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  • © 2019

HCV: The Journey from Discovery to a Cure

Volume I

  • Provides a comprehensive compilation of discoveries that led to the cure for HCV by the leading researchers in the field
  • Traces all aspects of HCV research that contributed to the development of key drugs and to the identification of important drug
  • Provides an authoritative history of the journey to find a cure for HCV with accounts from the key researchers themselves

Part of the book series: Topics in Medicinal Chemistry (TMC, volume 31)

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Table of contents (17 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-viii
  2. The Virus & Early Therapy

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1
    2. The Discovery of the Hepatitis C Virus

      • Michael Houghton
      Pages 19-27
    3. HCV Molecular Virology and Animal Models

      • Mohsan Saeed, Eva Billerbeck, Charles M. Rice
      Pages 29-68
    4. The Hepatitis C Virus Replicon System and Its Role in Drug Development

      • Ralf Bartenschlager, Volker Lohmann
      Pages 69-96
    5. The Role of Interferon for the Treatment of Chronic Hepatitis C Virus Infection

      • Saleh A. Alqahtani, Mark S. Sulkowski
      Pages 97-113
  3. HCV NS5B Polymerase Inhibitors

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 115-115
    2. Evolution of HCV NS5B Non-nucleoside Inhibitors

      • William J. Watkins
      Pages 171-191
  4. HCV NS3/4a Protease Inhibitors

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 229-229
    2. Evolution of HCV NS3/4a Protease Inhibitors

      • Nigel J. Liverton
      Pages 231-259
    3. The Discovery and Early Clinical Evaluation of the HCV NS3/4A Protease Inhibitor Asunaprevir (BMS-650032)

      • Nicholas A. Meanwell, Ramkumar Rajamani, Paul M. Scola, Li-Qiang Sun
      Pages 317-354
    4. The Invention of Grazoprevir: An HCV NS3/4a Protease Inhibitor

      • John A. McCauley, Michael T. Rudd
      Pages 355-387
    5. The Discovery and Development of HCV NS3 Protease Inhibitor Paritaprevir

      • Keith F. McDaniel, Yi-Yin Ku, Ying Sun, Hui-Ju Chen, Jason Shanley, Timothy Middleton et al.
      Pages 389-413
    6. Discovery and Development of the Next-Generation HCV NS3 Protease Inhibitor Glecaprevir

      • Guoqiang Wang, Jun Ma, Li-Juan Jiang, Yonghua Gai, Jiang Long, Bin Wang et al.
      Pages 415-440

About this book

Hepatitis C is a liver disease caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV) and infects approximately 75 million individuals worldwide. It is also one of the major causes of liver cancer and liver transplants. The elucidation of the HCV genome, and the development of a whole cell system to study the virus spurred the search for novel direct acting antiviral drugs to cure this disease. This global effort culminated in the development of direct acting antiviral drugs that led to cure rates approaching 100% in all patient populations after only 8-12 weeks of therapy. These efforts resulted in one of the greatest achievements in public health and provides the potential for eliminating HCV as a major disease worldwide.


This volume is aimed at a broad audience of academic and industrial scientists interested in the discovery and development of drugs to treat viral diseases and those interested in reading about one of the most unique accomplishments in biomedical research. The volume will provide a one of a kind reference work that highlights the many efforts, from the discovery of the HCV virus, to the invention of breakthrough medicines and their use in the real world to cure patients. It is the companion book to the volume "HCV: The Journey from Discovery to a Cure - Volume II".

Editors and Affiliations

  • Arbutus Biopharma, Inc., Warminster, USA

    Michael J. Sofia

About the editor

Michael J. Sofia, Ph.D. is currently Chief Scientific Officer and co-founder at Arbutus Biopharma, Inc., a company focused on the discovery and development of therapies to treat hepatitis B. He also holds a professorship at the Baruch S. Blumberg Institute and an Adjunct Professorship at the Drexel University School of Medicine. 

Previously, Mike Sofia was Senior Vice President of Chemistry and Senior Advisor at Gilead Sciences and was Sr. Vice President of Chemistry at Pharmasset, Inc until Pharmasset’s acquisition by Gilead in Jan 2012.

Mike Sofia previously held research and research management positions at Bristol-Myers Squibb, Intercardia Research Labs (formerly Transcell Technologies) and  Eli Lilly & Co. He did his postdoctoral training in synthetic organic chemistry as an NIH fellow at Columbia University and received his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.  He earned his B.A. degree in chemistry from Cornell University.

Mike has introduced numerous drugs into clinical development for the treatment of infectious diseases and inflammatory diseases. He is the principle inventor of sofosbuvir (Sovaldiâ and Harvoniâ) currently marketed as a treatment for the cure of HCV infection.  Mike is the recipient of numerous awards including the 2015 ACS Heroes of Chemistry Award, the Economist Magazine’s 2015 Innovation Award in Biosciences, the 2016 IUPAC-Richter Prize, the 2016 Lasker-Debakey Award in Clinical Medical Research and the 2017 Gertrude Elion Award from the International Society for Antiviral Research.

Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 349.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 449.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 449.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access