The Baruch S. Blumberg Institute (Blumberg Institute) was established as an independent, 501(c)3 non-profit organization to find a cure for hepatitis B, conduct discovery research, and nurture translational biotechnology. It was named to honor the man who received the Nobel Prize for his discovery of the hepatitis B virus, and with whom Dr. Block worked. 

The Blumberg Institute focuses on cutting-edge translational research to tackle hepatitis B and related liver cancer. With nearly 100 people working in this innovative facility, it has become a leading center for molecular research and translational drug discovery for hepatitis B and liver cancer. The primary goal is to get its discoveries into the hands of drug development companies within three years to significantly accelerate the pace of HBV cure research. 

To achieve this ambitious goal, the Blumberg Institute has taken an unusual entrepreneurial approach by creating, and managing, the Pennsylvania Biotechnology Center – which was recently declared by a national business association as “one of the most successful life sciences incubators for ‘academic start-up’ companies in the nation.” 

New molecular and genetic systems to study the hepatitis B virus, and new cancer assays - several of which were invented at the Baruch S. Blumberg Institute - are leading to a revolution in cancer and viral therapeutics. In 2019 alone, four of the Blumberg Institute discoveries moved into human clinical trials for HBV treatment, related liver cancer treatment, and liver cancer early detection biomarkers. 

The Blumberg Institute has engaged in successful research and academic partnerships with the University of Pennsylvania, University of Oxford, Johns Hopkins University, Harvard Medical School, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Drexel University College of Medicine, and other for-profit and non-profit research organizations.

Current Projects
Blumberg Institute scientists are working in, primarily, three different arenas. One is focused on the early detection of liver cancer, the most serious outcome of chronic HBV. There is no cure for liver cancer and very few effective treatments, which is why the best hope for survival is early detection. 

In the U.S., liver cancer (or hepatocellular carcinoma) is the 2nd deadliest cancer with a five-year survival rate of less than 15%. More than 42,000 Americans were diagnosed with liver cancer, and more than 30,000 died in 2019. In the world, liver cancer is the 2nd leading cause of cancer deaths and it is the primary cause of death in the nearly 1 million people who suffer from chronic HBV. 

The second area of focus for the Blumberg Institute is its pioneering work with a new technology called “glycotechnology.” This technology can be used to locate potential biomarkers in blood to help detect cancer. The third area is to discover new drugs to treat and cure people of chronic hepatitis B and liver cancer. Some discoveries from the Blumberg Institute scientists have already led to entirely new drug discovery strategies. 

There are eight FDA-approved treatments for chronic HBV, but they are not satisfactory because they only suppress the virus in most people; they do not eliminate the virus. These drugs also have to be taken for a lifetime, and most disappointingly, they only reduce the incidence of death from cirrhosis and liver cancer by 60%.

Currently, Dr. Block is leading several important projects at the Blumberg Institute:

1. Liver Cancer Detection: Exploration of the possibility that messenger RNA in the blood can be used in cancer detection. Micro RNA in the blood, and even "micro" DNA in the urine is known to be present. Block believes there is exciting new evidence that the messenger RNA which has been detected is associated with cancer proteins that are not normally in the blood and could, therefore, become part of a simple blood test for perhaps the early detection of liver cancer and other cancers.
    

2. Hepatitis B Drug Discovery:                                                                                                                                                                            A) Development of new liver-targeted drugs that selectively repress hepatitis B RNA, and all of its proteins. The hepatitis B virus uses the host (cell) RNA degradation machinery in a paradoxical way: it depends upon this pathway for "production", rather than degradation of its RNA. This provides a powerful new way to understand and treat HBV (as well as other viral diseases that may use a similar paradoxical pathway). Block believes previous problems with this approach are fixable and is working on producing liver specific versions of these virus inhibitors.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         B) Discovery of drugs that selectively "kill" hepatitis B infected liver cells and liver cancer cells in hepatitis B patients. Liver cancer cells in those with hepatitis B often express viral surface proteins, in the absence of other viral proteins. These cells may be different from uninfected, non-cancerous cells, and may be more sensitive to "cell death" activators. Block has an approach to study and discover antivirals that take advantage of this situation and has identified small molecules that can, in tissue culture, "push HBV infected cells and cancer cells over the edge."  The goal is to find small molecules that can be used safely and  therapeutically to selectively "kill" infected liver cells and liver cancer cells.

Hepatitis B is the world’s most common and serious liver infection caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV). Worldwide, almost 300 million people suffer from a chronic HBV infection and nearly 1 million people die each year from its complications such as liver cancer. 

We think great medical advances in treating, even curing, chronic hepatitis B are possible.  Major improvements in managing liver cancer, and, again, allowing for even “cures”, are possible, if the cancer is caught early.

Timothy Block, Ph.D., Founder and President of the Baruch S. Blumberg Institute, is an internationally renowned scientist and is leading the charge in finding a cure for hepatitis B and in the development of early detection biomarkers for liver cancer.