Frederick, MD – HBVtech, a biopharma startup company within the Frederick Innovation Technology Center (FITCI), is garnering international attention for its work creating a single-dose injection-based hepatitis B cure. Founder and Chief Science Officer, Dr. Yong-Yuan Zhang is well known for his research and writing on the topic of hepatitis, including related functional genomics and rapid production of neutralizing antibodies studies.[1]
Dr. Zhang started HBVtech in 2013 and is developing a hepatitis B drug, HBVZ10, that is poised to change the lives of 240 million people across the planet. Once established, the disease is often transmitted from mother to child, creating a generational cycle of transmission, especially in underserved populations. While the hepatitis B virus (HBV) frequently causes transient infections in adults, it often results in chronic infection in infants. The Centers for Disease Control and Infections (CDC) notes that, “as many as 90% of infants born to HBV-infected mothers in the United States will become infected with HBV. Subsequently, 90% of those infants develop chronic HBV infection and approximately one-fourth of these infants eventually will die from liver-related complications.” [2]
HBVtech established proof of three concepts, demonstrating superior efficacy over known drugs in curing hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. The work uses an HBV infected uPA/SCID chimeric mice model because it faithfully correlates to HBV infection features in humans. [3]
In March this year, HBVtech presented details about their new HBV cure at the plenary session at the 2022 Asia Pacific Association of the Study of Liver (APASL) meeting in Seoul, South Korea. In September, HBVtech will present a poster at the 2022 HBV International Meeting in Paris, France. Another presentation follows in November at DC’s Walter E. Washington Convention Center for the 2022 American Association of the Study of Liver Diseases Meeting, the biggest and most prestigious international liver conference.[4]
Dr. Zhang is dedicated to raising awareness about the disease, its impact, and prevention.
Ally Kathie Callahan Brady is CEO of FITCI, a life science business incubator/accelerator and HBVtech’s home base. She says, “This is such an exciting project. Imagine a single-dose treatment that can save a child from a lifetime of health challenges. Dr. Zhang is truly passionate about affecting this change. It’s a calling to contribute something that makes the world a better place and that is the heart of innovation.”
For details contact Dr. Yong-Yuan Zhang, Founder/CSO, HBV Tech LLC, at yongyuanzhang50@gmail.com.
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[1] www.researchgate.net/profile/Yong-Yuan-Zhang
[2] CDC
[3] Zhang, Yong-Yuan. (2017). New Strategy Treating Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) Infection: A Review of HBV Infection Biology. 10.5772/66083.
[4] Oral presentation no: 95 in 2021 AASLD meeting and appears in Hepatology VOLUME 74, NUMBER 1 (SUPPL) page 65A; Poster presentation THU303 in 2022 EASL meeting and appears in Journal of Hepatology 2022 vol. 77(S1) page S245.
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