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The European Liver Patients Association (ELPA), IP-cure-B, ANRS | EID, and Inserm organized the event “Raising Awareness on Viral Hepatitis Elimination.” Topics include:

• Welcome by Marko Korenjak & Fabien Zoulim
• Viral Hepatitis Elimination Across the EU by Mojca Matičič
• Viral Hepatitis Elimination Program in France by Marc Bourliere
• IP-Cure-B research: Towards the cure of HBV Infection by Fabien Zoulim
• How immune interventions impact on the viral reservoir in the liver by Massimo Levrero
• General discussion with ELPA patient groups

You can rewatch the event here:

We are delighted to share our HBV Serum Biomarkers manuscriptm,  recently published online at Nature Reviews Gastroenterology and Hepatology. This publication is an important review, which culminates almost 2 years work since the ICE-HBV Serum Biomarkers workshops online in 2020.

Rewatch the Workshop here

Abstract

Globally, 296 million people are infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV), and approximately one million people die annually from HBV-related causes, including liver cancer. Although thereis a preventative vaccine and antiviral therapies suppressing HBV replication, there is no cure.Intensive efforts are under way to develop curative HBV therapies. Currently, only a few biomarkersare available for monitoring or predicting HBV disease progression and treatment response. Asnew therapies become available, new biomarkers to monitor viral and host responses are urgentlyneeded. In October 2020, the International Coalition to Eliminate Hepatitis B Virus (ICE-HBV) helda virtual and interactive workshop on HBV biomarkers endorsed by the International HBV Meeting.Various stakeholders from academia, clinical practice and the pharmaceutical industry, withcomplementary expertise, presented and participated in panel discussions. The clinical utility ofboth classic and emerging viral and immunological serum biomarkers with respect to the courseof infection, disease progression, and response to current and emerging treatments was appraised.The latest advances were discussed, and knowledge gaps in understanding and interpretationof HBV biomarkers were identified. This Roadmap summarizes the strengths, weaknesses,opportunities and challenges of HBV biomarkers.

Read the full article here.

For more ICE-HBV publication, check out our Publication Page here.

ANRS | Emerging infectious diseases

has been involved for nearly ten years in research programs aimed at curing hepatitis B virus (HBV) and Delta virus (HDV) infections. Every year, the ANRS HBV Cure Task Force organizes a workshop bringing together international experts to discuss the recent advances in our understanding  of chronic hepatitis B and Delta, and to present the progress in the discovery of new therapeutic targets and advances in clinical development. On the occasion of World Hepatitis Day on July 28^th 2022, Fabien Zoulim, professor of medicine in Lyon, coordinator of the European project “IP-cure-B”, the RHU project “CirB-RNA”, the ANRS Task Force “HBV Cure” and current chair of ICE-HBV presents the take home messages from the 9^th HBV cure workshop held in Lyon on July 5^th, 2022.

Background: Despite the fact that an effective vaccine is available, hepatitis B still represents a major global public health problem today. According to the WHO, there were still 296 million chronic carriers of the virus worldwide in 2019; this disease is also the leading cause of liver cancer. HBV and its complications contributed to 820,000 deaths in 2019. Co-infection with HDV worsens the disease and increases the risk of developing cirrhosis or liver cancer. There are currently no curative treatments for these two types of hepatitis.

Advances in understanding the mechanisms of HBV persistence

Virological aspects. Recent data concerning the viral reservoir (HBV cccDNA) were presented during the workshop. Recent data were presented on how this reservoir is formed and regulated during chronic infection, and how it could be targeted, in particular by using new “genetic scissors” approaches.

Immunological aspects. Recent data were discussed on the mechanisms involved in the defects in the immune responses of patients to discover novel pathways to restore them to effectively control or eliminate the virus. In particular, new approaches such as therapeutic vaccines were discussed.

New technologies to assess the site of infection (hepatic compartment), the viral reservoir and the hepatic immune response

The evaluation of the hepatic compartment at the virological and immune levels is critical to determine the impact of the new therapeutic approaches on the viral reservoir and on the antiviral immune responses in the site of infection. Experts have studied new approaches to analyze the liver compartment, which are less invasive than liver biopsy, such as fine needle aspirations. New PCR and immunology technologies allow now to investigate the viral reservoir and immune responses on FNA samples in proof of concept clinical trials. This should generate crucial information for the development of new therapeutic approaches.

Overview of advanced therapies in the field of hepatitis B and HBV-HDV co-infections

A comprehensive review of the most recent clinical trials was presented and has shown that this field of research is very dynamic: many antiviral molecules and several immunotherapy strategies are in phase II clinical trials, most often in combination therapy, either with direct antivirals or with direct antivirals and immunotherapy. Great advances have been made on certain classes of molecules such as capsid assembly modulators and on strategies targeting viral RNAs (siRNAs or antisense oligonucleotides).

For hepatitis Delta, a virus entry inhibitor (bulevirtide) has been conditionally approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in July 2020- taking into account that so far no treatment was available for this disease. The modalities of administration are being developed pending the results of phase III clinical trials. Other antiviral molecules are also being studied in various clinical trials.

The ANRS | Emerging infectious diseases sponsors  and funds a Delta cohort study, ANRS HD EP01 BuleDelta, (monitoring of HDV patients on bulevirtide) which has already included 193 patients in 30 centers. It is also sponsoring the IP-Cure-B study (ANRS HB07 IP-Cure-B ), an European-funded randomized clinical trial which aims to stimulate antiviral immune responses by a TLR8 agonist (Selgantolimod) and which has already included 6 patients in France.

You can rewatch the entire workshop here:

• https://www.anrs-workshophbvcure2022.com/en/stream-9eme-hbv-cure-workshop/

Learn more here:

• https://www.anrs.fr/fr

ICE-HBV is working on an international collaborative research review project about HBV management in resource-limited settings (RLS), led by Daryl Lau and Manal El Sayed. The main objective of the project is to improve access to/quality of HBV care in RLS and reduce HBV mortality and incidence.

We are therefore inviting individuals and organizations working on HBV in resource-limited settings to complete a survey developed to elaborate improved Point-of-Care models for HBV management in RLS. Your input will inform our work on this pressing topic. The survey should take around 15-20 minutes and can be found in the links below:

SPANISH

FRENCH

ENGLISH

If you have any questions or issues with the survey, feel free to contact ICE-HBV Program Associate Jennifer Pampolina at jpampolina_AT_excolo.com.sg

Please share this call with colleagues and organizations working on HBV in RLS.

Thank you in advance for your help and important contribution to this project.

Download the Survey Invite here

If you have any questions or issues with the survey, feel free to contact ICE-HBV Program Associate Jennifer Pampolina at jpampolina@excolo.com.sg

Feel free to forward this message to colleagues and organizations that also work on HBV in RLS.

Thank you in advance for your help and important contribution to this project.

“Every year, more than 800,000 people worldwide die from hepatitis-B-related liver disease — a greater toll than from malaria. But efforts to curb transmission and discover a cure are picking up steam.”

Access the full Outlook here

Article Features & Comment

• Hepatitis B: The fight against an infectious liver disease pivots from control to eradication
  Herb Brody
• Closing in on a cure for hepatitis B: Finite courses of treatment could get the virus under control — with the right combination of drugs
  Elie Dolgin
• Developing a cure for chronic hepatitis B requires a fresh approach:  The prevailing dogma for drug development is insufficient; it’s time to recentre efforts around the immune system
  Matteo Iannacone & Luca G. Guidotti
• How to stop mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B:  The global effort to eliminate the disease depends heavily on blocking the most common mode of viral infection
  Liam Drew
• Simplify access to hepatitis B care: Overhauling the guidelines for who has access to testing and treatment would lower costs and improve patient outcomes
  Margaret Hellard & Jessica Howell
  
• Destigmatizing hepatitis B: Around the world, people with the disease are marginalized. Now, patients are finding a voice to push back and demand an end to discrimination and isolation
  Claire Ainsworth
• Facing the challenge of eliminating hepatitis B: Public-health expert Corinna Dan charts a course to free the United States from the virus
  Eric Bender
  
• The global fight against hepatitis B is benefitting some parts of the world more than others: Uneven access to health-care resources is complicating the drive to eliminate this viral infection
  Emily Sohn
• Africa’s struggle with hepatitis B: The viral disease is widespread on the continent, but many countries lack the resources to heighten awareness and treat patients
  Linda Nordling
  
• Why hepatitis B hits Aboriginal Australians especially hard: Often geographically isolated and without access to good health care, Indigenous people have a higher chance of contracting the disease than do other populations. They’re also prone to a viral variant that has proved difficult to treat
  Benjamin Plackett
  
• Hepatitis B and the liver cancer endgame: More than half of the world’s cases of liver cancer are due to viral liver infections. Detecting and treating hepatitis B could help to reverse the global increase in fatal liver cancer
  Kristina Campbell
  
• Research round-up: hepatitis B: Genomic jigsaws, timely vaccinations and other highlights from studies about hepatitis B
  Jyoti Madhusoodanan
  
• Charting a new frontier in chronic hepatitis B research to improve lives worldwide
• Addressing the unmet need for a functional cure for chronic hepatitis B

Authors:
Conan Chua, Aman Mehrotra, Dr. Adam Gehring,
Toronto Centre for Liver Disease, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

During a traditional FluroSpot assay, low HBV Specific T cell frequencies have hindered effective ex vivo analysis. We overcame this obstacle to measure ex vivo T cell responses in CHB patients, by modifying the key variables of cell number and the peptide pulsing method to improve ex vivo detection of HBV-specific T cells.

You can access the full protocol here:

Ex Vivo Flurospot Assay Protocol

ICE-HBV is working on an international collaborative research review project about HBV management in resource-limited settings (RLS), led by Daryl Lau and Manal El Sayed. The main objective of the project is to improve access to/quality of HBV care in RLS and reduce HBV mortality and incidence.

We are therefore inviting individuals and organizations working on HBV in resource-limited settings to complete a survey developed to elaborate improved Point-of-Care models for HBV management in RLS. Your input will inform our work on this pressing topic. The survey should take around 15-20 minutes and can be found here:

ICE-HBV POC model of HBV Care

Ideally, we would like to receive survey results by 24 February, 2022.

The result of this survey and our work will lead to a position paper on this topic. There is a strong need for a comprehensive, effective and practical HBV management guidance focused on resource-limited settings. Such guidance would support a public health approach to HBV elimination, by encouraging the roll-out and uptake of prevention, testing, and treatment. Through this work, we also aim to contribute to the WHO guidelines revision process currently taking place.

If you have any questions or issues with the survey, feel free to contact ICE-HBV Program Associate Jennifer Pampolina at jpampolina@excolo.com.sg

Feel free to forward this message to colleagues and organizations that also work on HBV in RLS.

Thank you in advance for your help and important contribution to this project.

Download the Survey Invite here

On  1 February  2022 ICE-HBV, together with the Coalition for Global Hepatitis Elimination organized the webinar Bridging Science & New Therapeutics for HDV Elimination. The webinar, chaired by Maura Dandri (ICE-HBV), Massimo Levrero (ICE-HBV), and John Ward (CGHE/ICE-HBV), looked at the following topics:

• From discovery to current challenges : an introduction – Mario Rizetto
• Virology and diagnostic needs – Dieter Glebe
• Epidemiology and clinical features – Pietro Lampertico
• Innovation in therapy – Marc Bouliere
• Followed by a panel discussion with experts from around the world, including:  Manal El Sayed, Cihan Yurdayidin, Stephan Urban,  Jeffrey Glen, and Antonio Bertoletti

You can (re)watch the entire webinar on the CGHE website here: