Subject: Elusive Virus Responsible for Blood-Borne Hepatitis
Date: Published: 5/11/88 78 lines
Source:  WALL STREET JOURNAL. Copyright Dow Jones & Co. Inc. 

   Chiron Clones Proteins of Elusive Virus
   Responsible for Blood-Borne Hepatitis
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   By Peter Waldman
   Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal

   Chiron Corp. said its scientists have cloned proteins from
the last major hepatitis virus to elude replication, a
breakthrough expected to result in a blood test and vaccine
for the ailment.
   The virus, known as blood-borne hepatitis non-A, non-B,
afflicts as many as 150,000 people a year in the U. S. with
the disease, and is contracted through blood transfusions and
other exchanges of blood or blood products.  It currently
accounts for between 90% and 95% of all transfusion-related
hepatitis cases, or about 1,500 cases a week, Chiron said.  In
its chronic form, hepatitis non-A, non-B can cause severe
liver damage.
   Chiron's effort addresses "one of the outstanding medical
problems," in the treatment of hepatitis, said Paul Luciw, a
research scientist at the University of California at Davis.
"Chiron has made an important medical contribution.  Anyone
who undergoes surgery stands a risk of contracting non-A,
non-B hepatitis," said Mr. Luciw, who formerly worked for
Chiron.
   News of the successful cloning boosted Chiron's stock
price 12% yesterday; industry analysts said investors are
betting that Chiron will parlay the achievement into a
marketable blood-screening test, and eventually a vaccine.
   In national over-the-counter trading yesterday, Chiron
shares rose $1.75 to $16.50.
   Chiron estimated the market for a hepatitis non-A, non-B
blood test at roughly $85 million, a figure industry analysts
said was reasonable.  Chiron said it expects to file an
application with the Food and Drug Administration to market a
so-called immunoassay kit, or blood-screening test, later
this year.
   But the Emeryville, Calif.-based company was more reticent
about when it might develop a vaccine for the disease.  "We
don't want to mislead people that a vaccine is around the
corner," said Edward E. Penhoet, Chiron's president and chief
executive officer.
   Mr. Penhoet, noted it took five years after a protein was
cloned to develop a vaccine for the better understood
hepatitis-B virus.  He said Chiron expects to take five to
eight years to develop a vaccine for the non-A, non-B strain.
   Research and marketing of the vaccine will be done by
Biocine Co., a Chiron joint venture with Ciba-Geigy Corp. 
Biocine performed part of the protein cloning research as
well.
   Mr. Luciw said the major hitch in cloning the non-A, non-B
virus has been the low amount of the viral cells evident in
infected patients.  He said researchers had to employ
extremely "sensitive" molecular cloning systems, due to the
scarcity of available cells.
   As with blood-screening tests for other diseases, such as
AIDS, Chiron's immunoassay test won't detect the virus itself
but, rather, it will show the presence of antibodies to the
virus.  The test involves combining a patient's blood sample
with the virus proteins, and then checking the mixture under
a microscope for antibodies clinging to the virus proteins.
The presence of such antibodies signifies infection.
   Chiron said the immunassay kit, which could take from six
months to two years for FDA approval, will be marketed by
Ortho Diagnostic Systems, a unit of Johnson & Johnson and
Chiron's joint-venture partner in immuno-diagnostic products.
    ---
   Marilyn Chase contributed to this article.

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