Contents
- Issue 39 March 2008
- Awareness Week: Preparation Begins
- My Lucky Number
- Will a hep C vaccine come from Adelaide?
- Roxon on Hepatitis
- A DepressionStory
- Rural Tips Now Available
- Biopsy!
- Turning Point
- Youth and CNPs
- Dangers of DIY Piercing
- The Sound of Drums
- Hep C and Me Survey
- HCCSA Library News
Will a hep C vaccine come from Adelaide?
An Adelaide-based research group looks at possible hepatitis C vaccines
Adelaide scientists will lead a $2 million five-year project to develop new vaccines and explore better treatment options for people with hepatitis C.
University of Adelaide virologists Dr Michael Beard and Dr Karla Helbig will work with colleagues from the University of NSW to develop new strategies to treat and prevent hepatitis C. The scientists, who are also attached to the Institute of Medical and Veterinary Science and Royal Adelaide Hospital, hope to identify antiviral proteins that can be used in the fight against hepatitis C.
As many readers of this magazine are all too aware, there is no effective vaccine for hepatitis C, and the existing treatment can cause severe side effects. The success rate also varies between 50% and 80%, so many people cannot be cured by current therapies.
The funds, awarded by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), are part of a larger $17.7 million joint program grant, tackling both HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C.
Dr Beard explains that this was the first Australian program grant awarded to study both HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C.
“The development of vaccines and better treatments for both these viruses are urgent global health priorities,” Dr Beard said. “This program brings together a team of researchers with skills in basic virology and immunology with experts who can translate laboratory findings into human clinical trials.
“Members of the program are clinicians with clinical trial experience in HIV and hepatitis C, and so novel vaccine strategies and treatment options identified by the basic science part of the program can be fed into the clinical part of the program.
“The clinicians and scientists will work closely to collectively identify clinical problems and novel vaccine candidates and treatment strategies.
“There are a number of novel vaccine strategies being investigated for HIV, based on the novel delivery of vaccine antigens, and these are nearing clinical trial. Initially we plan to adopt this strategy for use in investigating vaccination against HCV.
“In my laboratory we have identified host-derived proteins that can block HCV replication.
“These studies are very early in development, but we are hoping that by understanding the natural host response to HCV infection we can develop novel therapeutics. Getting this to the clinic is clearly a long-term proposition.”
This latest grant is an adjunct to three NHMRC project grants awarded to Dr Beard’s team in the past two years specifically for hepatitis C research.
In 2006 the virologist was awarded more than $894,000 to investigate the link between alcohol and hepatitis C, and the basic mechanisms of liver disease.
“In Australia, more than 264,000 people have been infected with the hepatitis C virus and there are approximately 10,000 new infections per year. A proportion of these are intravenous drug users, with alcohol playing a significant role in disease progression,” Dr Beard said.
In relation to his previous research into HIV, Dr Beard said that vaccines had been trialled for HIV, but with little success. “There is antiretroviral treatment but this does not eradicate HIV, it only keeps it under control for a period of time. It is also very expensive and therefore not accessible on a global scale”.
Dr Beard said the program would provide a pipeline to develop and test vaccines and novel treatments in a timely fashion.
The nine scientists awarded the joint $17 million NHMRC program grant are from the University of Adelaide, University of NSW, University of WA and University of Melbourne. “There are eight other clinicians and scientists involved from the program,” Dr Beard said. Professor David Cooper from the University of NSW heads the team.
“These workers are committed to the project for between 50% and 80% of their working time. That depends on their other commitments and clinical loading.”
The Hepatitis C Community News will provide updates on this research as they become available.
