ISRAEL: New vaccine brings hope for Hepatitis B eradication

Record ID: 397857

  • Title: ISRAEL: New vaccine brings hope for Hepatitis B eradication
  • Date: 12th August 2013
  • Summary: RECHOVOT, ISRAEL (RECENT) (REUTERS) BOTTLE CONTAINING HEPATITIS B VACCINE LIQUID SPINNING IN LABORATORY CONTAINER LAB WORKERS MORE OF LIQUID SPINNING IN LAB CONTAINER MICHAL BEN ATTAR, SCIVAC CEO, SITTING IN OFFICE BEN ATTAR WRITING (SOUNDBITE) (English) MICHAL BEN ATTAR, SCIVAC CEO, SAYING: "Actually this vaccine will do the revolution in the Hepatitis B disease. No more
  • Embargoed: 27th August 2013 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Israel
  • Country: Israel
  • Topics: Health,Science / Technology
  • Reuters ID: LVA4D4J39LP0SXVMHW3VDXHP0SOH
  • Story Text: Israeli drug company SciVac has developed a third-generation vaccine for Hepatitis B, a virus that kills more than half a million people each year. The company says the vaccine has the potential to stop the disease in its tracks and is currently seeking approval for its use in the United States and Europe.
    Israeli drug company SciVac has developed a third-generation vaccine for the hepatitis B virus (HBV) that it believes will stem the global growth of the disease.
    According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), some 600,000 people die each year from HBV, while as many as 400 million people are carriers.

    "Actually this vaccine will do the revolution in the Hepatitis B disease. No more people need to die from this disease. We can eradicate this disease like vaccines did to small pox, diphtheria, tetanus. You cannot find these diseases in the world anymore. And I believe that this vaccine can do it to Hepatitis B," said Michal Ben Attar, chief executive of SciVac.
    The current second-generation yeast-based vaccine has been around for more than 20 years but SciVac says that 10 percent of newborn babies and 25 percent of adults above the age of 40 do not respond to it.
    SciVac's vaccine Sci-B-Vac, which is given to the majority of Israeli children just after birth, comprises all three native proteins of the virus compared with just one protein in second-generation vaccines sold by GlaxoSmithKline's Engerix vaccine and cheaper copies from China. Dosage of Sci-B-Vac is just one-quarter that of Engerix.
    Ben Attar said Sci-B-Vac is virtually 100 percent effective against HBV in newborn babies, while the body does not always recognise the second-generation drug and does not produce antibodies.
    SciVac has so far distributed more than half a million doses of its vaccine since 2009. It is also registered for use in India, Hong Kong, Vietnam, the Philippines and some African countries such as Congo, Ghana and Equatorial Guinea.
    Ben-Attar said SciVac is on the verge of signing a distribution agreement with Novartis in India. Although HBV is most prevalent in developing countries, Ben-Attar said it's tough to sell in Africa and non-developed nations, since they prefer cheaper alternatives.
    SciVac has applied to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for distribution of its vaccine to dialysis and HIV sufferers in the United States and is about to embark on a clinical trial there that will take 18 months.

    "Currently we are selling mainly in Africa and Asia, trying to save countless lives. And once we will achieve the FDA approval, quite soon, it will spread all over the world. I believe this is the solution for the world. The world needs the third generation vaccine. And I believe in a few years this will be the only vaccine sold in the world," Ben-Attar said.
    According to Scivac's operational production manager, Tova Katz, the vaccine is aimed at higher 'risk groups'.

    "this vaccine aims for the weak groups, the risk groups like medical force or armies. It also aimed for less responding groups like HIV, dialysis, diabetics, groups that are difficult to immune."
    Should it get FDA approval, SciVac will then seek similar approval in Europe.
    Ben-Attar said that Sci-B-Vac is being sold at prices that are competitive with Engerix, despite it being more expensive to produce. She said the drug costs will break even by the end of 2013 and be profitable in 2014 due to the deal with Novartis and other distributors in Asia. She expects the number of units to jump to 1.5 million in 2013 from 400,000 in 2012 and reach 2.3 million next year.
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