TAG HCV Webinar Series
Please join us in two dynamic presentations and discussions of key hepatitis C virus (HCV) access challenges and proposed solutions.
Please RSVP below.
Webinar #1: The Cost of Production for HCV Treatment A recording of this webinar and the slides are now available HERE. Presenter: Dr. Andrew Hill, Senior Research Fellow, Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Liverpool University, United Kingdom Webinar description
New HCV drugs, called direct-acting antivirals (DAAs), have few side effects and can cure approximately 90 percent of people in 12 weeks. But DAAs are too expensive for low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where millions of people with hepatitis C need treatment to prevent them from dying of liver disease. DAAs have been priced at US$750 to US$1,000 per pill; a 12-week treatment course with these DAAs is over US$140,000. With these prices, how can universal access to treatment, particularly for people in LMICs, be achieved? Dr. Andrew Hill will describe his team’s research comparing the chemical structure and steps to produce DAAs with those of drugs for HIV. They found that DAAs can be generically produced for a fraction of the market price. But patents allow originator companies to block access to more affordable generics for 20 years or more. Dr. Hill will present his latest drug and diagnostic estimates and research methodology, and participants will have the opportunity to ask questions. About Dr. Andrew Hill
Dr. Hill graduated from Oxford University, with a PhD from the University of Amsterdam. He has been working on HIV and HCV drug development for over 20 years and now specializes in treatment access. His work has been published in many different medical journals including Science, the Lancet, Clinical Infectious Diseases, and Hepatology. He works as an advisor to the World Health Organization and the Clinton Health Access Initiative. A recording of this webinar and the slides are now available HERE. |
WEBINAR #2: Direct-Acting Antivirals Drastically Simplify HCV Diagnosis and Monitoring Date: Thursday, December 10, 2015
Time: 9 a.m. New York/ 4 p.m. Cape Town/ 2 p.m. Casablanca/9 p.m. Bangkok Presenter: Dr. Teri Roberts, Senior Scientific Officer, Hepatitis and HIV, FIND (Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics), Geneva Register for this Webinar: https://cc.readytalk.com/r/hgajgm107610&eom Webinar description Teri Roberts will describe HCV diagnostics, pretreatment assessment, and monitoring during and after treatment, highlighting how much simpler these have become with DAAs. Because DAAs are safer and require less monitoring, they will pave the way for community-based HCV care models. The webinar will include an overview of the diagnostic technologies in development that are suited to resource-limited settings and outreach work (core antigen testing, rapid and point-of-care testing, and use of dried blood spots) along with suggested advocacy points for the international community to drive forward. About Dr. Teri Roberts After completing a BSc at Rhodes University, South Africa, Teri Roberts moved to Cape Town to complete her masters in human nutrition at the University of Stellenbosch. Through funding from the Action TB initiative, she was then offered a fellowship to complete her PhD in immunology, also at Stellenbosch University, where she undertook a project to investigate host immune responses during the course of tuberculosis (TB) disease and treatment. Following graduation, Teri continued with a postdoctoral position in the same department to work on a BMGF-funded Grand Challenge project (GC6), which aimed to measure biomarkers of protection against TB. She then moved to the University of Cape Town (UCT) for a second postdoctoral position to focus on the discovery of diagnostic biomarkers for TB using proteomics techniques and immunoassays. More recently, Teri moved to Geneva to take up a position with Médecins Sans Frontières' Access Campaign as its diagnostics advisor. In this position, she worked on access to HIV, TB, and hepatitis diagnostics, including improving access to existing diagnostic and monitoring tests and influencing the design of future tests to better suit the needs of resource-limited settings. She joined FIND in September 2015 and is working on the development and implementation of better tests for HIV and hepatitis in developing countries. Register for this Webinar: https://cc.readytalk.com/r/hgajgm107610&eom |
Can’t make it? A recording will be available online here after the webinar. About TAG’s HCV Webinar Series Building on TAG’s recent publication, Activist Strategies to Increase Access to HCV Treatment in Low- and Middle-Income Countries, our webinar series offers the opportunity to engage with leading experts on cutting-edge issues in HCV treatment access advocacy. Liver disease from HCV is one of the leading causes of death around the world. At least 185 million people have been infected with HCV, and 700,000 people die from it each year. The hope for eradicating HCV has recently gained new momentum: effective treatments reaching a 100 percent cure rate in clinical trials are now available. But unaffordable drug prices and expensive diagnostic tools are keeping HCV cures from the majority of people who need them—those living in LMICs. Significant advocacy work is required to achieve global HCV prevention and treatment targets set by the World Health Organization and to build the political will to implement these goals at the national level. Pricing, patent, and other barriers must be addressed if countries are to achieve these goals. Look for more webinars in 2016!
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