 |
 |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
~ NEWS~ The beginning of 2008 marks a breakthrough in the efforts of HRF to develop a vaccine capable of protecting against both hepatitis B and C viruses, the major causes of cirrhosis and liver cancer, worldwide. June, 2006 Special thanks to Ken Schneidman
June, 2006 Introducing: The Hepatitis & AIDS Research Institute (HARI) June, 2006 Scientific members of HRF, HARI, and the Chimpanzee Sanctuary are now available to lecture on Hepatitis, AIDS Research, and Chimpanzee welfare. May, 2006 October, 2004 The
Hepatitis Research Foundation, together with the New York Blood Center,
sponsors Vilab II, a chimpanzee research laboratory, and a chimpanzee
retirement Sanctuary, at the Liberian Institute of Biomedical Research
in Liberia. The laboratory is headed by Alfred M. Prince MD, Betsy Brotman,
and Wolfram Pfahler DVM, PHD, Medical director. This laboratory is very
active in the search for new drugs for therapy of chronic HCV infections,
and in the attempt to develop approaches for therapeutic immunization,
which could in principle result in a one time permanent cure. Vilab II
has a unique resource for these studies: 23 chimpanzees who are chronically
infected with HCV. March, 2004 HRF
Would Like to send a VERY SPECIAL THANK YOU TO Just 14 days before the Allman Brothers Band's Annual NYC, Beacon run, Brent Daniel
of Gardenia, CA came up with the idea to hold a raffle and to donate the
funds to charity. With the help of Linda Braswell and Sari Begleiter this
event was a success. Thanks to the wonderful generosity of the fans and
affiliates of the Allman Brothers Band, the raffle raised over $2,400,
of which HRF was given half. The other half was donated to Rock and Wrap
it Up, an organization that feeds the hungry. The donation was made in
the name of Jody Daddio and Tony Hirsch. Both have taken great strides
to increase awareness of hepatitis C on the Allman Brothers Band Website. Linda
Braswell, & The Left Coast Crew Brent
Daniel, December 19, 2003 HRF
would like to thank, Matt Turk (pictured below) and Kenny Schneidman.
HRF
would also like to thank Marie Bresnahan, of the
and
David Maxwell of the December 19, 2003 Matt Turk to perform at Slipper Room to benefit HRF November 30, 2003 HRF
to join Dark Star Orchestra August 19, 2002 Click here for VIRAX PRESS RELEASE August, 2002 VIRAX TO DEVELOP HEPATITIS B TREATMENT WITH ALFRED M. PRINCE OF THE NEW YORK BLOOD CENTER Click here for more information January, 2002 Dr. Prince has made important progress towards the development of therapeutic immunization for HBV and HCV at his laboratory of Virology at the New York Blood Center:
December, 2001 3rd Annual Midwinter HCV Symposium
Due to the growing support and interest in the last three years, the 3rd Annual Midwinter HCV Symposium on Molecular Biology held in Barbados, West Indies from November 29 through December 1, 2001, was an astounding success! The biggest challenge we experienced was in limiting the number of attendees from the overwhelming response to our invite. Maintaining a small, intimate group is essential in keeping with the purpose of this meeting: to foster an uninhibited atmosphere and level of tenacious discussion among the leading scientists in hepatitis C research. The following are some comments from attendees' on the recent symposium: "I would like to thank you once again very cordially for your kind invitation to participate at the Midwinter Symposium in Barbados. It was a wonderful and absolutely unique experience, and I very much enjoyed the numerous stimulating and fruitful discussions in such a relaxed atmosphere." Darius Moradpour, MD "Thanks again for opening the window for better science. I
begin to be addicted to this Winter Conference, feeling withdrawal symptoms
already. Science can be fun - you have taught this to us." "I am writing to let you know how much I enjoyed the Midwinter Meeting and to compliment you on the program and choice of venue. I really did enjoy it enormously and I'd like to thank you for the very kind invitation…. The size of the meeting…felt very comfortable." Eric Gowans, PhD "…the organization was perfect which allowed the science and the social parts as well to proceed so freely. These Winter Symposia are simply the best meetings that I attend…" Stephen Feinstone, MD "I want to thank you both again for the memorable HCV meeting in Barbados. It was also an enjoyable opportunity for me to make new acquaintances. We all had fun and learned a lot as well!!" Joanne E. Tomassini, PhD "…a wonderful gathering…and a memorable time…" Arash Grakoui, PhD Following the success of the recent meeting, the New York Blood Center and the Hepatitis Research Foundation are sponsoring the 4th Annual Midwinter Symposium on the Molecular Biology and Immunology of Hepatitis C Virus in Costa Rica in late November 2002. December, 2001 The Hepatitis Research Foundation would like to thank Abbott Laboratories for their generous grant in support of research for the prevention and cure of HCV and HBV viruses. April, 2001 In April of this year, the International Consortium on Hepatitis Immunization is submitting a request for $50 million in support of its efforts in prophylactic and therapeutic immunization for hepatitis B and C to the Gates Foundation. If this is granted, it would go a long way towards bringing its research to application in man. If not, HepRF will have an even greater challenge. Meanwhile, scientists of the Consortium have developed new vaccine candidates, means for enhancing the immune response to these, and a better understanding of how some patienst can rid themselves of HBV and HCV infections. The findings will have a major impact on future research in hepatitis immunization. The Consortium is optimistic for rapid progress, and expects clinical trials in therapeutic immunization to begin in the coming year. November 14, 2000 September, 2000 The Hepatitis Research Foundation would like to thank the Don and Rita Lee Foundation for their continued support for research to find the means by which to cure HCV August, 2000 We would like to thank the band, Phish, for the donation of a signed poster which was auctioned off to benefit hepatitis research. JULY
13-15, 2000 MIDSUMMER
SYMPOSIUM ON THE MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND IMMUNOLOGY OF HCV March 22, 2000 The following is a follow-up on the 1999 Midwinter Symposium on Molecular Biology and Immunology of HCV: As intended, the meeting was small, but included truly outstanding scientists, who were able to interact and communicate in a way seldom possible in larger meetings. The attendees were: Vince Agnello, Lahey Clinic, USA; Sven-Erik Behrens, Institut fur Virologie, Germany; Jens Bukh, NIH, USA; Marc Collett, ViroPharma Inc., USA; Nili Daudi, Hadassah University Hospital, Israel; Raffaele De Francesco, IRBM, Italy; Min Gao, Bristol-Myers Squibb, USA; Yoshiharu Matsuura, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japan; Charlie Rice, Washington University, USA; Christoph Seeger, Fox Chase Cancer Center, USA; Julian Symons, Roche Discovery Welwyn, UK; Eckard Wimmer, SUNY, Stony Brook, USA; Pei Zhang, New York Blood Center, USA; and Weidong Zhong, Schering-Plough, USA. Drs. Barbara Rehermann and Steve Feinstone tried to attend but were able to come only as far as Puerto Rico due to congestion resulting from a recent hurricane. The following are comments of some of those who attended the Symposium: "The St. Vincent meeting was a real success. The informal atmosphere and the small number of participants favored the scientific discussion and the unrestricted exchange of novel information. I enjoyed it a lot and I look forward to repeating it." "inspired a lot through good discussion with outstanding researchers of the field." "The small number of participants promoted scientific discussion." a splendid meeting. In particular, it broadened and deepened my understanding of the molecular HCV work. We all felt that the meeting was outstandingly successful and therefore plan to hold another Midwinter Symposium in 2000. This time there will be more emphasis on immunology, which was under represented this year. The following is an article from the Winter 2000 edition of Bloodlines, a Newsletter put out by the New York Blood Center: Harnessing Immune Defenses To Combat Hepatitis C About 170 million people worldwide, including an estimated 4 million Americans, have been infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV). Of those who become infected, 75% to 85% continue to harbor chronic infection. In a small percentage of people, chronic HCV infection can eventually lead to life-threatening illnesses such as cirrhosis and liver cancer, and it is the single most common cause for liver transplants. Alfred Prince, M.D., head of NYBC's Laboratory of Virology, and his colleagues are focusing on a two-pronged approach for attacking hepatitis C: a vaccine to prevent viral transmission, and immunotherapy to wipe out the infection in chronic carriers. Dr. Prince's team is well prepared for this task, having already achieved several crucial breakthroughs in hepatitis research. Over the last three decades, they have identified a hepatitis B virus (HBV) surface antigen, leading to the first screening test for that disease; developed an inexpensive HBV vaccine now widely used in developing countries; and were the first to report the existence of a blood-borne virus that was subsequently identified as hepatitis C. Although new cases of hepatitis C are on the decline, there are still close to 3 million chronic HCV carriers in the U.S., and the incidence of HCV-related liver disease among this population is likely to increase. Dr. Prince's team is exploring the use of DNA-based immunotherapy to help avert the long-term complications of HCV in these chronic carriers. The researchers were recently encouraged by the dramatic response to DNA-based immunization in a chimpanzee infected with hepatitis B (HBV). Within weeks, the virus was almost entirely cleared from the animal's blood, after 10 years of chronic infection. Dr. Prince anticipates starting human trials of a similar HBV vaccine at Mount Sinai Medical Center in early 2000, pending FDA approval. DNA-BASED
VACCINES: KEY TO CONTROLLING HEPATITIS C? For their first trial of immunotherapy in chimpanzees with chronic HCV infection, Dr. Prince and his colleagues used DNA constructs incorporating two HCV genes, but this vaccine failed to reduce the viral blood level. In the current trial, they are testing DNA constructs that include most of the HCV genes. They are also giving the animals separate DNA constructs containing genes for three different molecules (termed cytokines) known to enhance the immune response. On another front, the researchers are exploring the use of so-called minigene constructs to induce immunity to HCV infection. These DNA constructs consist of gene fragments encoding those parts of different viral proteins that are recognized by the immune response. Existing data indicate that such minigene constructs can provoke an even stronger response than whole viral genes. Dr. Prince's group is currently evaluating an HCV minigene construct in mice. Finally, the NYBC scientists are attempting to target the DNA directly to a specific type of immune cell (dendritic cell). According to Dr. Prince, this targeted approach would "tend to boost the immune response, and as importantly, it would reduce the amount of DNA we would have to administer, so that developing countries could afford the vaccine" once it becomes available. As ongoing research yields a clearer picture of HCV infection, the prospect of developing effective strategies to prevent and treat this devastating disease continues to rise. Current Research: Alfred M. Prince, MD " Dr Alfred Prince is using a variety of DNA based immunization strategies to enhance the anti-viral immune responses in mice and in chimpanzees. The target viruses are hepatitis B (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV). These studies are aimed at producing therapeutic immunization to lower the viral load, and ultimately, he hopes, to eliminate the viral infection entirely. Very promising results have been obtained with chronic HBV infection in a chimpanzee, where viral load was reduced by 2-3 orders of magnitude. This effect lasted for more than 2 years. The strategy used in this study will be evaluated in a clinical trial with humans chronicaly infected with HBV. Similar studies, using a variety of strategies to enhance the immune response, are in progress with HCV" Jules Dienstag, MD Currently, Dr. Dienstag is conducting clinical trials of antiviral therapy for chronic hepatitis C. They are involved in a multicenter study of combination long-acting pegylated interferon plus ribavirin. They have also been selected as a clinical center site for a new multicenter NIH-sponsored clinical trial of antiviral therapy in interferon nonresponders. Click Here to Email Us
HRF is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a public charity
Webmaster: HepRF@heprf.org |
The Foundation thanks Adobe's Gifts in Kind program for their generous contribution. The Hepatitis Research Foundation would like to thank the Don and Rita Lee Foundation for their continuous support for immunotherapy of chronic HCV infection. We subscribe to the HONcode principles of the Health On the Net Foundation. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
© HEPRF |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
.jpg)