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Alan Franciscus

Editor-in-Chief

HCV Advocate



Showing posts with label Asia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Asia. Show all posts

Monday, August 31, 2015

China, Taiwan FDAs accept trial applications for IFN-free HCV regimen

The China and Taiwan Food and Drug Administrations have accepted clinical trial applications filed by Ascletis Innovation for its interferon-free regimen to treat chronic hepatitis C virus infection, according to a press release

Ascletis is the first Chinese company to file clinical trial applications in China for an IFN-free regimen, according to the release, and will initiate a phase 2 trial in Taiwan. The trial will include a combination regimen of Danoprevir (ASC08), a direct-acting antiviral agent and NS3/4A inhibitor, and Ravidasvir (ASC16), an NS5A inhibitor.

“All oral IFN-free regimens are breakthrough treatments of [chronic hepatitis C] marketed outside China at the end of 2014. To date, there are no DAAs approved in China,” Zhuang Hui, MD, academician of the Chinese Engineering Academy and the honorary Chairman of the Chinese society of Hepatology at Peking University Health Science Center, said in the release. “We're very pleased that Ascletis is developing the first IFN-free regimen by a domestic company for [chronic hepatitis C] in China. It shows that the domestic pharmaceutical companies are now catching up with the global development for [chronic hepatitis C].”

Read more.....

Monday, February 2, 2015

BMS Foundation Awards US$3.5 Million In Hepatitis Grants

AsianScientist (Feb. 2, 2015) - The Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation has in the past month awarded nine new multi-year grants for more than US$3.5 million to strengthen efforts against hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) in India and China, which constitute the most vulnerable populations worldwide.

The grants were made through the Foundation’s Delivering Hope initiative, an independent philanthropic wing of BMS to prevent hepatitis in Asia. These align with the World Health Organization’s (WHO) call for action against the global hepatitis threat with comprehensive strategies for awareness, prevention and treatment. Last year, Delivering Hope established three Centers of Excellence, one in China and two in India, that are focusing on just these goals.

 An urgent public health issue, hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver, most commonly caused by a viral infection. The WHO estimates that hepatitis B and C affect over 500 million people worldwide. Viral hepatitis is often referred to as a ‘silent epidemic’ because most people do not realize that they are infected and, over decades, progress to severe liver diseases. This underscores the urgent need for universal access to immunization, screening, diagnosis and antiviral therapy.

Read more from Asian Scientist Magazine at: http://www.asianscientist.com/2015/02/pharma/bms-foundation-awards-us3-5-million-hepatitis-grants/