The Impact of Inaction - New Publication Reveals Not All of Canada is on Track to Meet Global Hepatitis C Elimination Goal

  • Timing of elimination of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) in Canada's provinces indicates 70% of provinces could reach the World Health Organization's (WHO) HCV elimination target of 2030, however three of Canada's provinces — two of them the most populous in the country — are off track to achieve this hepatitis C elimination goal. 1
  • Timely elimination would save 170 lives and $122.6 million in direct medical costs in these three provinces by 2030. 1
  • The Progress Report developed by Action Hepatitis Canada outlines key metrics on which to evaluate HCV elimination progress in Canada , specific to each province. 2
  • In Canada , there are five priority populations and one age-cohort that carry the largest burden of HCV and are recognized as being affected the most by the virus.

ABBVie (NYSE: ABBV) supports a wide range of efforts to help elevate and prioritize hepatitis C virus (HCV) elimination. With a recent publication indicating 70% of Canada's provinces are on track to reach HCV elimination by the World Health Organization's (WHO) initial proposed target of 2030 1 it is important to turn our attention on those affected by the virus and acknowledge that infection with chronic HCV is a global public health concern.

The Impact of Inaction: Timing of Hepatitis C Elimination in Canada. (CNW Group/AbbVie Canada)

In 2016, Canada was one of the 194 countries that committed to support the World Health Organization's (WHO) goal of eliminating viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030. With the remarkable progress in HCV therapy, offering the ability to cure patients, this goal seemed possible.

"With the decline in treatment across Canada , it is particularly critical we continue to monitor treatment levels to assess Canada's progress to HCV elimination," said Jordan J Feld, MD MPH, Interim Director, Toronto Centre for Liver Disease, University Health Network, University of Toronto . "We need to continue to pursue novel approaches to case finding and linkage to care, as well as work closely with identified priority populations to ensure that they are able to seek prevention and treatment services without facing stigma and other barriers in the health care system. At the policy level, we need to improve our data sharing abilities across the country to ensure we can track our progress toward elimination."

Populations Most Affected by HCV in Canada 3

  • Indigenous people
  • People with experience in the prison system
  • People born between 1945 and 1975
  • Immigrants and newcomers
  • Gay, bisexual, men who have sex with men (gbMSM)
  • People who inject or use drugs

" Canada has made great strides toward the elimination of hepatitis C. However, there is a lot more work to be done, and the tactics that got us to this point will not necessarily get us to elimination," said Jennifer van Gennip , Executive Director, Action Hepatitis Canada. "Our mandate is to hold the federal and provincial governments accountable to provide the policies and resourced plans to achieve our goal, with focused efforts on priority populations within Canada ."

A look at national treatment data from January 2019 to November 2020 4 confirmed the decreasing trend in treatment levels nationally - a year-over-year decline of 31% in total treatment levels between 2019 and 2020. The report notes that this drop could be due to the disruptions to the healthcare system caused by the COVID-19 pandemic but could also reflect the saturation of treatment among those already linked to care and the difficulties with finding and engaging with individuals and populations not well served by our various healthcare systems. 1

"Everyone has a part to play in eliminating viral hepatitis as it will take more than medicine to achieve this goal," said Tracey Ramsay , Vice-president and General Manager, AbbVie Canada. "AbbVie is committed to partnering with stakeholders to implement sustainable solutions that allow more patients to be screened, linked to care, and treated in a timely manner, especially for those vulnerable patient populations that have lost access to our healthcare system as a result of the pandemic."

Given the available evidence, Canada's momentum towards timely HCV elimination may be jeopardized if diagnosis and treatment are not maintained at appropriate levels. Improved HCV surveillance to build frameworks and innovative approaches to prevention, testing, linkage to care and treatment to achieve this goal is required.

About Hepatitis C

An estimated 250,000 people in Canada are living with chronic hepatitis C but as many as 44% are not aware that they have the disease. 5 Left undiagnosed and untreated, chronic hepatitis C can lead to cirrhosis, liver cancer or liver failure. Currently, hepatitis C is the leading indication for liver transplant in Canada . 6 AbbVie supports a range of efforts to help elevate and prioritize HCV elimination because we know achieving the shared goal of elimination by 2030 will take more than medicine. It will take transparent and collaborative partnerships with all stakeholders – industry, healthcare providers, healthcare systems, patient groups and their support networks. Joint efforts and maximizing the time we have left will enable us to reach this goal.

About AbbVie

AbbVie's mission is to discover and deliver innovative medicines that solve serious health issues today and address the medical challenges of tomorrow. We strive to have a remarkable impact on people's lives across several key therapeutic areas: immunology, oncology, neuroscience, eye care, virology, women's health and gastroenterology, in addition to products and services across its Allergan Aesthetics portfolio. For more information about AbbVie, please visit us at www.abbvie.ca . Follow AbbVie Canada on Twitter , Instagram and LinkedIn.


1 Timing of elimination of hepatitis C virus in Canada's provinces. https://canlivj.utpjournals.press/doi/full/10.3138/canlivj-2022-0003 . Accessed November 2022.


2 Action Hepatitis Canada. Progress Toward Viral Hepatitis Elimination in Canada. 2021 Report. https://www.actionhepatitiscanada.ca/uploads/8/3/3/9/83398604/ahc_progress_report_2021.pdf . Accessed November 2022.


3 Action Hepatitis Canada. Priority Populations. https://www.actionhepatitiscanada.ca/priority-populations.html . Accessed November 2022.


4 IQVIA GPM National Audit for HCV/Direct Acting Antivirals Market, January 2019–November 2020.


5 Canadian Liver Foundation. https://www.liver.ca/hepatitis-c-warning/ . Accessed November 2022.


6 Canadian Liver Foundation. https://www.liver.ca/how-you-help/advocate/ . Accessed November 2022.

AbbVie logo (CNW Group/AbbVie Canada)

SOURCE AbbVie Canada

Cision View original content to download multimedia: https://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/November2022/24/c4530.html

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ABBV) announced today. ZINBRYTA is a once-monthly, self-administered,
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Canada and Australia.
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Together with Biogen, AbbVie is committed to meeting the needs of
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About ZINBRYTA™ (daclizumab)
ZINBRYTA (daclizumab) is an investigational compound being developed for
the treatment of relapsing forms of MS. ZINBRYTA is a new form of a
humanized monoclonal antibody that selectively binds to the
high-affinity interleukin-2 (IL-2) receptor subunit (CD25) that is
expressed at high levels on T-cells that become activated in people with
MS. ZINBRYTA modulates IL-2 signaling without general immune cell
depletion.
Biogen and AbbVie are jointly developing ZINBRYTA.
About Biogen
Through cutting-edge science and medicine, Biogen discovers, develops
and delivers worldwide innovative therapies for people living with
serious neurological, autoimmune and rare diseases. Founded in 1978,
Biogen is one of the world’s oldest independent biotechnology companies
and patients worldwide benefit from its leading multiple sclerosis and
innovative hemophilia therapies. For more information, please visit www.biogen.com.
Follow us on Twitter.
Biogen Safe Harbor
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including
statements about the anticipated timing of the EC’s decision on the
marketing authorization for ZINBRYTA, and potential impact of ZINBRYTA,
if approved. These statements may be identified by words such as
“believe,” “expect,” “may,” “potential,” “will” and similar expressions,
and are based on our current beliefs and expectations. You should not
place undue reliance on these statements. Drug development and
commercialization involve a high degree of risk. Factors which could
cause actual results to differ materially from our current expectations
include the risk that the EC may fail to approve or may delay approval
of ZINBRYTA or may not follow the recommendation of the CHMP,
uncertainty of success in commercialization of ZINBRYTA For more
detailed information on the risks and uncertainties associated with our
drug development and commercialization activities and risks relating to
our collaborations with third parties, please review the Risk Factors
section of our most recent annual or quarterly report filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. Any forward-looking statements speak
only as of the date of this press release and we assume no obligation to
update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise.
About AbbVie
AbbVie is a global, research-based biopharmaceutical company formed in
2013 following separation from Abbott Laboratories. The company’s
mission is to use its expertise, dedicated people and unique approach to
innovation to develop and market advanced therapies that address some of
the world’s most complex and serious diseases. Together with its
wholly-owned subsidiary, Pharmacyclics, AbbVie employs more than 28,000
people worldwide and markets medicines in more than 170 countries. For
further information on the company and its people, portfolio and
commitments, please visit www.abbvie.com.
Follow @abbvie on
Twitter or view careers on our Facebook or LinkedIn
page.
Forward-Looking Statements
Some statements in this news release may be forward-looking statements
for purposes of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
The words “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “project” and similar
expressions, among others, generally identify forward-looking
statements. AbbVie cautions that these forward-looking statements are
subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to
differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking
statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited
to, challenges to intellectual property, competition from other
products, difficulties inherent in the research and development process,
adverse litigation or government action, and changes to laws and
regulations applicable to our industry.
Additional information about the economic, competitive, governmental,
technological and other factors that may affect AbbVie’s operations is
set forth in Item 1A, “Risk Factors,” in AbbVie’s 2014 Annual Report on
Form 10-K, which has been filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. AbbVie undertakes no obligation to release publicly any
revisions to forward-looking statements as a result of subsequent events
or developments, except as required by law.

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