December 8, 2015
DOWNLOAD: HCV Webinar #1: The Cost of Production for HCV Treatment Slides
Presenter: Dr. Andrew Hill, Senior Research Fellow, Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Liverpool University, United Kingdom
Description: New HCV drugs, called direct-acting antivirals (DAAs), are too expensive. Generic DAAs will be key to provide universal access to treatment for millions of people with hepatitis C, espcially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). In this webinar, Dr. Andrew Hill presents his team’s research to show how Generic DAAs can be produced for a fraction of the market price.
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.
December 10, 2015
DOWNLOAD: Webinar #2: Direct-Acting Antivirals Drastically Simplify HCV Diagnosis and Monitoring Slides
RELATED: TAG’s HCV Diagnostics Fact Sheet
Presenter: Dr. Teri Roberts, Senior Scientific Officer, Hepatitis and HIV, FIND (Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics), Geneva
Description: This webinar provides an overview of the HCV diagnostic technologies in development that are suited to resource-limited settings, along with suggested advocacy points for the international community to drive forward.
About Dr. Teri Roberts
Dr. Roberts graduated from Rhodes University, South Africa, with a PhD in immunology from the University of Stellenbosch. Dr. Roberts has worked on the host immune responses and diagnostic biomarkers for tuberculosis (TB) disease and treatment. As the diagnostics advisor for Médecins Sans Frontières’ Access Campaign, Teri worked on access to HIV, TB, and hepatitis diagnostics, 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.
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.
For further information, comments or questions related to the TAG webinar series, please contact: karyn.kaplan@treatmentactiongroup.org