week's decision has left him questioning the government's responsibility in providing health care.
While he understands there's a fear in opening the floodgates to claims for alternative treatments in other countries, he points out he did not go to some backwater country for an experimental procedure. "I'd like to see those limitations on the (health-care system), if not erased, then modified in such a way to accompany the needs of every individual," he said.
"Because Ontario is not necessarily at the forefront of every medical innovation, Ontario's people cannot take advantage of everything that is available internationally."
His comments were echoed by his brother Peter Flora.
"What have I learned from all of this? Number one: Don't trust our health-care system for anything.
"And Number two: You have to be your own advocate. ... You have to work at finding appropriate information for the problem you've got, but you then have to find a way of sorting through the information to ensure you're looking at the right thing to do, and that's the hard part."
Liver Transplants from a live donor
- Since the liver can regenerate itself, a live donor — usually a relative — can have a portion of the liver transplanted into the recipient. Both pieces will eventually grow back to full size livers.
- The surgery takes up to 10 hours because it involves cutting open the side of the chest then using a retractor to spread the ribs to gain access to the liver.
- Because the blood vessels surrounding the liver are not sufficiently large for transplantation, a portion of a vessel from the leg is removed and used to connect the donated liver to the recipient.
- Donors must be genuinely willing to donate, physically fit, in good general health, free from high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, kidney disease and heart disease.
- Donors must also meet rigorous criteria in terms of their ability to withstand emotional stress as well.
SOURCE: United Network for Organ Sharing
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January 28th, 2007
Health Ministry Suspends Use of Hepatitis C-Causing Blood Drug
http://english.people.com.cn/
Chinese Ministry of Health on Wednesday banned the use of a blood-based drug which is believed to have infected users with hepatitis C.
Local health authorities must order all medical institutions to register patients who have used the drug, produced by Guangdong Bioyee Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., said the ministry in an urgent statement.
Those who have used the intravenously administered drug must be given blood tests for hepatitis C nucleic acid and antibodies, and should be put under close observation.
"Immediate measures must be taken if the patients show abnormal symptoms," said the ministry.
China has suspended the production and sale of the drug, which is an extract of human blood, after people being treated with it tested positive for hepatitis C antibodies.
The drug has been sold in 12 provinces and cities -- Beijing, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Chongqing and Sichuan, according to the ministry.
Almost 90,000 doses of the drug have been recalled, according to the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA).
In Beijing 68,558 bottles of the drug have been recalled, along with 20,000 bottles in Guangdong province.
The authorities did not reveal how many people taking the drug had been infected with hepatitis C antibodies.
The drug is made from donated human blood and used to boost the users' immune systems. Doctor Jia Jidong, of the Beijing Friendship Hospital, said not everyone with hepatitis C antibodies would fall ill with the disease.
He estimated that about 50 to 85 percent of those tested positive for antibodies would end up contracting the disease.
Jia said it could take up to eight weeks for symptoms to appear.
Ministry spokesman Mao Qun'an said local hospitals would keep a close eye on patients who received the drug made from human immunoglobulin, proteins that behave like antibodies.
The SFDA said the company was unable to provide a record of production and testing of the drug.
On Jan. 16, the Health Ministry announced it was revoking the manufacturing certificates of the Bioyee and Haikou Kangliyuan Group. Both were found to be violating production standards following an investigation last December.
Jia said that if the company had followed proper manufacturing procedures, the hepatitis C antibodies would have been killed and users would not have been infected.
Hepatitis C is a liver disease and although symptoms are relatively mild compared with other types of hepatitis, it can become chronic and lead to liver cancer.
According to the national Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 40 million Chinese carry the hepatitis C virus. The number of new cases jumped to about 60,000 in 2005 from 20,000 in 2003.
Source: Xinhua
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Doing Drugs the Right Way
http://www.huffingtonpost.com
Vince Beiser
Nestled between soaring mountains and the ocean, Vancouver is as pleasant a city as you'll ever find - especially if you're an illegal drug user. Beset in recent years by a flood of narcotics accompanied by surging overdoses and HIV infections, Canada's third-largest city has radically overhauled its police and social services practices to reframe drug use as primarily a public health issue, not a criminal one.
Result: Vancouver is now by far the continent's most drug-tolerant city, launching an experiment dramatically at odds with the bitter War on Drugs waged by its southern neighbor.
Marijuana has been effectively decriminalized. The famous "B.C. bud", rivaled in potency only by California's finest, is sold and smoked so openly that the city has earned the nickname "Vansterdam". The city has taken an even more surprising approach to harder drugs. It runs the biggest needle exchange program in North America. It recently opened the continent's only "safe injection" site, where addicts can shoot up in a supervised setting. If that weren't enough, municipal health officials recently began handing out prescription injectable heroin to addicts, and clean mouthpieces for crack pipes.
This enthusiastic embrace of what is known as the "harm reduction" approach to substance abuse is a world away from the U.S., where punishment is the preferred response. Mandatory minimum sentencing and "three strikes" laws have sent the number of drug offenders in our prisons skyrocketing in recent years; there are more inmates locked up now on narcotics charges - over half a million - than the total of ALL prisoners in 1980. The cost: billions of dollars annually. The benefit: practically none. Most offenders are released with their addictions untreated and soon wind up back behind bars.
In Vancouver, meanwhile, the early indicators are much more encouraging. Nearly 600 people a day are now using the safe injection site. Overdose deaths, which averaged 147 a year in the 1990s, have dropped by almost half. And infection rates for HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C have both plummeted.
At the same time, however, other drug-related problems are getting worse. Increasingly violent gangs battling for control of the trade have claimed over 60 lives in the past six years - major carnage by the standards of this generally peaceful town. Methamphetamine seizures have grown tenfold. Surveys report that drug use is higher in British Columbia than in the rest of Canada, and that almost half of all Vancouverites consider drugs a major problem in their communities - a figure double that for residents of Canada's biggest cities, Toronto and Montreal.
Vancouver, in short, has essentially become a gigantic field-test for harm reduction policies, a million-person laboratory half an hour's drive from the U.S. that is yielding valuable lessons on the costs and benefits of such a strategy - lessons that American policy makers and activists alike should be studying carefully.
The whole experiment is under growing pressure. Canada's recently elected Conservative prime minister has vowed to take a harder line on drugs, and has specifically denounced Vancouver's safe injection site. The Bush administration is cheering him on. To them, Vancouver sets a dangerous example of tolerance for illegal substances. In fact, it's providing an unprecedented opportunity for Americans to see what strategies might actually work as alternatives to our own decades-long and still losing battle with drugs.
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January 29th, 2007
Finding and Fighting Hepatitis C
http://www.wibw.com
Reporter: Linda Russell
It's a virus that could be destroying your liver without you even knowing it. That's why it's important to know if you're at risk for Hepatitis C.
Doctors are now sucessfully treating the once un-treatable disease.
It's often called a silent epidemic, because it can take decades for symptoms to appear; Denise Moore never had any sypmtoms. "It began as a routine physical exam. They ran the lab work, and I had elevated liver enzymes," Denise explains.
That's when she went to see Doctor Shekhar Challa, and a liver biopsy confirmed she had Hepatitis C. "Hepatitis C today is the leading cause of liver transplant- the leading cause of liver related death. When someone gets Hepatitis C, they can develop inflammation, cirosis, and even liver cancer. "I was scared to death," says Denise.
There are several types of Hepatitis. Vaccinations are available for A and B, but not for the Hepatitis C virus. It's transmitted by blood to blood contact, so the risk factors include a blood transfusion before 1991, drug abuse, and getting a tattoo or body piercing in an unhealthy environment.
Doctor Challa explains, "The biggest myth about Hepatitis C, even in some of the medical circles, is there's no treatment, but we've had treatment for several years now." The treatment includes interferon injections once a week and ribavirin pills. Denise says the side effects caused her to have achy muscles, fatigue and low grade fever, but she says it was worth it. She's been hepatitis free for seven years.
"Fight the fight- you don't have to do it alone- get support where you can," says Denise.
Denise is proof that the virus can be beat, and Doctor Challa says it's an easier fight with an early diagnosis. "If you have a risk factor, get screened. It's a simple blood test, and either you have it or you don't."
The American Liver Foundation is sponsoring a free Hepatitis C presentation and screening this Wednesday, January 31st at the Ramada Inn's Madison Ballroom at 5:30 pm. No registration is required. To learn more about Hepatitis C, call the Americna Liver Foundation at 866-455-4837 or visit www.liverfoundation.org
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Future Health Burden of Hep C with HIV in the USA
http://www.gastrohep.com/
Hep C virus-related deaths as a result of pre-1999 infections will continue to increase over the next 25 years, shows this month's Journal of Viral Hepatitis.
Dr Deuffic-Burban and colleagues from France estimated the future disease burden of Hepatitis C virus and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections in the USA until 2030.
The team developed 2 back-calculation models of the human immunodeficiency virus and the Hepatitis C virus epidemic.
The models were based on epidemiological data regarding prevalence, age and gender of incident cases of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), and hepatocellular carcinoma mortality.
The data was taken from the Centers for Disease Control and World Health Organisation.
Hep C infection is expected to peak at about 13,000 in 2030 -- Journal of Viral Hepatitis
The back-calculation model showed that Hepatitis C virus incidence peaked in 1984 at 350,000 new infections.
The research team showed that Hepatitis C incidence fell to about 77,000 in 1998.
The researchers found that HIV incidence reached its maximum in 1989 at 142,000 new infections, and then declined to 79,000 in 1998.
The team noted that mortality related to Hepatitis C virus rose from about 3700 in 1998, and is expected to peak at about 13,000 in 2030.
Predicted Hepatitis C virus mortality would fall only if increased access to or more effective antiviral therapy occurs.
The researchers compared this with HIV-related mortality, which was 14,400 in 1998, and projected to be 4200 for 2030.
Dr Deuffic-Burban's team concludes, “With the availability of effective highly active antiretroviral therapy for HIV infection, mortality from HIV appears to have declined substantially.”
“Hepatitis C virus-related deaths as a result of pre-1999 infections will likely continue to increase over the next 25 years.”
J Vir Hep 2007: 14(2): 107-15
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January 30th, 2007
Cost-Effective Drugs for Treating Chronic Hep B
http://www.gastrohep.com/
This month's Journal of Viral Hepatitis shows that adefovir dipivoxil and pegylated interferon-alpha-2a are cost-effective in treating chronic Hep B.
Standard treatments for chronic Hepatitis B include interferon-alpha and lamivudine.
However, these are associated with adverse effects and viral resistance, respectively.
Dr Takeda and colleagues from England assessed the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of 2 alternative drugs for the treatment of adults with chronic Hepatitis B.
These 2 drugs included adefovir dipivoxil, and pegylated interferon-alpha-2a.
The research team undertook a systematic review, and economic evaluation of literature.
Costs per quality adjusted life years were between $11,763 and $32,517 -- Journal of Viral Hepatitis
The team searched electronic databases, including Cochrane Systematic Reviews and Medline, for literature that met criteria defined in a research protocol.
Retrieved articles were independently assessed for inclusion by 2 reviewers.
The researchers developed a Markov state transition model.
This model was used to estimate the cost-effectiveness of pegylated interferon-alpha-2a, and of adefovir dipivoxil.
The researchers compared these results with nonpegylated interferon-alpha-2a, lamivudine and best supportive care.
The team found 7 randomized controlled trials and 2 systematic reviews that met the inclusion criteria.
The researchers noted that adefovir dipivoxil was more effective than placebo or ongoing lamivudine in reducing levels of Hepatitis B virus DNA.
Rates of Hepatitis B e antigen seroconversion were higher among patients receiving adefovir dipivoxil than either placebo or ongoing lamivudine.
The team observed that treatment with pegylated interferon-alpha-2a showed reduced Hepatitis B virus DNA levels vs lamivudine monotherapy.
Hepatits B e antigen seroconversion rates at follow-up were higher for pegylated interferon-alpha-2a patients.
Dr Takeda's team concludes, “Results of our cost-effectiveness analysis demonstrate that incremental costs per quality adjusted life year for a range of comparisons were between $11,763(£5994) and $32,517 (£16,569).”
“These are within the range considered by National Health Service (NHS) decision-makers to represent good value for money.”
J Vir Hep 2007: 14(2): 75
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OctoPlus Initiates Locteron Phase II Clinical Study in Chronic Hepatitis C
http://www.pharmalive.com
LEIDEN, The Netherlands, Jan. 30, 2007--OctoPlus N.V. (Euronext: OCTO), the drug delivery and development company, announces today the commencement of a Phase IIa study with Locteron™, its controlled release formulation of alfa interferon for treatment of chronic hepatitis C. The Phase IIa study is designed to evaluate Locteron in combination with the anti-viral drug ribavirin in previously untreated chronic hepatitis C patients. Recruitment of patients is ongoing and dosing has started.
Locteron is designed to be a best-in-class therapeutic for patients with chronic hepatitis C, with the potential to induce less side effects, improve patient compliance and provide a more convenient once every two week dosing schedule compared with current therapies. Results from the Phase I study, which was completed in April last year, showed that Locteron is both safe and successful in producing a gradual release over two weeks of alfa interferon after a single injection.
Locteron combines OctoPlus´ proprietary PolyActive(TM) drug delivery technology with BLX-883, a recombinant alfa interferon produced by OctoPlus´ co-development partner Biolex Therapeutics in its patented LEX SystemSM. Locteron is produced in OctoPlus´ cGMP manufacturing facilities in Leiden, the Netherlands.
Design of the Phase IIa study
The Phase IIa study, known as SELECT-1 (Safety and Efficacy of Locteron: European Clinical Trial 1) is a European multi-center, randomized, open-label trial. SELECT-1 will evaluate a range of up to four doses of Locteron administered every two weeks in combination with ribavirin. A total of 32 treatment-naïve hepatitis C genotype I patients will receive this treatment during the 12 week study.
The study will assess viral response, safety and tolerability of Locteron. Results from this study are expected mid-2007 and will be used to select the optimal dose range to be tested in a subsequent Phase IIb study.
"The start of our lead product in its Phase IIa study is a major milestone for OctoPlus," says Joost Holthuis, CEO of OctoPlus. "We believe that Locteron has the potential to be the future treatment of choice for chronic hepatitis C, with less frequent administration and fewer side effects compared to currrent therapies."
About hepatitis C
More than four million people in the United States, and more than 200 million people worldwide, are currently infected with hepatitis C. The standard treatment for patients with chronic hepatitis C is pegylated interferon alfa administered in combination with the anti-viral drug ribavirin. The currently available pegylated alfa interferon products require administration once per week for up to 48 weeks and are associated with substantial side effects, particularly during the period following each administration. Independent market research predicts that modified interferons will continue to be a key component of combination therapy for hepatitis C patients and is expected to be complementary with new agents under development. These sources estimate that total interferon sales for the treatment of hepatitis C will exceed $5 billion by 2014.
About OctoPlus
OctoPlus N.V. is a product-oriented biopharmaceutical company committed to the development of improved pharmaceutical products that are based on its proprietary drug delivery technologies and have fewer side effects, improved patient convenience and a better efficacy/safety balance than existing therapies. Rather than seeking to discover novel drug candidates through early stage research activities, OctoPlus focuses on the development of long-acting, controlled release versions of known protein therapeutics and other drugs.
OctoPlus is also a leading provider of advanced drug formulation and clinical scale manufacturing services to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry, with a focus on difficult to formulate active pharmaceutical ingredients in injectable formulations. The earnings and expertise that OctoPlus derives from rendering formulation and manufacturing services help to support its own drug development programs.
OctoPlus is listed on Euronext Amsterdam under the symbol OCTO. For more information about OctoPlus, please visit our website http://www.octoplus.nl.
This document may contain certain forward-looking statements relating to the business, financial performance and results of OctoPlus N.V. and the industry in which it operates. These statements are based on OctoPlus N.V.´s current plans, estimates and projections, as well as its expectations of external conditions and events. In particular the words "expect", "anticipate", "predict", "estimate", "project", "plan", "may", "should", "would", "will", "intend", "believe" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. We caution investors that a number of important factors, and the inherent risks and uncertainties that such statements involve, could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. In the event of any inconsistency between an English version and a Dutch version of this document, the English version will prevail over the Dutch version.
For further information, please contact:
Rianne Roukema, Corporate Communications, +31(71)524 4044
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ZymoGenetics Begins Clinical Trial for PEG-Interferon lambda as Potential Treatment for Viral Infection
http://www.zymogenetics.com
New Treatments Needed for Patients With Hepatitis C
SEATTLE, Jan. 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ZymoGenetics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ZGEN) today announced that the company has initiated a Phase 1 safety and pharmacokinetic study of PEG-Interferon lambda (IL-29) in healthy volunteers. The Phase 1 study is part of a clinical development program designed to evaluate PEG-Interferon lambda as a potential treatment for patients with hepatitis C and other viral diseases.
"This clinical trial highlights the breadth of our pipeline and reflects our intense commitment to finding new treatments for patients. ZymoGenetics' development programs now encompass hemostasis, cancer, autoimmune and viral diseases," said Bruce L.A. Carter, Ph.D., President and CEO of ZymoGenetics. "We believe PEG-Interferon lambda could serve as an effective alternative in providing therapy for viral infections such as hepatitis C, with the potential for fewer side effects than the current standard of care."
The native human protein Interferon lambda is generated by the immune system in response to viral infection. It mediates anti-viral activity through a receptor that is distinct from that used by Interferon alpha and is generally present on fewer cell types within the tissues of the body. Receptors for Interferon lambda are present on several important sites of viral infection, most notably cells of the lung and liver. ZymoGenetics' product candidate, recombinant PEG-Interferon lambda, has shown in vitro anti-viral activity against several viruses, including hepatitis C.
About Hepatitis C
Chronic infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a leading cause of cirrhosis, liver failure, and hepatocellular carcinoma worldwide. In the United States, it is estimated that HCV is associated with up to 20,000 deaths per year, and is the main indication for liver transplantation. An estimated 4.1 million people in the United States have been exposed to HCV, and approximately 3.2 million have chronic HCV infection. Without effective intervention, the National Institutes of Health project that the number of deaths from chronic HCV infection may triple in the next 10-20 years.
Current Standard of Care for Hepatitis C
The current standard of care for chronic HCV infection involves treatment with Interferon alpha and ribavirin. This form of HCV therapy has been associated with a number of significant side effects including flu-like symptoms, anorexia, depression, hemolytic anemia and myelosuppression. This side-effect profile often necessitates additional medications to manage the side effects, and can lead to early discontinuation of treatment and poor adherence to prescribed therapy, leading to worsened treatment outcomes. Currently, the response rates for the most common form of HCV in the United States to standard treatment are only 50%. Therefore, there remains a need for better tolerated and more effective therapy for HCV infection. The development of PEG-Interferon lambda is intended to provide such an alternative to PEG-Interferon alpha.
About ZymoGenetics
ZymoGenetics creates novel protein drugs with the potential to significantly help patients fight their diseases. The Company is developing a diverse pipeline of potential proprietary product candidates that are moving into and through clinical development. These candidates span a wide array of clinical opportunities that include bleeding, autoimmune and viral diseases and cancer. ZymoGenetics intends to commercialize these product candidates through internal development, collaborations with partners, and out-licensing of patents from its extensive patent portfolio. For further information, visit http://www.zymogenetics.com.
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on the current intent and expectations of the management of ZymoGenetics. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. ZymoGenetics' actual results and the timing and outcome of events may differ materially from those expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements because of risks associated with our unproven discovery strategy, preclinical and clinical development, regulatory oversight, intellectual property claims and litigation and other risks detailed in the company's public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005. Except as required by law, ZymoGenetics undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking or other statements in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Contact:
Investor Relations
John Calhoun, MD, MBA
Director, Corporate Communications & Investor Relations
(206) 442-6744
Media Relations
Susan W. Specht, MBA
Associate Director, Corporate Communications
(206) 442-6592
SOURCE ZymoGenetics, Inc.
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Action Plan to Combat Hepatitis C Infection
http://www.emaxhealth.com
An action plan to prevent and control the spread of hepatitis C in Northern Ireland has been launched.
The plan contains 14 recommendations including advice and information for the public and health professionals. A regional service will also be established bringing together health professionals with a range of specialist skills and expertise to ensure patients have access to the best treatment available.
In Northern Ireland around 900 people have laboratory confirmed hepatitis C infection and currently a further 100 infections a year are being reported. The infection can be treated successfully in the majority of cases, however, if left untreated, it can lead to more serious symptoms with one in five people developing cirrhosis of the liver after a number of years.
The Minister said: "Although the number of people in Northern Ireland with hepatitis C infection is small, the levels continue to grow. It is thought that around three quarters of those infected will not be aware of it and so will not be taking the necessary steps to access the treatment they require. As there is no vaccine to treat the infection our focus has to be on prevention and successfully treating those already infected to minimise the risk of further spread.
'Through the action plan we aim to reduce the prevalence of hepatitis C in Northern Ireland. As part of the action plan we will be developing a regional network which will be responsible for co-ordinating the overall management of people with chronic hepatitis C infection. We also want to ensure that there is equity of access to treatment and care for those people and that models of best practice are followed. Leaflets and booklets for the public and health care professionals on hepatitis C will shortly be published while the network will be responsible for providing continuing training and education for GPs and other professionals.
"The plan, which has been developed following consultation with the health service and relevant professionals, also hopes to ensure people with the infection are identified quickly and receive the highest quality treatment." Further recommendations in the plan involve efforts to ensure that the most vulnerable groups with hepatitis C infection are able to access appropriate treatment.
The Minister continued: "By developing a regional service we want to ensure that particular groups with hepatitis C infection such as those with haemophilia, or mental health problems, children, and ethnic minorities, and those who may experience social exclusion such as prisoners and drug users, have ready access to the quality services which are available.
"My Department will closely monitor progress to ensure that all the recommendations are implemented within the required timescales."
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January 31st, 2007
Alcohol Use after Liver Transplantation Reduces Survival
www.gastrohep.com
Abusive drinking after orthotopic liver transplantation is associated with poor long-term survival, finds the latest issue of Liver Transplantation.
The relevance of sobriety for outcome after orthotopic liver transplantation for alcoholic liver disease is still discussed controversially.
Dr Natascha Nüssler and colleagues from Germany conducted a retrospective analysis of 300 patients transplanted for alcoholic liver disease.
The research team evaluated recurrent alcohol consumption, risk factors for drinking after orthotopic liver transplantation, and long-term survival.
The 300 patients underwent orthotopic liver transplantation for alcoholic liver disease between 1989 and 2002.
Median follow-up was 89 months.
Pretransplant sobriety less than 6 months increases recurrent alcohol consumption -- Liver Transplantation
The research team assessed the incidence and severity of drinking, survival rates, and causes of death.
The team also analyzed age, gender, duration of pretransplant sobriety, social support, presence of children, and the results of psychosomatic evaluation.
The research team evaluated the impact of these factors on recurrent alcohol consumption after orthotopic liver transplantation.
Drinking of various degrees was observed in 19% of alcoholic liver disease patients after orthotopic liver transplantation.
Pretransplant sobriety of less than 6 months, and an absence of a companion in life were associated with an increased risk of recurrent alcohol consumption.
The team observed that the presence of young children also is associated with an increased risk of recurrent alcohol consumption.
In addition, the researchers noted that a predicted poor psychosomatic prognosis were associated with an increased risk of recurrent alcohol consumption.
However, age and gender were not independent risk factors.
Survival rates of patients who resumed abusive drinking were lower than survival rates of abstinent patients or patients with minor lapses.
Recurrent alcoholic liver disease accounted for the vast majority of deaths among patients who resumed abusive drinking after orthotopic liver transplantation.
The team found that malignant tumors, infections, and cardiovascular disease were the most common causes of death among abstinent patients.
Dr Nüssler's team concludes, “Abusive drinking after orthotopic liver transplantation is associated with poor long-term survival.”
“Analysis of risk factors may help to identify patients with a high risk for recurrent alcohol abuse after orthotopic liver transplantation.”
Liv Transplant 2007: 13(2): 197-205
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Children with Hep C Are Generally Asymptomatic
www.gastrohep.com
February's Journal of Pediatrics reports that children with Hep C are generally asymptomatic.
Dr Parvathi Mohan and colleagues from Washington defined the natural history and outcomes of children infected with Hepatitis C virus at birth or in early childhood.
The team of doctors conducted a retrospective, prospective study and identified 60 Hepatitis C virus-infected children.
Patients in Group 1 were identified by a transfusion look-back program.
The doctors identified patients allocated to Group 2 by referrals.
Perinatal/transfusion history, clinical course, and laboratory studies were correlated with findings from 42 liver biopsy specimens.
By 13 years after infection, 12% of patients had fibrosis -- Journal of Pediatrics
The doctors observed that the mean age at infection was 7 months.
Duration of infection was 13 years.
The sources of infection were blood transfusion in 68%, perinatal transmission in 13%, and both occurred in 7%.
The team found that most patients were asymptomatic.
The doctors observed that 3 referral patients had advanced liver disease at presentation.
Mean alanine aminotransferase level was normal in 25%.
The team noted that alanine aminotransferase levels were 1 to 3 times normal in 62%, and greater than 3 times the normal level in 13%.
Liver biopsy specimens showed minimal to mild inflammation in 71%, absent or minimal fibrosis in 88%, and bridging fibrosis in 12%.
The doctors identified that age at infection and serum gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase correlated with fibrosis.
Serum alanine aminotransferase correlated with inflammation unless complicated by comorbidity.
Repeat biopsies within 1 to 4 years in 4 patients showed no significant progression.
The doctors reported that 2 patients died after liver transplantation.
Dr Mohan's team concludes, “Children with chronic Hepatitis C virus infection are generally asymptomatic.”
“By 13 years after infection, 12% of patients had significant fibrosis.”
“Patients enrolled by referral had more severe liver disease than those identified through the look-back program.”
“This demonstrates the importance of selection bias in assessing the long-term outcome of Hepatitis C virus infection.”
J Ped 2007: 150(2): 168-174
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FDA PRESS RELEASE: FDA Reinforces Commitment to Drug Safety
www.fda.gov
Progress Underway, New Initiatives Announced in Response to Institute of Medicine Recommendations
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today outlined a comprehensive commitment to the safety of drugs and other medical products. The FDA report, which also responds to a set of recommendations made by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in 2006, details a series of initial steps that aim to ensure that FDA's safety programs are the best possible.
"Our ongoing assessment of the drug and medical product safety system has affirmed that it is essential that our processes and scientific methods keep pace with the rapid evolution of science, technology and the health care system," said Andrew C. von Eschenbach, M.D., Commissioner of Food and Drugs. "The extensive input we have received from stakeholders has proven invaluable as we transform the drug and medical product safety system and continue to fulfill our mission to protect and promote the public health."
In 2005, the FDA asked the IOM for its assessment of the U.S. drug safety system. In September 2006, the IOM released a report, The Future of Drug Safety: Promoting and Protecting the Health of the Public, that included substantive recommendations on how the FDA can improve its drug safety efforts.
The agency carefully considered recent IOM recommendations, along with advice from other experts, for making needed advances in the system. FDA agrees with the IOM that FDA's mission requires the agency "to balance expeditious access to drugs with concerns for safety" (IOM, Sept. 2006).
FDA believes that concrete steps should be taken. The FDA plans to strengthen the drug safety system with a number of actions in support of three key efforts:
Strengthening the science that supports the FDA's medical product safety system at every stage of the product life cycle from pre-market testing and development through post-market surveillance and risk management;
FDA initiatives include developing new scientific approaches to detecting, understanding, predicting, and preventing adverse events, developing and incorporating new quantitative tools in the assessment of benefit and risk, and conducting a pilot program to review the safety profiles of certain newly approved drugs on a regularly scheduled basis.
Improving communication and information flow among all stakeholders engaged in promoting the safe use of medical products; and
FDA initiatives include the establishment of an advisory committee to provide input to improve the agency's risk communication policies and practices, conducting a comprehensive review of current public communication tools and developing a comprehensive risk communication strategic plan.
Improving operations and management to ensure implementation of the review, analysis, consultation, and communication processes needed to strengthen the U.S. drug safety system.
FDA initiatives include engaging external management consultants to help the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) develop a comprehensive strategy for improving CDER's organizational culture, and making specific organizational and management changes to increase communications among review and safety staff.
In addition, a number of the recently proposed recommendations for the reauthorization of the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA), if adopted by Congress, will respond to some of the IOM recommendations. This will provide significant increased resources for drug safety and added flexibility to FDA in the use of fee funding to address the entire drug life cycle.
The FDA's ongoing effort for drug safety constitutes a comprehensive approach to the IOM's suggestions. It includes 18 actions that were initiated recently as a result of FDA's own assessment of the drug safety system, eight items that are part of the proposed recommendations for the reauthorization of the PDUFA and 15 new items.
For more information, please visit www.fda.gov for the following:
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Service Providers Decry VIHA’s New Funding Formula
http://www.oakbaynews.com
By Andrea Lavigne
Oak Bay News
The Vancouver Island Health Authority reacted swiftly to the Victoria Downtown Service Providers Committee outcry against proposed funding changes to HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C services in Victoria.
VIHA promised one-time transitional funding on Monday to three community groups who provide HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C services in the Capital Region.
The emergency funding announcement came just hours before a press conference held by the Victoria Downtown Service Providers Committee, however, it didn’t squash their calls for a more permanent solution.
“We are making it clear that this is the health authority’s responsibility to provide this money and it does not solve the problem of helping the organizations that support (AIDS) and HIV, the necessary tools to carry out the strong and vibrant work that they’re doing downtown,” Rev. Al Tysick said at Monday’s press conference. “This emergency funding will solve a one-year problem... it’s not the type of solution we’re looking for.”
The Downtown Service Providers Committee, comprised of representatives from the City of Victoria, the United Way, the Victoria Police Department, the Downtown Victoria Business Association, and members of various service agencies met with VIHA last week to decry the health authority’s decision to reallocate 37.5 per cent or $450,000 of funding to Central and North Island service providers. The funding changes were first announced in a Jan. 11 press release.
“The funding formula is not just based on where HIV cases have occurred in the past. It’s looking at both Hepatitis C and HIV and where we expect to see this epidemic going in the future. We’re trying to prevent cases from occurring, remember, not just provide treatment for cases that have occurred in the past,” said Dr. Murray Fyfe, medical health officer for VIHA.
“We’ve had about 50 per cent of new infections of Hepatitis C occurring in areas outside of Victoria in central and North Vancouver Island.”
South Island service providers didn’t deny there is a need up Island for HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C services.
“Our stance on that is they deserve services up Island, they deserve much more services, because the need across our province is great. But to take services from here, doesn’t make sense for us,” Tysick said.
In 2005, 70 per cent of new HIV infections were in the south Island.
Currently, 80 per cent of HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C services are focused on south Vancouver Island.
AIDS Vancouver Island’s executive director Miki Hansen was reluctant to say which services would suffer as a result of the funding changes.
The agency currently provides counseling, a drop-in centre, advocacy for housing, medical, employment and other service needs, as well as education services and a needle exchange.
The Cool Aid Health Community Centre estimates there are 2,500 hepatitis C positive individuals and roughly 450 HIV-positive individuals in Greater Victoria, 300 of whom are HIV positive injection drug users.
“While some of these may successfully access HIV care and treatment services outside out Centre, it is both our belief and experience that the vast majority of them do not, and may be living in the community without effective support services,” said Irene Haigh-Gidora, manager of Cool Aid’s Community Health Services, adding that without support services many will unwittingly continue to drive the HIV epidemic.
“The reduction of service delivery dollars can only exacerbate this problem.”
The impact of funding cuts will also be felt by the City of Victoria and the Victoria city police, said Victoria Coun. Charlayne Thornton-Joe.
“Although these are cuts for one area, they always trickle down and manifest themselves in several different ways. And unfortunately when there are concerns, the public have a tendency to call the police, which the city funds.”
The Victoria Native Friendship Centre’s executive director Bruce Parisian, also spoke out against the cuts.
“Our concern is that those new infections in our community are huge,” he said. “When you look at the new infections for aboriginal peoples, it’s around 14 per cent. So when we only represent four per cent of the total population of B.C. that’s a major issue.”
Fyfe said the redistribution of money will help aboriginal populations on other parts of the Island.
“The other thing we’re basing this on is not just infection rates for past infections, but where we find people living who are risk of infection.”
He added: “What we have been seeing in the past decade is a shift in who is being affected by the HIV/Hepatitis C epidemics... What we’ve been seeing is a transition to other groups, including people of aboriginal origin, youth who have other risk factors, women, particularly women in the sex trade, and these people are not necessarily all concentrated in the downtown core.”
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Be Careful if Using
Fosamprenavir/Ritonavir for PEP, and Did HCV Mean That PEP for HIV Failed?
www.aidsmap.com
Michael Carter
In a letter to the January 11th edition of AIDS, doctors from Lille, France, report a high incidence of severe liver toxicities in individuals prescribed a post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) regimen that includes the protease inhibitor fosamprenavir (Telzir)/ritonavir. The doctors caution against the use of fosamprenavir/ritonavir as part of PEP.
A second letter in the same edition of AIDS is also concerned with PEP. Italian doctors report a case of concomitant HIV and hepatitis C seroconversion in an individual prescribed unsuccessful PEP. The investigators also believe that the patient experienced an unusually late HIV seroconversion, and they speculate that this, and the apparent failure of PEP, was due to an interaction between HIV and hepatitis C.
Liver toxicities in Lille
In France, PEP is provided to individuals after potential occupational or occupational exposure to HIV. Current guidelines recommend the use of two nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors and a protease inhibitor for four weeks.
Until January 2006 doctors in Lille prescribed a PEP regimen consisting of AZT/3TC (Combivir) with the protease inhibitor, nelfinavir (Viracept). However, in early 2006, a decision was taken to replace nelfinavir with fosamprenavir/ritonavir.
Between January and March 2006 a total of 26 patients (22 for sexual exposure) were prescribed the fosamprenavir/ritonavir, Combivir regimen before a high incidence of side-effects lead physicians to discontinue the use of this regimen for PEP.
Of the 26 patients who received this regimen, seven (27%) reported nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In addition, three patients reported rash a median of ten days after the initiation of PEP, leading one patient to discontinue therapy. Two patients developed mild liver toxicities (grade 1 and grade 2) 14 and 28 days after starting PEP, and there were two instances of severe liver toxicity.
The first case of severe liver toxicity (grade 4) involved a 22 year-old woman. After eight days of PEP she presented with nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. Blood tests performed at day 14 showed elevated ALT and AST levels and that the patient was negative not infected with either hepatitis B or hepatitis C. Other than PEP, the patient was taking oral contraceptives and the antibiotic, vibramycin. The decision was taken to stop PEP, and liver function had returned to normal within six weeks. An HIV test performed four months after PEP was initiated was negative.
The second case of grade 4 liver toxicity involved a 29-year-old man. After nine days of PEP, he presented with a generalised blotchy red rash. Once again, ALT and AST levels were elevated. At the time of presentation the patient was found to be uninfected with HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C. Once again, PEP was stopped, the rash regressed and the patient’s liver function returned to normal within six weeks.
“The high incidence of severe liver toxicity in our cohort was unexpected” write the investigators, particularly as a low incidence of liver toxicities was observed in fosamprenavir/ritonavir clinical trials in both HIV-negative and HIV-positive individuals.
“In our experience, PEP for HIV infection with Combivir with a fosamprenavir/ritonavir combination was found to be associated with a high incidence of severe liver toxicity. The results needs further confirmation: however, in the meantime, we recommend caution when prescribing this regimen for PEP”, conclude the authors.
PEP, HIV, hepatitis C and late seroconversion
A second letter in the same edition of AIDS was also concerned with PEP. It reported concomitant seroconversion with HIV and hepatitis C in a gay man. The HIV seroconversion occurred unusually late - seven months after exposure to HIV and the use of PEP.
In December 2003, a 24 year-old gay man was prescribed PEP consisting of Combivir and indinavir (Crixivan) for four weeks following receptive unprotected anal sex with an HIV-positive man. Initial HIV and hepatitis C tests were both negative.
In March 2004, however, the patient was diagnosed with hepatitis C virus. An HIV test at this time, and again two months later was negative.
However, despite claiming that he had been adherent to his course of PEP, and denying any further HIV risk behaviour, the man tested HIV-positive in July 2004. At the time of HIV diagnosis, his viral load was a little under 9,000 copies/ml and his CD4 cell count was 540 cells/mm3.
The authors provide some possible explanation for these unusual events. They note that animal models suggest the PEP is likely to be most effective is provided within 24 hours of exposure to HIV. However, their patient only sought treatment 30 hours after his HIV exposure. They also speculate that hepatitis C could have delayed HIV seroconversion and that PEP could have failed because of an interaction between the two viruses. They conclude, “in the case of sexual or professional exposure to both viruses a prolonged follow-up is recommended to cover a risk of late seroconversion.”
References
Pavel S et al. Severe liver toxicity in postexposure prophylaxis for HIV infection with zidovudine, lamivudine and fosamprenavir/ritonavir regimen. AIDS 21: 268 – 269, 2007.
Terzi R et al. Late HIV seroconversion after non-occupational postexposure prophylaxis against HIV with concomitant hepatitis C seroconversion. AIDS 21: 262, 2007.
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Future Therapies for Viral Hepatitis to Be Discussed at the 3rd Annual Viral Hepatitis World Summit, March 12-13, Boston
http://www.redorbit.com
BOSTON, Jan. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Chronic viral hepatitis is a major worldwide health problem with significant long-term morbidity in the form of disease progression to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Great strides have been made in understanding the complex pathogen-host interactions that lead to these serious sequelae. While major therapeutic advances have occurred in the past 15 years in treating chronic viral hepatitis, major unmet medical needs remain in terms of tolerability and efficacy of existing therapies.
Considering this need, ALM's Strategic Research Institute will bring together global thought leaders from academic and industrial research for two days of focused scientific discussion around emerging discoveries in viral hepatitis. The conference, scheduled for March 12-13, 2007 in Boston, will explore novel therapies for HBV and HCV treatment.
Presenting companies and institutions include: Anadys Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Arrow Therapeutics Ltd, AVI Biopharma, Brown University, GlobeImmune, Inc., Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Hepatitis B foundation, Idenix Pharmaceuticals, InterMune, Inc., Merck, Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research, Novartis Vaccines & Diagnostics, Pfizer Global Research and Development, Roche, Schering-Plough Corporation and Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Early bird pricing ends Friday February 9, 2007, so people interested in attending are encouraged to register early. Companies interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at the meeting should contact Meredith Krantz at 212-967-0095 x218 or email mkrantz@srinstitute.com.
To receive the full agenda in PDF, please contact Seth Fritts of Strategic Research Institute at sfritts@srinstitute.com or 212-967-0095 x256. You can also view the agenda and speakers on the web at: http://www.srinstitute.com/viral.
To become a media partner, please contact Cheryl Kahan-Radhuberat 212-967-0095 x273 ckahan-radhuber@srinstitute.com.
ABOUT STRATEGIC RESEARCH INSTITUTE
The Strategic Research Institute is part of ALM's Conference and Trade Show Division, one of North America's largest producers of educational and networking events for business leaders and the legal profession. The division offers more than 300 conferences and two leading industry tradeshows, as well as conferences in Europe and Asia. Attendance at the division's events, which span a broad range of topics including law, finance, natural resources, life sciences, multi-cultural marketing, real estate and healthcare, will exceed 40,000 executive-level decision makers this year.
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Headquartered in New York City, ALM is a leading integrated media company, focused on the legal and business communities. ALM currently owns and publishes 37 national and regional magazines and newspapers, including The American Lawyer(R), Corporate Counsel(R), The National Law Journal(R) and Real Estate Forum(R). Other ALM businesses include Law.com(R), the Web's leading legal news and information network, Law Journal Press books, newsletter publishing, court verdict and settlement reporting, production of professional educational seminars, market research and content distribution. ALM was formed by U.S. Equity Partners, L.P., a private equity fund sponsored by Wasserstein & Co., LP. More information on ALM's businesses and services is available on the Web at http://www.alm.com/.
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Seth Fritts of Strategic Research Institute,+1-212-967-0095 ext. 256, sfritts@srinstitute.com
Web site: http://www.srinstitute.com
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Source: PRNewswire
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February 1st, 2007
Liver Retransplantation for Primary Nonfunction Improves Survival
www.gastrohep.com
Retransplant for primary graft nonfunction in the initial transplant can achieve good long-term survival, finds this month's Liver Transplantation.
Initial graft function following liver transplantation is a major determinant of postoperative survival and morbidity.
Primary graft nonfunction is uncommon; however, it is one of the most serious and life-threatening conditions in the immediate postoperative period.
The risk factors associated with primary graft nonfunction and short-term outcome have been previously reported.
However, there are no reports of long-term follow-up after retransplant for primary graft nonfunction.
Dr Goran Klintmalm and colleagues from Seattle assessed Primary graft nonfunction after retransplant.
Hospital mortality was 57% with retransplants -- Liver Transplantation
The research team found that 52 liver transplants had primary graft nonfunction among 2341 orthotopic liver transplants in 2130 patients from 1984 to 2003.
The team noted that primary graft nonfunction occurred more often in the retransplant setting.
Female donors, donor age, donor days in the intensive care unit, cold ischemia time were significant factors for primary graft nonfunction.
The researchers observed that operating room time was a significant factor for primary graft nonfunction.
Patient as well as graft survival of retransplant for primary graft nonfunction was not different compared to retransplant for other causes.
The researchers observed that primary graft nonfunction for a second or third transplant did not demonstrate long-term survival.
The research team found that hospital mortality was 57% with retransplants.
Dr Klintmalm's team concludes, “Retransplant for primary graft nonfunction in the initial transplant can achieve relatively good long-term survival.”
“However, if another transplant is needed in the setting of a second primary graft nonfunction, the third retransplant should probably not be done due to poor expected outcome.”
Liv Transplant 2007: 13(2): 227-33
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A New Index for Measuring Liver Fibrosis
http://www.eurekalert.org
A new study to find a non-invasive alternative to liver biopsy when diagnosing fibrosis found that a series of simple blood tests can accurately diagnose the condition. Fibrosis, the formation of scar-like tissue in the liver, usually indicates damage and can lead to cirrhosis. The new series of markers, called FibroIndex, was found to more accurately diagnose fibrosis than two other indices that are commonly used.
The results of this study appear in the February 2007 issue of Hepatology, the official journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD). Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hepatology is available online via Wiley InterScience at http://www.interscience.wiley.com/journal
/hepatology
In patients with hepatitis C, determining the stage of liver fibrosis is important for prognosis and treatment. Liver biopsy is the gold standard, but it is invasive and costly. The current study tested an index of routinely available blood tests to predict significant fibrosis in hepatitis C patients and compared it to two other indices, the Forns' index and APRI (aspartate aminotransferase to platelet ration index).
Led by Masahiko Koda of Tottori University in Tottori, Japan, the study included 402 patients with chronic hepatitis C who were scheduled to undergo a liver biopsy between April 1994 and March 2004. Blood samples were collected within three days of the biopsy and patients who had previously been diagnosed with cirrhosis were not included. The researchers identified platelets, AST (a liver enzyme), and gamma-globulin (a protein in the blood that helps fight infection) as independent predictors of fibrosis and used these to construct the FibroIndex equation.
The results showed that FibroIndex was more accurate in predicting significant or severe fibrosis than Forns' index or APRI. By determining cutoff values to identify the absence or presence of significant fibrosis, the study found that 101 patients could have avoided a liver biopsy. In addition, the FibroIndex was applied to a subgroup of 30 patients treated with interferon who underwent a second biopsy more than one year after treatment. Changes in FibroIndex were found to correlate with changes in fibrosis, while APRI and Forns' index did not show this correlation. FibroIndex was also accurate in patients with normal levels of the liver enzyme ALT, one third of whom had significant fibrosis.
The authors point out that blood tests for the predictors used by FibroIndex are routinely available in most hospitals and laboratories, making it a widely accessible tool for determining fibrosis. Although other markers can be useful in diagnosing fibrosis, their measurements are less standardized and expensive. The authors note that the sensitivity of FibroIndex was limited, which may be due to variation found in laboratory tests. Nevertheless, they conclude: "The utilization of FibroIndex should decrease the number of liver biopsies necessary during follow-up of patients with hepatitis C and could safely provide longitudinal data on the progression of liver fibrosis." It could also provide important information on the clinical course of hepatitis C and help evaluate the effect of treatment.
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Article: "FibroIndex, a Practical Index for Predicting Significant Fibrosis in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C," Masahiko Koda, Yoshiko Matunaga, Manri Kawakami, Yukihiro Kishimoto, Takeaki Suou, Yoshikazu Murawaki, Hepatology; February 2007 (DOI: 10.1002/hep.21520).
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AstraZeneca Acquires Arrow Therapeutics to Broaden Anti-Infective Capabilities
http://www.medadnews.com
LONDON, February 01, 2007 /PRNewswire/ -- AstraZeneca today announced an agreement to acquire Arrow Therapeutics Ltd., a privately owned UK biotechnology company, focused on the discovery and development of anti-viral therapies. The total share capital of Arrow Therapeutics will be purchased for US$150m cash, subject to debt and working capital adjustment. The transaction is expected to close early in 2007.
The deal is an important strategic step for AstraZeneca, strengthening its portfolio of promising anti-infective treatments from external opportunities and providing a widely recognised expert group and technology platform in an area of research that complements internal capabilities in anti-bacterials. The deal also fits with AstraZeneca's decision to re-focus its disease area research with infection and anti-bacterials now one of the company's key therapy areas.
The anti-viral programmes developed by Arrow Therapeutics, include several different approaches towards Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV).
The acquisition of Arrow Therapeutics augments AstraZeneca's portfolio with clinical and pre-clinical compounds and programmes. These assets include two anti-HCV compounds which both target the novel NS5a protein, including A-831 in Phase I. Arrow's most advanced compound is RSV604, currently in Phase II clinical development and partnered with Novartis. RSV604 is a first-in-class, small molecule, oral anti-RSV compound.
John Patterson, Executive Director, Development, AstraZeneca, said: "Arrow Therapeutics is an excellent opportunity to acquire a world-class anti-viral capability to add to our own anti-bacterial research capabilities and promising early stage compounds. AstraZeneca is determined to focus on areas of highest unmet needs and we have identified anti-bacterials and anti-virals as a key opportunity."
Jan Lundberg, Executive Vice President of Discovery, AstraZeneca, added: "We intend to utilise the best of both organisations with an innovation-led culture paramount; we'll look to preserve the entrepreneurial culture of Arrow Therapeutics, while at the same time gaining the benefits available to us from applying the breadth and depth of AstraZeneca's global capabilities."
Ken Powell, CEO of Arrow Therapeutics, said: "We are delighted to join AstraZeneca, which has a proven track record in successfully enhancing its research capabilities by the acquisition of smaller biotechnology companies. Our scientists are looking forward to working within the AstraZeneca research framework. We will be helping to build a complementary anti-viral franchise by utilising the resources of AstraZeneca to realise the full potential of the Arrow Therapeutics programmes and to develop a major pipeline of new anti-viral medicines. We are very excited about this opportunity for our team who have made such an important contribution to the success of Arrow Therapeutics."
Arrow Therapeutics currently has 57 employees at its facility in London, UK. AstraZeneca's immediate plans are for Arrow Therapeutics to become a hub for anti-viral discovery activities remaining at its present central London site.
Notes to News Editors
The urgent need for novel Hepatitis C inhibitors has been well documented, with an estimated 170 million sufferers worldwide. The current Standard of Care treatment (Pegylated Interferon + ribavirin) has a poor side effect profile and is only effective in around 50 per cent of patients. As with HIV/AIDS, multiple drugs in combination therapy are likely to be needed to overcome drug resistance. The value of the Hepatitis C market was approximately US$2.2 billion in 2005 and is forecast to grow substantially to US$4.4 billion in 2010 and US$8.8 billion in 2015.
RSV is a major threat to the very young, the elderly and the immuno-compromised and with no other effective treatment available represents a major unmet medical need. Although best known as an infection in babies where it causes severe bronchiolitis, a recent editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine has also stressed its significant effects in the elderly. RSV is also implicated in many asthma & COPD attacks. Currently, the only widely used intervention is MedImmune's monoclonal antibody, Synagis (palivizumab), which is used to prevent infection in high risk infants. However, this antibody is used in a small percentage of babies and although it is only effective given prior to infection (unlike a treatment therapy) it has reached sales of 'blockbuster' proportions and proven the RSV market.
AstraZeneca is a major international healthcare business engaged in the research, development, manufacture and marketing of prescription pharmaceuticals and the supply of healthcare services. It is one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies with healthcare sales of over US$23.95 billion and leading positions in sales of gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, respiratory, oncology and infection and neuroscience products. AstraZeneca is listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (Global) as well as the FTSE4Good Index.
Arrow Therapeutics was founded in 1998, and is focused exclusively on novel antiviral drug discovery and development. Based in central London with 57 employees, the product pipeline includes novel antiviral lead and clinical compounds. Arrow's lead compound RSV604 to treat Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is in Phase ll clinical studies and is partnered with Novartis. The Hepatitis C programme consists of multiple series from different chemical classes. The most advanced compounds inhibit NS5a, a novel viral target (for more detail on NS5a please see www.arrowt.co.uk). The lead compound, A-831, is currently in Phase I trials and A-689, a compound from the second NS5a series, has just entered preclinical development. Arrow also has a Hepatitis C polymerase programme in lead optimisation. Its current shareholders include investment funds represented by Atlas Venture, Alta Partners, 3i, GIMV, ITX, Merlin BioMed Group, NIF SMBC Ventures, Northern Venture Managers, Scottish Widows Investment Partnership, TVM Capital and Unibio.
CONTACT:
Media Enquiries: Edel McCaffrey, Tel: +44-(0)207-304-5034, SteveBrown, Tel: +44-(0)207-304-5033;
Investor Enquiries: Mina Blair, Tel:+44-(0)207-304-5084, Jonathan Hunt, Tel: +44-(0)207-304-5087, Karl Hard,Tel: +44-(0)207-304-5322, Ed Seage, Tel: +1-302-886-4065, Jorgen Winroth,Tel +1-212-579-0506;
Arrow Therapeutics: Ken Powell, Chief ExecutiveOfficer, Tel: +44-(0)207-015-1002, Annie Clayton,
Investor Relations and Marketing, Tel: +44-(0)207-015-1004;
Capital MS&L, Mary Clark - DirectorLife Sciences, Tel: +44-(0)20-7307-5336, Astrid Josephson - Consultant,Tel: +44-(0)20-7307-5346
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Hepatitis C Alert as Cases of ‘Hidden Killer’ Hit 19,000
http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk
by Iain Lundy
CASES of the deadly virus hepatitis C - dubbed the "hidden killer" - have soared in Scotland, with Glasgow's health board area the worst affected.
Official figures reveal that, last September, 19,100 people were officially diagnosed with the virus - 8985 of them in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde NHS Board area.
The Scottish figure is up 3000 in less than three years but experts say the true picture is much worse.
advertisementHepatitis C is notoriously difficult to diagnose and it is estimated up to 60,000 people in Scotland may be suffering from it.
Of those diagnosed, 41% live in the Glasgow and Clyde area, against 14% in Edinburgh and Lothian.
The virus is most commonly associated with drug taking and the figures have sparked calls for needles to be given free to drug addicts.
It can lie undetected for decades before being diagnosed and it is potentially fatal for up to 30% of sufferers who develop the disease in its chronic form.
Today's report, by Health Protection Scotland, reveals at least 2578 people in Scotland have died from the illness.
Glenn Codere, of Health Protection Scotland, said: "There are a number of cases out there undiagnosed. People that have it can seem to be perfectly healthy for a long time.
"What we are finding is we are picking up more cases of hepatitis C as the public become more and more aware of it."
The report shows that, of the 19,100 officially diagnosed with the virus, 59% (11,200) were aged 30 to 44 while 17% (3326) were 15 to 29.
Haemophiliacs who have contracted the virus through contaminated NHS blood products have for years been calling for a public inquiry.
Last year, the Scottish Executive launched a £4million plan in an attempt to curb the spread of the illness.
Clare Morris, coordinator of the Glasgow-based hepatitis C charity C-Level, said she was not sure if the initiative could work.
She called for needles to be made freely available to addicts.
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February 2nd 2007
Nobel Laureate Dr. Baruch Blumberg Joins Hepatitis B Foundation as First “Distinguished Scholar”
http://www.sbwire.com
Finding a cure for hepatitis B to complete the circle of discovery
Doylestown, PA -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/02/2007 -- The Hepatitis B Foundation is proud to announce that Nobel Laureate Baruch Blumberg, M.D., Ph.D., has joined the organization as the first “Hepatitis B Foundation Trustee Distinguished Scholar.”
Beginning January 2007, Dr. Blumberg will spend several days a month at the Hepatitis B Foundation, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to finding a cure for hepatitis B, meeting with Foundation researchers and public health professionals to help guide them in their valuable work. The Foundation is located in the new Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center in Bucks County (Doylestown), Pa., which the Foundation created to accelerate its research progress.
Dr. Blumberg received the Nobel Prize in medicine in 1976 for his discovery of the hepatitis B virus and invention of the first vaccine against hepatitis B. By joining the Hepatitis B Foundation, he has chosen a valuable opportunity to contribute to the completion of his circle of discovery - finding a cure for hepatitis B.
“I greatly admire the Hepatitis B Foundation and its mission. It is a world-class research organization with one of the largest concentrations of scientists working on the problem of hepatitis B. This is an exciting time for hepatitis B research and I embrace the Foundation’s goal of eradicating the disease,” said Dr. Blumberg.
Dr. Blumberg has been involved with the Hepatitis B Foundation since the very beginning when Foundation Co-founder Dr. Timothy Block first visited him in 1991 to complete a sabbatical research fellowship with him while Dr. Blumberg was Master of Balliol College at the University of Oxford. During the past 15 years, Dr. Blumberg has served on the Foundation’s Medical and Scientific Advisory Board and has been an important ally in supporting its international research and public health priorities.
The past eight years of Dr. Blumberg’s professional life, however, turned from the human body to astro-bodies. He was asked to serve as the first director of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Astrobiology Institute at NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, and later as senior advisor to the administrator of Biology at NASA in Washington, D.C. He also serves as the Senior Advisor to the President of Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, Pa.
To advance its mission, the Hepatitis B Foundation has identified three major priorities for the next several years: to ensure that every American with chronic hepatitis B is counted so that appropriate public health attention and funding is provided to improve the care and treatment of those affected; to make the link between hepatitis B and liver cancer clearer in the minds of policy makers and the general public to increase early screening and treatment options for this devastating consequence of chronic hepatitis B infections; and to promote a better understanding of the risks and care of hepatitis B co-infections with other diseases such as HIV and hepatitis C.
“Working with Dr. Blumberg is a privilege and an honor,” said Dr. Timothy Block, Foundation President. “He is a scientist with extraordinary vision and commitment to the problem of hepatitis B and his presence will inspire and guide the Foundation as it seeks to fulfill its mission.” The Hepatitis B Foundation is excited to have Dr. Blumberg’s professional attention return to hepatitis B as its “Distinguished Scholar.”
About the Hepatitis B Foundation
The Hepatitis B Foundation is the only national nonprofit organization solely dedicated to finding a cure and improving the quality of life for those affected with hepatitis B worldwide through research, education and patient advocacy. The Foundation is located in the new Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center of Bucks County, which it created to accelerate its research progress. For more information, visit www.hepb.org or call (215) 489-4900.
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Conference Cites Jump in Meth Use
http://www.sltrib.com/
By Michael N. Westley
The Salt Lake Tribune
The second National Conference of Methamphetamine, HIV and Hepatitis has drawn scientists, politicians, teachers and front-line workers from across the country to Utah this week to discuss a new era in meth treatment and prevention.
The opening address Thursday included remarks from Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson, who summarized the state of meth in Utah and beyond with alarming figures of growth - meth-related emergency room visits have more than doubled since 1995 and there are five times as many people in treatment for meth today as 1992. The mayor also congratulated Utah's Harm Reduction Project director, Luciano Colonna, calling his organization's meth policy "sensible and effective."
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