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August 19, 2022
A single injection hepatitis B cure attracts international attention
A single injection hepatitis B cure attracts international attention
Frederick, MD – HBVtech, a biopharma startup company within the
Frederick Innovation Technology Center (FITCI), is garnering international
attention for its work creating a single-dose injection-based hepatitis B cure.
Founder and Chief Science Officer, Dr. Yong-Yuan Zhang is well known for his
research and writing on the topic of hepatitis, including related functional
genomics and rapid production of neutralizing antibodies studies.[1]
Dr. Zhang started HBVtech in 2013 and is developing a hepatitis B drug, HBVZ10, that is poised to change the
lives of 240 million people across the planet. Once established, the disease is
often transmitted from mother to child, creating a generational cycle of
transmission, especially in underserved populations. While the hepatitis B
virus (HBV) frequently causes transient infections in adults, it often results
in chronic infection in infants. The Centers for Disease Control and Infections
(CDC) notes that, “as many as 90% of infants born to HBV-infected mothers in
the United States will become infected with HBV. Subsequently, 90% of those
infants develop chronic HBV infection and approximately one-fourth of these
infants eventually will die from liver-related complications.” [2]
HBVtech established
proof of three concepts, demonstrating superior efficacy over known
drugs in curing hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. The work uses an HBV
infected uPA/SCID chimeric mice model because it faithfully correlates to HBV
infection features in humans. [3]
In March this year, HBVtech presented details about their
new HBV cure at the plenary session at the 2022 Asia Pacific Association of the
Study of Liver (APASL) meeting in Seoul, South Korea. In September, HBVtech
will present a poster at the 2022 HBV International Meeting in Paris, France.
Another presentation follows in November at DC’s Walter E. Washington
Convention Center for the 2022 American Association of the Study of Liver
Diseases Meeting, the biggest and most prestigious international liver
conference.[4]
Dr. Zhang is dedicated to raising awareness about the
disease, its impact, and prevention.
Ally Kathie Callahan Brady is CEO of FITCI, a life science business incubator/accelerator and HBVtech’s home base. She says, “This is such an exciting project. Imagine a single-dose treatment that can save a child from a lifetime of health challenges. Dr. Zhang is truly passionate about affecting this change. It’s a calling to contribute something that makes the world a better place and that is the heart of innovation.”
For details contact Dr. Yong-Yuan Zhang, Founder/CSO, HBV Tech LLC, at [email protected].
#
[1]
www.researchgate.net/profile/Yong-Yuan-Zhang
[2]
https://www.cdc.gov/nchhstp/pregnancy/effects/hbv.html
[3]
Zhang, Yong-Yuan. (2017). New Strategy Treating Hepatitis B Virus (HBV)
Infection: A Review of HBV Infection Biology. 10.5772/66083.
[4] Oral presentation no: 95 in 2021 AASLD meeting and appears in Hepatology VOLUME 74, NUMBER 1 (SUPPL) page 65A; Poster presentation THU303 in 2022 EASL meeting and appears in Journal of Hepatology 2022 vol. 77(S1) page S245.
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