Hepatitis C

Globally, an estimated 170 million people (3% of the global population) are infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV). More than 50% of HCV infections become chronic in nature. This may lead to the development of liver fibrosis, cirrhosis, and occasionally hepatocellular carcinoma. Chronic HCV infection is the leading cause of liver failure requiring liver transplantation.In 1989, the HCV genome was cloned and the virus identified as the causative agent for the majority of non-A and non-B hepatitis. Since the virus is principally transmitted by blood, the introduction of blood screening diagnostic tests in the 1990s led to a rapid decrease in the incidence of HCV infection. Yet, the health burden of pre-existing infections will increase over the coming decades.
Therapy and Challenges No vaccine is available to prevent HCV infection. The current standard of care is able to clear HCV from ~40% of patients infected by HCV genotype 1 (the most frequent genotype in USA, Japan and Western Europe) and ~80% of patients infected by genotype 2 or 3. The poor response rate particularly for genotype 1 patients, side effects and frequency of injections highlight the considerable unmet need for improved HCV therapies.