- 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.
MONTREAL, Nov. 24,
2022 /CNW/ - 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 20301, 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.
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 Canada3
- 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
20204 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.
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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.
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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.
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3 Action Hepatitis
Canada. Priority Populations.
https://www.actionhepatitiscanada.ca/priority-populations.html.
Accessed November 2022.
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4 IQVIA GPM
National Audit for HCV/Direct Acting Antivirals Market, January
2019–November 2020.
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5 Canadian Liver
Foundation. https://www.liver.ca/hepatitis-c-warning/. Accessed
November 2022.
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6 Canadian Liver
Foundation. https://www.liver.ca/how-you-help/advocate/. Accessed
November 2022.
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SOURCE AbbVie Canada