Canadian Network on Hepatitis C (CanHepC): From Discovery to Implementation

Hepatitis C is a liver disease caused by infection with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) and affecting 71 million people worldwide. In Canada, an estimated 250,000 people are living with HCV yet over 40% are unaware of their infection. HCV is a major cause of chronic liver disease including liver cancer and is responsible for more years of life lost than any other infection. The development and broad availability of direct acting antivirals (DAAs) that can cure HCV in >95% of treated individuals has been a major game changer. Together with proven ways to prevent infections, testing and diagnosis, DAAs present a unique opportunity to eliminate the virus. This has triggered a global push to eliminate HCV led by the World Health Organization and endorsed by Canada in 2016 with the goal of 80% reduction in chronic HCV infections by 2030. Despite this commitment, transmission of HCV in Canada continues to rise at an alarming rate. The major challenge in HCV elimination is that it disproportionately affects priority populations with limited access to healthcare including people who inject drugs, Indigenous peoples, people with experience in the prison system, newcomers to Canada, and gay and bisexual men who have sex with men. The Canadian Network on Hepatitis C (CanHepC) was established in 2015 as the first National Collaborative Research Network dedicated to HCV research. CanHepC combines a collaborative training and research program, bringing together over 100 members across Canada including researchers, trainees, and knowledge-users. In the next funding cycle, our infrastructure will be expanded to support research with direct impact on priority populations to prevent new HCV infections, reach the undiagnosed and engage them into care, treatment and assessing the long-term health implications of HCV infection. We expect to generate new knowledge and priority population specific tools and approaches to accelerate Canada's progress towards HCV 2030 elimination targets.