– Gilead Canada Supports Community Leaders
with Local Hepatitis C Micro-Elimination Efforts –
MISSISSAUGA, ON, March 14, 2018 /CNW/ - In support of Canada's
commitment to the World Health Organization's (WHO) goal of
eliminating chronic hepatitis C infection by 2030, Gilead Sciences
Canada, Inc. (Gilead Canada) today
announced a series of grants to support screening and linkage to
care projects across Canada. These initiatives will focus on
hepatitis C screening within high-risk patient populations and
linking diagnosed patients to care. In total, 13 Hepatitis C
Micro-Elimination Grants have been awarded to projects to be
conducted among targeted high-risk populations including
immigrants, prisoners, First Nations, people with HIV infection,
and people who inject drugs.
"Gilead Canada recognizes that it
will take more than science to eliminate the burden of hepatitis C
on patients, our health system and Canadian society as a whole,"
said Kennet Brysting, General Manager of Gilead Canada. "Together with our grant
recipients, all of whom have a record of excellence in their work
and are leaders in their fields, we can take collective steps to
help work towards the realization of the WHO goal of hepatitis C
elimination by 2030 right here in Canada."
Linking Prisoners at a Provincial Corrections Centre to
Hepatitis C Care
One grant to The Ottawa Hospital Viral Hepatitis Program will
aim to identify and care for people with hepatitis C who currently
reside in a correctional facility, and then continue care after
their release. The incidence and prevalence of hepatitis C in a
correctional setting is high, and people with hepatitis C have
limited access to treatment, or experience a loss of care once
released. As part of the project, multidisciplinary professionals
at a regional correctional centre will screen residents for
hepatitis C and provide access to care. A model will be developed
that can be replicated in other correctional facilities as part of
the provincial hepatitis C elimination strategy.
"Today, as hepatitis C treatment with high cure rates across all
genotypes is approved and publicly accessible, we must act now to
identify patients and link them to care in order to reduce the risk
of transmission, and ultimately, eliminate the disease," said Dr.
Curtis Cooper, Associate Professor
of Medicine, University of Ottawa, and
Director, The Ottawa Hospital Viral Hepatitis Program, and leader
of the micro-elimination project. "Elimination is a reality, but we
need to identify unique opportunities to connect high-risk
populations, including those in a correctional centre, with
immediate health care services, and implement successful programs
across the country, to achieve elimination goals in Ontario and Canada."
Grant recipients were recognized based on their ability to
demonstrate a plan to deliver new local micro-elimination projects
focused on targeted, integrated and locally-based initiatives, in
high prevalence areas or settings that increase hepatitis C
prevention, screening, diagnosis and linkage to care.
"Gilead Canada is pleased to
support these innovative and exciting hepatitis C initiatives and
these passionate and exemplary leaders. We look forward to hearing
the outcomes of the projects later in the year, and we hope that
hepatitis C community leaders may be able to implement similar
projects in their local communities across the country," added
Brysting.
Full List of Hepatitis C Micro-Elimination Grants in
Canada
Organization: Gastrointestinal Research Institute (Vancouver, BC)
Project Title: Hepatitis C Screening and Linkage to Care in an
Immigrant Population in Greater Vancouver
Area
Organization: The Alex Community Health Centre (Calgary, AB)
Project Title: Using Peer Navigators to Improve the Cascade of Care
for People Living with Hepatitis C and Have Been Recently
Discharged From a Penitentiary System
Organization: University of Alberta
(Edmonton, AB)
Project Title: Integrating Hepatitis C Care Into the Northern
Alberta HIV Program
Organization: Ahtahkakoop First Nation Health Centre (SK)
Project Title: A Community-Based Approach to Hepatitis C Screening,
Linkage to Care and Adherence Support for Patients in a Rural
Saskatchewan First Nations Community
Organization: South Riverdale Community Health Centre
(Toronto, ON)
Project Title: Integrating Hepatitis C Testing and Linkage to Care
into a Supervised Consumption Site in Toronto
Organization: The Ottawa Hospital Viral Hepatitis Program
(Ottawa, ON)
Project Title: Piloting the Integration of Hepatitis C Education,
Screening, Care and Treatment Within an Ontario Correctional
Centre
Organization: Centre de santé Pikogan (QC)
Project Title: Implementation of a Community-Based Liver Health
Campaign to Increase Hepatitis C Education, Screening and Linkage
to Care in the First Nation of Abitibiwinni (Pikogan)
Organization: Centre Sida Amitié (Saint-Jérôme, QC)
Project Title: Improving the Hepatitis C Cascade of Care for
Vulnerable PWID/PWUD Patients in a Low Threshold Clinic
Organization: Coopérative de solidarité SABSA (Québec, QC)
Project Title: Hepatitis C Elimination in a Hard-to-Reach
Vulnerable Patient Population in Quebec
City
Organization: Clinique Caméléon (Montreal, QC)
Project Title: Increasing Hepatitis C Education, Screening and
Linkage to Care Through Outreach to Vulnerable Patients in the
Hochelaga-Maisonneuve and Montreal Areas
Organization: Centre L'Envolée De Granby (Shefford, QC)
Project Title: Overcoming Hepatitis C Through the Scale-Up of HCV
Screening and Linkage to Care in Residential Detox Centres in
Quebec
Organization: Pavillon Hamford (QC)
Project Title: Integration of Hepatitis C Education,
Screening and Linkage to Care into Residential Addiction Treatment
Centres in Lachute, Laurentians,
Outaouais, Laval, Montreal and Abitibi
Organization: Research, Education and Clinical Care of At-Risk
Populations (Saint John, NB)
Project Title: A Nurse-Led Project to Quantify Hepatitis C
Prevalence and Link the Forgotten Cases to HCV Care in Southern New Brunswick
About Hepatitis C in Canada
In Canada, it is estimated that
250,000 Canadians are living with chronic hepatitis C, with
thousands of new cases diagnosed each year. It is also estimated
that 44 per cent of people living with chronic hepatitis C
infection are unaware of their status.i There are
six genotypes of hepatitis C. Populations at increased risk of
hepatitis C infection include: people who inject drugs; Baby
Boomers born between 1945-1975; recipients of infected blood
products or invasive procedures in health-care facilities with
inadequate infection control practices; people with sexual partners
who are infected with hepatitis C; people with HIV infection;
prisoners or previously incarcerated persons; and people who have
had tattoos or piercings.ii
About Gilead Sciences
Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Gilead) is a biopharmaceutical company that
discovers, develops and commercializes innovative therapeutics in
areas of unmet medical need. The company's mission is to advance
the care of patients suffering from life-threatening diseases.
Gilead has operations in more than 35 countries worldwide, with
headquarters in Foster City,
California. Gilead Sciences Canada, Inc. is the Canadian
affiliate of Gilead Sciences, Inc., and was established in
Mississauga, Ontario, in 2006.
For more information on Gilead Sciences,
please visit the company's website at www.gilead.com, follow Gilead
on Twitter (@GileadSciences) or call Gilead Public Affairs at
1-800-GILEAD-5 or
1-650-574-3000.
___________________________
i Public Health Agency of Canada. Report on
Hepatitis B and C in Canada:
2014.
ii World Health Organization. Hepatitis C Fact Sheet.
Updated October 2017.
SOURCE Gilead Sciences, Inc.