The Science of HBV Cure Meeting 2024 Scientific Programme

July, 2024

26

Programme Time (SGT)
Welcome Remarks by the Conference Chairman
Opening Symposium: Overview of HBV Functional Cure
Moderators: Prof. Pietro Lampertico, Prof. Seng Gee Lim
HBV Cure: definitions and prospects
– Prof. Pietro Lampertico, Italy
The Role of ICE-HBV in HBV functional cure
– Prof. Massimo Levrero, France
Are HBV flares necessary for functional cure?
– Prof. Kumar Visvanathan, Australia
Virological Insights into functional cure
Moderators: Prof. Thomas Tu, Dr. Jayantha Gunaratne
Is cccDNA silenced or lost in functional cure?
– Prof. Massimo Levrero, France
Removing integrated HBV
– Prof. Thomas Tu, Australia
New virological targets leading to functional cure
– Prof. Pei Jer Chen, Taiwan
Free Paper: The role of HBx in functional cure
– Dr. Aravind Sivakumar, Singapore
Free paper: BMP pathway is a target for functional cure
– Dr. Jayantha Gunaratne
Free paper: HBV functional cure is related to baseline qHBsAg and interferon response
– Prof. Seng Gee Lim, Singapore
Lunch
Immunological insights into functional cure 
Moderator: Dr. Valerie Chew
What we have learnt from interrogating the liver microenvironment : A review
– Dr. Ram DasGupta, Singapore
Understanding the immune mechanisms to achieve functional cure
– Prof. Eui-Cheol Shin, Korea
Free Paper Presentations
Free paper: The Role of STING Signaling Pathway in Chronic Hepatitis B: Implications for Immune Status
– Dr. Zhang Mingyuan
Animal Models  
Moderator: Prof. Eui-Cheol Shin, Prof. Massimo Levrero
A humanized animal model with matching immune system
– Dr. Qingfeng Chen, Singapore
Animal model forum: How to use animal models in HBV drug development
– Prof. Pei-Jer Chen, Dr. Qingfeng Chen, Dr. Guofeng Cheng, Dr. Zhi Hong
Capsid Assemby Modulators
Moderator: Prof. Harry Janssen
The role of Capsid Assembly Modulators in functional cure
– Prof. Man Fung Yuen, Hong Kong
Invited Pharma Presentations
Moderator: Prof. Harry Janssen
Preclinical Profiling of ABI-6250, a Novel Orally Bioavailable Small-Molecule Therapeutic Candidate for the Treatment of Chronic Hepatitis (Virtual)
– Dr. Marc Windisch, Assembly Biosciences
Aligos Assets for HBV functional cure
– Dr. Min Wu, Aligos Therapeutics
Tea Break
Biomarkers
Moderator: Prof. Seng Gee Lim
Biomarkers for functional cure
– Prof. Man-Fung Yuen, Hong Kong
Free paper: progress in biomarker discovery for HBV functional cure
– Dr. Zijie Lim, Singapore
Invited Pharma Presentations
The performance and clinical utility of novel highly sensitive iTACT-HBsAg and iTACT-HBcrAg assays
– Dr. Kazuyoshi Miyamoto, Fujirebio
Your partner in HBV management (Virtual)
– Dr. Mark Anderson, Abbott Diagnostics
Closing remarks
End of day 1

July, 2024

27

Programme Time (SGT)
Special Lecture
Moderators: Prof.Thomas Tu, Prof. Massimo Levrero
Gene Editing for complete cure: state of the art
– Dr. Kosh Agarwal, United Kingdom
RNA interference
Moderators: Prof. Thomas Tu, Prof. Massimo Levrero
Anti-sense vs siRNA: can we explain the efficacy differences?
– Prof. Pei-Jer Chen, Taiwan
Invited Pharma Presentations
Moderators: Prof. Thomas Tu, Prof. Massimo Levrero
Roche strategy for functional cure
– Dr. Farouk Chughlay, Roche
Bepirovirsen immune mechanism of action may potentiate infected hepatocyte killing: Indirect evidence from B-together peripheral longitudinal biomarker analysis
– Dr. Shilpy Joshi, GSK
AHB-137, a novel ASO for HBV Cure
– Dr. Guofeng Cheng, Ausperbio Therapeutics Inc
Update on Nucleic Acid Polymers (Virtual)
– Dr. Andrew Vaillant, Replicor
Tea Break
Delta Cure
Moderator: Prof. Lim Seng Gee
Path to Delta Cure
– Prof. Heiner Wedemeyer, Germany
The role of NAPs in Delta Therapy (Virtual)
– Dr. Andrew Valliant, Replicor
Immunology
Chair and moderator:  Dr. Valerie Chew
Insights into HBV Cure from studies of novel immune modulators (Virtual)
– Prof. Antonio Bertoletti, Singapore
Free paper: The differentiation of Treg and Th17 cells in patients with chronic hepatitis B in different stages
– Dr. Le Thi Thuy Hang, Vietnam
Lunch
Invited pharma Presentations
Moderators: Prof. Kumar Visvanathan
Characterisation of Selgantolimod (TLR8 agonist) against CHB (Virtual)
– Dr. Frida Abramov, Gilead Sciences
Clonal amplification of peripheral CD8+ T cells is associated with clinical response to checkpoint blockade in chronic hepatitis B (Virtual)
– Dr. Jeff Wallin, Gilead Sciences
Insights into CHB functional cure from Ascletis studies (Virtual)
– Dr. Jinzi J. Wu, Founder, Chairman and CEO, Ascletis
Achieving breakthroughs in HBV Cure
– Dr. Zhi Hong, Brii Bio
siRNA+Neutralizing antibody combination for HBV Cure
– Dr. Wang Dong, Hepa Thera
The potential role for a novel class, a Checkpoint Modifier, in the functional cure of CHB: the science and clinical data from VRON-0200 (Virtual)
– Dr. Sue Currie, Dr. Andrew Luber, Virion Therapeutics
Tea Break
Treatment strategies
Moderators: Prof. Heiner Wedemeyer
Potential of immune based therapies for functional cure: success and limitations
– Prof. Tatsuya Kanto, Japan
The return of interferon in functional cure strategies – a step backwards?
– Prof. Harry Janssen, Holland
Combination Therapy Forum
Moderators: Prof. Seng Gee Lim, Prof. Heiner Wedemeyer
Immunotherapy and antiviral therapy forum
– Prof. Eui Choel Shin, Prof. Massimo Levrero, Prof. Thomas Tu, Prof. Harry Janssen, Prof. Pei-Jer Chen, Prof. Kumar Visvanathan, Dr. Zhi Hong, Dr. Melanie Paff, Dr. Guofeng Cheng

Closing remarks from Chairman