National hepatitis C awareness day aims to highlight the condition, for which the 5000 new cases diagnosed each year is probably only a fraction of the true level of infection
HepCgen, specialising in diagnostics and treatments for chronic liver disease, and recently founded out of the University of Southampton, recognises the importance of the national hepatitis C awareness day initiative.
Liver disease specialist William Rosenberg, who has worked and researched in this field for 15 years, has founded spin-out company HepCgen to work on innovative ways of tackling this widespread disease.
National Hepatitis C Awareness Day aims to highlight the condition, which affects around 170 million people worldwide with 30,000 new cases alone being diagnosed in 2001.
Five times more prevalent than HIV, it is transmitted through blood, frequently as a result of shared needles.
If fibrosis, or scarring of the liver, is not detected early, the disease can result in organ failure and death through cirrhosis.
Dr Rosenberg commented: "It has been called the silent epidemic, because people are not aware of the scale of the problem and because most infections go undetected.
This year over 5000 new cases will be diagnosed in the UK alone, but this is only a fraction of what is really out there.
Even patients are reluctant to talk about it, although it is a very common condition.
Effective treatment is available but has side-effects and is costly.
New tests and treatments are desperately needed and we are confident our innovative approach will make a major contribution to beating hepatitis C." HepCgen's tests help tailor treatments to suit individual patients.
Some patients have a hepatitis C viral infection that can be treated for just six months while others need treatment for a year to gain the same benefit.
HepCgen's tests can also help identify patients who are unlikely to respond to treatment early on.
Dr Rosenberg believes the NHS could save half a billion pounds a year if doctors routinely used this new test.
"Making the correct diagnosis early on avoids the possibility of the patient being put through months of needless treatment, with unpleasant side effects and the waste of expensive drugs", he said. Rosenberg added: "Liver cancer is a complication of HCV, as well as complete liver failure.
Our patient is more often facing the fear of death.
That is what we, and they, have to deal with in securing funds for their treatment." In addition to diagnostic tests HepCgen is aiming to develop new treatments for hepatitis C.
HepCgen started work after receiving £350,000 in seedcorn funding, primarily from IP2IPO and is already in talks with major pharmaceutical companies involved in hepatitis C research.
