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  • Run4TeamHepB Runner Spotlight: Stephen Hirschmann

    Our Run4TeamHepB continues to impress as they raise funds and pound the pavement while training for the TCS New York City Marathon on Nov. 6, 2022!  We’ve been highlighting each one of our dedicated runners so you can meet the team and join them raising awareness and funds for those living with hepatitis B. Feel free to share these posts to help get the word out! This week…meet Steve! Who: Stephen Hirschmann What: A former D1 athlete seeking his first marathon medal Where: Resides in NYC When: Nov. 6 for the 51st running of the NYC marathon Why: Steve says “Since graduating Delaware and no longer having lacrosse in my life, I've missed the aspect of physically and mentally working towards a goal. An understated aspect of athletics is how often teams/tournaments are tied to fundraising for a cause, so I'm glad running for this team gives me an opportunity to carry on that tradition.” We say, THANKS Steve for joining our cause and continuing your philanthropic efforts, which are instrumental in improving the quality of life for those affected by Hepatitis B.  For more info and to help Steve reach his goal, please go here to donate. 

    https://www.hepb.org/news-and-events/nyc-marathon/run4teamhepb-runner-spotlight-stephen-hirschmann/
  • Run4TeamHepB Runner Spotlight: Aaron Rak

    Our Run4TeamHepB is out there beating the heat and continuing to train hard for the TCS New York City Marathon taking place on Nov. 6, 2022! We’ve been highlighting each one of our dedicated runners so you can meet the team and join them raising awareness and funds for those living with hep B. Feel free to share these posts to help get the word out! Next up…meet Aaron! Who: Aaron Rak What: An incredible marathon runner seeking his 15th medal! Where: Resides in NYC When: Nov. 6 for the 51st running of the NYC marathon  Why: Aaron says “It’s not too often that I get to combine my personal and professional/public health goals!  Working in Biotech for the past 20 years, and now with VBI vaccines, my goal is to improve public health." We say, THANK YOU Aaron for all your hard work and dedication to our cause - both your scientific and fundraising contributions are invaluable in helping more than 300 million people living with chronic hepatitis B worldwide.  For more info and to help Aaron reach his goal, please go here to donate. 

    https://www.hepb.org/news-and-events/nyc-marathon/run4teamhepb-runner-spotlight-aaron-rak/
  • HBV Journal Review – May 2014

    HBF is pleased to connect our blog readers to Christine Kukka’s monthly HBV Journal Review that she writes for the HBV Advocate. The journal presents the
 latest in hepatitis B research, treatment, and prevention from recent academic and medical journals. This month, the following topics are explored: Adding Interferon to Ongoing Antiviral Treatment Is Highly Successful Vitamin E Helps HBV-Infected Children Lose HBeAg, Reducing Liver Damage Common Chinese Toad May Hold the Key to Preventing and Treating Liver Cancer Even at Top Hospitals, Doctors Fail to Treat Hepatitis B Patients Properly Study Finds Doctors More Likely to Treat Hepatitis B in Men Than Women Study Confirms Doctors Frequently Fail to Screen and Vaccinate Those at Risk Antiviral Treatment Dramatically Improves Liver Cancer Test Accuracy $50 Cash Incentive Increases HBV Immunization 12-Fold Hepatitis B and C Cause Ten-Times More Deaths Than HIV in Europe HBV Journal Review May 1, 2014 Volume 11, Issue 5 by Christine M. Kukka Adding Interferon to Ongoing Antiviral Treatment Is Highly Successful  Adding pegylated interferon to ongoing antiviral treatment produced remarkable rates of hepatitis B "e" antigen (HBeAg) loss and even hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) loss, according to a study presented at the International Liver Congress held in London in April. Eighty-three HBeAg-positive patients in China, who had been on antivirals for more than two years, had 48 weeks of interferon treatment added to their treatment regimen. A control group continued on only antivirals: 60% of the group treated with add-on interferon lost HBeAg and their viral loads dropped below 2,000 IU/mL. In contrast, only 13.8% of patients treated with only antivirals achieved those benchmarks. 27.7% of patients in the combination treatment group lost HBsAg. No one in the antiviral group lost HBsAg. All patients who had low HBsAg levels (less than 1,000 IU/mL) at the start of interferon treatment achieved HBeAg loss and

    http://www.hepb.org/blog/hbv-journal-review-may-2014/
  • Deadliest Cuts of All

    Just 8 cancers (ovary, myeloma, brain, stomach, esophagus, lung, liver, and pancreas) will cause nearly half of all cancer deaths in 2014. Joining a deadly cancers “club” is not on anyone’s wish list. Yet Liver Cancer Connect, a dedicated program of the Hepatitis B Foundation, welcomed the opportunity to become a member of the Deadliest Cancers Coalition. The Coalition was established in 2008 by the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and other patient advocacy organizations and professional societies. The group addresses policy issues related to the nation’s deadliest (recalcitrant) cancers. These are defined as the cancers that have 5-year relative survival rates below 50%. While various types of cancers fit this definition, it is worth noting that nearly half of the 585,720 cancer deaths expected in 2014 will be caused by eight deadly cancers: ovary, myeloma, brain, stomach, esophagus, lung, liver, and pancreas. Over the past 40 years, the overall 5-year relative survival rate for all cancers has increased from about 50% to 68%. This encouraging progress was mainly thanks to significant federal funding, through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) - the world’s premier supporter of biomedical research - and the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Those federal funds have been matched by investments from pharmaceutical companies, nongovernmental organizations, and states. But some cancers have not even reached the 50% survival benchmark, let alone surpassed it. To improve survival and outcomes for people with these deadliest cancers, Congress passed the landmark 2012 Recalcitrant Cancer Research Act.  The law calls on NCI, which is a part of NIH, to develop scientific frameworks to help improve outcomes for people who have cancers with very low survival rates. Unfortunately, continued budget cuts have led to a 23 percent reduction in NIH’s capacity to fund much-needed medical research, including research that can improve survival rates. And the

    http://www.hepb.org/blog/deadliest-cuts-of-all/
  • Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center’s Kassa named one of The 10 Best COOs of 2020

    The Bucks County operation he runs is one of the nation’s most successful life sciences incubators and is in the midst of a $19 million expansion. Doylestown, Nov. 18, 2020 – Louis P. Kassa, MPA, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center, has been named one of “The 10 Best COOs of 2020” by Industry Era, a global technology media outlet. The list includes COOs from a wide variety of organizations worldwide.  Louis P. Kassa Since joining the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center (PABC) in 2014, Kassa has led the PABC to become one of the nation’s leading life sciences incubators, according to a report by the International Business Innovation Association. The PABC is a nonprofit that offers state-of-the-art laboratory and office space to early stage biotech companies, as well as the Hepatitis B Foundation and Blumberg Institute. With more than 70 member companies, the center is home to 41 small to mid-size science, research and biotechnology companies. The PABC has been at full capacity for the past seven years and there is a waiting list of companies that want to locate in the PABC, Kassa said. “We have a very specific ecosystem and services platform that helps entrepreneurs find a path for success,” Kassa said. “Most incubators are run by universities or for-profit businesses, but at the heart of our center are two nonprofits, the Hepatitis B Foundation and the Blumberg Institute.” The PABC uses a highly successful services-based approach to nurture and guide its member companies to success. A fundamental element is the center’s unusually collaborative environment. “A unique aspect of our ecosystem is that we don’t kick companies out simply because they’ve grown to a certain point,” Kassa said, “Instead, we really try to have senior companies in our ecosystems that actually help the small companies with co-collaboration.” One of those senior companies is FlowMetric Life Sciences Inc., a contract research organization that has grown from a small startup 10 years ago to a global operation with more than 45 employees and lab operations here and in Europe. Renold J. Capocasale is its founder and CEO. “We chose to put our headquarters in the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center a decade ago for three reasons: its strategic location, cross-company collaborations and excellent services,” Capocasale said. “Lou Kassa is one of the major reasons that we have decided to continue to grow here at the center."  When the PABC opens its new 37,000 square-foot building next fall, FlowMetric Life Sciences will be the primary occupant. The company also plans to open a new lab and offices next year in Adelaide, Australia. The PABC’s new building is the centerpiece of a $19 million expansion that began last summer and will be completed next October, Kassa said. The two-story, rectangular building going up between two existing structures will mean 40% more space at the PABC. It will provide 15,000 square feet of new laboratory space and a larger main entrance. Other features include more offices, conference rooms and a 200-seat event space.  “A key addition will be the HatchBio Accelerator, which will provide common space for very early stage companies,” Kassa said. “It’s our goal to provide a continuum of support for scientists and their emerging technologies, and the HatchBio Accelerator will be ideal for pre-incubation companies that do not yet require dedicated space.  “We’re full steam ahead,” Kassa said. “And I firmly believe we’re going to be at 100% occupancy when we open our new building next October.” It is estimated that the expansion will lead to additional jobs at the facility, perhaps greater than 100, plus dozens of new companies and millions of dollars in commercial activity. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf recently approved a $430,000 grant to the center to renovate space for new labs, offices and instructional space to accommodate COVID-19 research and development.  An additional factor that makes the PABC different than most incubators is the academic programming on site. Overseen by the Blumberg Institute, which has 28 scientists on its faculty, there are educational programs for university undergrads, graduate students and local high school students. Many take advantage of the opportunity for hands-on experience with researchers at PABC-member companies and in Blumberg Institute labs. A resident of Perkasie, Kassa earned a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts from Penn State University Park in 1993 and worked in behavioral health social services for over 20 years. He received a Master of Public Administration from Villanova University in 2007. # # # About the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center (PABC): PABC is a nonprofit life sciences incubator-accelerator, offering state-of-the-art laboratory and office space to early stage biotech companies, as well as the Hepatitis B Foundation and Blumberg Institute. Managed by the Institute and led by a board appointed by the Foundation, PABC is home to more than 40 small to mid-size science, research and pharmaceutical companies. The center 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 that will make a difference. PABC is in Bucks County, in the heart of the Philadelphia-New Jersey pharma belt. To make a donation to the PABC, click here.

    https://www.hepb.org/news-and-events/news-2/pennsylvania-biotechnology-centers-kassa-named-one-of-the-10-best-coos-of-2020/
  • HBV Journal Review – March 2014

    … levels exceeding 1 million international units per milliliter (IU/mL), tenofovir worked far faster to suppress viral load. • After six months, 18% of tenofovir-treated patients achieved undetectable viral load compared to 11% in the entecavir group. • After 12 months, 51% of tenofovir patients had undetectable HBV DNA compared to 28% of entecavir patients. • And after 18 months, 72% of tenofovir-treated patients were HBV DNA-free, compared to 39% in the entecavir group. “Tenofovir is significantly more effective than entecavir for achieving complete viral suppression in HBeAg-positive, (never before-treated) chronic hepatitis B patients with HBV DNA greater than 1 million IU/mL,” they wrote in the January issue of the journal of Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics. Source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24467455   Antiviral Treatment After Liver Cancer Surgery Improves Survival Dramatically
 A team of researchers from Thomas Jefferson University Hospital reports that antiviral treatment after removal of a liver cancer tumor increased survival from an average 1.3 years to 6.6 years. The team compared survival in 25 hepatitis B patients who each had  similar-sized liver tumors removed through a process known as tumor ablation–involving the removal of liver tumors using heat, cold or chemicals. Continue reading this review and additional HBV related reviews for March

    http://www.hepb.org/blog/hbv-journal-review-march-2014/
  • Re-energized in Our Mission … A Message from Joan Block of HBF

    Historic ruling now officially recognizes HBV infection as a protected disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act. What a difference two years make. In 2011 the Hepatitis B Foundation celebrated its 20th anniversary and we were ready to rest awhile on our laurels after working so hard. But instead, we rallied for new challenges and now we have a lot to celebrate in 2013!   Joan M. Block, Co-Founder and Executive Director In March, the U.S. Department of Justice struck down HBV discrimination in a settlement with two New Jersey medical schools that had denied enrollment to students with hepatitis B. The historic ruling now officially recognizes HBV infection as a protected disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act—a huge advocacy success in which the Hepatitis B Foundation played a key role. To fulfill our mission of decreasing the burden of hepatitis B and liver cancer in the U.S., we partnered with AAPCHO to establish Hep B United as a national program to support local coalitions improve screening, vaccination and linkage to care, particularly among high-risk Asian immigrants. In recognition of Hep B United’s momentum, the CDC recently awarded HBF a major grant to build the coalition and its membership, and to serve as an official partner in their Know Hepatitis B national campaign (see In The News). This year we also created CHIPO, the first national coalition to address the heavy burden of hepatitis B among African immigrants, which is an area of tremendous need. The big news in 2013, however, is the renaming of our research institute in honor of Nobel Laureate Dr. Baruch S. Blumberg, who was a cofounder of the HBF and mentor to many of our scientists and outreach professionals for almost 20 years. Dr. Blumberg believed that a cure was possible in our lifetime, so we are honored to take up the challenge with renewed energy and purpose to fulfill his scientific legacy. Please give generously to our 2013 Annual Fund! Your

    http://www.hepb.org/blog/re-energized-in-our-mission-a-message-from-joan-block-of-hbf/
  • Bright's Story

    Born in a small town in Ghana, Bright emigrated to the U.S. upon finishing teacher training college. Several years later, he learned that his mother, who he adored, had passed away back home. Devastated, he began to receive counseling. He also learned he is living with chronic hepatitis B, after seeking healthcare for feelings of fatigue. Bright eventually starts facing the unknown, feeling more resilient than ever before. Bright's story is available in English and Twi.   English   Twi

    https://www.hepb.org/research-and-programs/patient-story-telling-project/brights-story/
  • Carolyn's Story

    When Carolyn’s mother told her, “he’s just tired, he needs to work less,” Carolyn suspected that something more was going on. She flew to visit her parents in Hawaii and learned that he was dying of liver cancer, the result of chronic hepatitis B. Carolyn regrets how quickly her father’s health deteriorated, and yet she cherishes the time they spent together in the hospital. She recognizes that the experience helped her find compassion for her patients, in her own work as a nurse. Carolyn's story is available in English and with Korean subtitles.   English    English with Korean subtitles

    https://www.hepb.org/research-and-programs/patient-story-telling-project/carolyns-story/
  • Many Parents Request Delays in Vaccine Schedule -Why the HBV Vaccine is Important for Infants and Young Children

    … HBV vaccine shortages.  Many cannot afford the vaccine, and many are unaware of the vaccine until they learn they are infected. In the U.S. we have an opportunity to prevent a life-long infection with HBV with a simple vaccine.  Please don't choose to delay or omit the hepatitis B vaccine from your child's vaccine schedule.

    http://www.hepb.org/blog/many-parents-request-delays-in-vaccine-schedule-why-the-hbv-vaccine-is-important-for-infants-and-young-children/