Commemorating World Hepatitis Day and the Legacy of Baruch S. Blumberg
Doylestown, Pa., July 29, 2025 – To celebrate the legacy of the late Nobel Laureate Baruch S. Blumberg, MD, DPhil, and to commemorate World Hepatitis Day, the Hepatitis B Foundation, Baruch S. Blumberg Institute and Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center (PABC) held a sign unveiling on Monday, July 28, at the PABC in Doylestown.
Along with new lighted signs on its buildings and at both entrances, the organizations unveiled a sign on its newest building that reads, “Timothy M. Block Research Campus,” to honor Dr. Block, board chair of the Hepatitis B Foundation and co-founder of the Foundation, the Blumberg Institute and the PABC.
More than 100 of the nonprofit organizations’ leadership, staff, local officials and other supporters, including family members of Dr. Blumberg, participated in the afternoon event.
Dr. Blumberg was born on July 28, 1925, and on that date people annually around the globe commemorate World Hepatitis Day in his honor.
“The Hepatitis B Foundation commemorates World Hepatitis Day every year by raising awareness about viral hepatitis,” Foundation President Dr. Chari A. Cohen, DrPH, MPH, said.
“With almost 300 million individuals living with hepatitis B worldwide, it is extremely important to bring awareness to this preventable and treatable disease.”
Ju-Tao Guo, MD, acting president and chief scientific officer of the Blumberg Institute, said: “As a colleague of Dr. Blumberg at the Fox Chase Cancer Center in the 1990s, I fortunately had his guidance and encouragement. Honoring this great scientist through today’s event and by displaying his name in bold letters on our facility is a genuine pleasure.”
A brilliant scientist and global health pioneer, Dr. Blumberg was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology in 1976, along with D. Carleton Gajdusek. Dr. Blumberg and colleagues discovered the hepatitis B virus in 1967 and then developed a blood test for the virus. Two years later he co-invented the first hepatitis B vaccine, which is known today as the world’s first “anti-cancer vaccine.”
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The new signs were designed, fabricated and installed by MRC Signs of Dublin, Pa.
About Hepatitis B: Hepatitis B is the most common serious liver infection in the world. It is caused by the hepatitis B virus that attacks and injures the liver. Each year more than 1 million people die from hepatitis B worldwide, even though it is preventable and treatable. Hepatitis B is a “silent epidemic” because most people do not have symptoms when they are newly or chronically infected. Thus, they can unknowingly infect others and continue the spread of hepatitis B. For people who are chronically infected but don’t have any symptoms, their livers are still being silently damaged, which can develop into serious liver diseases such as cirrhosis or liver cancer.
About the Hepatitis B Foundation: As the world’s leading hepatitis B advocacy and research organization, the Hepatitis B Foundation is one of the most active proponents of improving hepatitis B screening, prevention and treatment of the disease. We are the only nonprofit organization solely dedicated to finding a cure for hepatitis B and improving the quality of life for those affected worldwide through research, education and patient advocacy. Founded in 1991, the Hepatitis B Foundation is based in Doylestown, Pa., with staff in Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia. To learn more, go to www.hepb.org, read our blog, follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook (@hepbfoundation) or contact us through info@hepb.org or *215-489-4900.
About the Baruch S. Blumberg Institute: An independent, nonprofit research organization, the Blumberg Institute was launched in 2003 by the Hepatitis B Foundation to advance its research mission. Today, the Institute is a leading center for translational research in hepatitis B, liver cancer and related diseases. Our scientists primarily focus on understanding the pathobiology of hepatitis B virus and related diseases, developing diagnostics for early detection of liver cancer and therapeutics for the cure of chronic hepatitis B. The Institute’s faculty members have expertise in virology, immunology, cancer biology, chemistry and drug development. Its labs and offices are in the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center (PABC), which it manages, in Doylestown, Pa. The PABC runs a state-of-the-art incubator in Philadelphia, B+labs at Cira Centre, in partnership with Brandywine Realty Trust. Visit our website and follow us on LinkedIn and X, @BlumbergInstit1.
The Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center (PABC): Nearly 100 companies belong to the PABC, which is a nonprofit life sciences incubator and accelerator providing a collaborative ecosystem and state-of-the-art laboratory and office space. There are nearly 70 early-stage biotech companies onsite at the PABC’s two locations. Along with its campus in Doylestown, where a new building with labs and offices opened two years ago, the PABC operates B+labs at Cira Centre in University City, Philadelphia. B+labs, which was launched in 2022, is a partnership with Brandywine Realty Trust. The PABC uses a highly successful services-based approach to nurture and guide its member companies to success, advancing biotechnology, maximizing synergies among nonprofit scientists and their commercial colleagues, and launching new ideas and discoveries. PABC companies account for 17% of all National Institutes of Health SBIR grants awarded in Pennsylvania and over the years have created billions of dollars in market value from IPOs, acquisitions and commercial valuations.