Next Steps for HCV Vaccine Development

Segment Description: Andrea L. Cox, MD, PhD, professor of medicine, Johns Hopkins University, comments on the future of HCV vaccine development efforts in light of a 2019 trial which did not prevent chronic infection.

Interview transcript (modified slightly for readability):

Cox: We'd like to learn more about the effect that the vaccine did mediate on the pathogen. We'd like to learn if there were any individuals who mounted particularly effective immune responses against the pathogen to help inform additional vaccine design. In summary, I would say that the vaccines were well tolerated and we did successfully complete a trial among people who are actively injecting drugs.

But, given the WHO [World Health Organization] target of eliminating hepatitis C by 2030, and the ongoing epidemic of acute hepatitis C virus infection in North America, we need to do more to try to interrupt transmission and prevent disease from this global pathogen.