Disruptive Discoveries for HIV, HCV, and HBV Infections

HIV and Hepatitis B and C (HBV and HCV, respectively) viruses cause significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. HCV and HBV kill more people annually than the next 60 reportable infectious diseases combined. HCV related deaths have set new records in every year since at least 2003. The continued rise is alarming given that the vast majority of these deaths are preventable with the wide range of safe and effective oral treatments available since December 2013 when Sofosbuvir received U.S. FDA approval. Sofosbuvir is considered best in class because of its safety, high potency, pangenotypic activity, and high barrier to resistance.

Ray will discuss ultrashort 3-week treatment with three potent direct acting antiviral agents (DAA) resulting in 100% SVR in genotype 1b HCV infected individuals that could increase compliance, and reduce costs, while reducing the required frequency of multiple doses and leading to a complete cure. He will also advocate for fully funded “HCV Test & Treatment as Prevention Programs” to eliminate HCV globally. In addition, he will discuss how he discovered the most commonly used drugs for HIV; the nucleoside antiviral agents Emtricitabine and Lamivudine. Finally, Ray will discuss recent efforts to develop HBV capsid effectors that may offer an opportunity to cure HBV, a virus that affects over 250 million people globally.­­