B.C. developed hepatitis C screening test personalizes treatment for patients

published on May 9, 2017 by MEGAN DEVLIN, in The Globe and Mail

Scientists in Vancouver have developed a new screening tool that reveals the genetic signature of an individual’s hepatitis C virus so that doctors can customize their treatment.

The tool, funded by Genome B.C. and devised by researchers at the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, could save money and lives, said Anita Howe, scientific lead for the hepatitis C program.

“I would be able to tell you whether you are infected with a [virus] with resistant mutations,” she said. “By doing that, I would be able to know what type of drugs to prescribe to you to increase your success rate.”

Hepatitis C is a virus that targets the liver. Worldwide, 170 million people are infected with it, including 250,000 in Canada. Unlike hepatitis A and B, this virus doesn’t have a vaccine.

There are drugs – called direct-acting antivirals – that are effective at clearing hepatitis C from the body, but they are incredibly expensive. One treatment round can cost between $45,000-$100,000 a patient. In British Columbia, public funding for those drugs is restricted to patients with certain hepatitis C genotypes and advanced liver scarring.

Most drug regimens have success rates greater than 95 per cent, as long as the virus hasn’t developed any drug-resistant mutations. But hepatitis C is a rapidly mutating virus and sometimes those mutations confer resistance to certain drugs. Choosing a drug cocktail that will work on the virus is essential.

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B.C. developed hepatitis C screening test personalizes treatment for patients

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