- In Canada, an estimated
250,000 people are living with chronic hepatitis C but as many as
44% are not aware that they have it.1
- Partnerships are essential in solving some of the most pressing
public health challenges.
MONTREAL, July 28, 2020 /CNW/ - AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV), a
global, research and development-based biopharmaceutical company,
firmly supports efforts to eliminate hepatitis C. In Canada,
an estimated 250,000 people are living with hepatitis C but almost
half (44%) of Canadians infected are unaware they are living with
the disease.1
We are 10 years away from the World Health Organization's
(WHO) mandate of curing the world of hepatitis C. In 2016,
Canada was one of the 194
countries that committed to eliminating the disease by 2030.
AbbVie supports a wide range of efforts to help elevate and
prioritize hepatitis C elimination because achieving the shared
goal of elimination by 2030 will take more than medicine. It will
take transparent and collaborative partnerships with healthcare
professionals, governments, and community organizations to remove
barriers to care.
"To reach the WHO 2030 goal of hepatitis C elimination, we must
see this objective as a national and provincial health priority
year after year. As the challenge is to identify people who are
unaware they have Hepatitis C, and therefore need care, building
meaningful elimination initiatives will help us to reach the goal
of disease elimination," Denis Hello, Vice-President and General
Manager AbbVie Canada.
In Canada, the most at-risk
populations for hepatitis C include Indigenous people, people with
experience in the prison system, people born between 1945 and 1975,
immigrants and newcomers, and people who inject or use
drugs1. Up to 35% of all hepatitis C infections
in Canada are among immigrants and newcomers from
countries where hepatitis C is common1. People who
inject drugs account for up to 66% of past or current HCV
infections1. Through partnerships with organizations
such as HepCURE in Toronto and the
Jewish General Hospital in Montreal, AbbVie continues to work towards the
goal of disease elimination.
HepCURE has developed a comprehensive clinical treatment program
that specifically addresses the unmet needs of marginalized
individuals and people who inject drugs. Along with creating
awareness and educating the community, the program fast-tracks
access to diagnosis and treatment by eliminating linkage to care
barriers and leveraging technology to track and monitor treatment
related interventions and outcomes.
"We invest a lot of time understanding the needs of the patient
population to develop solutions that truly address treatment
related barriers and medication adherence issues. We also work very
closely with community-based providers to support patients during
treatment which leads to better care and help them achieve their
treatment goals," explains Christian
Marcoux, Executive Director, HepCURE.
Through their outreach work and a goal of micro elimination in
the immigrant community, the Hepatitis C Project at the Jewish
General Hospital identifies patients who may have been lost to
follow up due to cultural or language barriers; and links them to
testing, care, and initiates treatment as required.
"At the Jewish General Hospital, we see thousands of people on a
yearly basis with a variety of liver diseases. A significant number
of them are immigrants and newcomers. Hepatitis C is one of the
common diseases that we find among this population. I must say that
we have a great referral system with our local community health
centres," explains Dr. Nir Hilzenrat, Gastroenterologist and
Hepatologist.
Building meaningful elimination initiatives with stakeholders
such as these, we are working to find sustainable solutions that
allow more patients to be screened, linked to care, and treated
sooner. Let's work together to ensure that Canada is one of the countries that is on
track to reach our shared WHO 2030 elimination objective.
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 and
www.abbvie.com. Follow @abbvieCanada and @abbvie on
Twitter or view careers on our
Facebook or LinkedIn page.
1 Canadian Network on Hepatitis C (CanHepC).
Blueprint to inform hepatitis C elimination efforts in Canada.
https://www.canhepc.ca/sites/default/files/media/documents/blueprint_hcv_2019_05.pdf
accessed July 2019.
SOURCE AbbVie Canada