The Government of B.C. is providing St. Paul’s Hospital Foundation with $2 million to help the Hope to Health Research Clinic expand.

Health Minister Terry Lake made the announcement in Vancouver last night at the eighth International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention (IAS 2015), the world’s largest open scientific conference on HIV/AIDS related issues.

“Having the IAS choose Vancouver as the host of their 2015 conference is a testament to B.C.’s reputation as a leader in HIV/AIDS testing and treatment,” said Lake. “With this funding for St. Paul’s Hospital Foundation to expand the Hope to Health Research Clinic, we continue to lead the way in addressing some of the greatest health challenges of our time.”

This announcement follows the June 25, 2015 opening of the Hope to Health Research Centre, a world-class HIV/AIDS, addiction and viral hepatitis research centre at 611 Powell Street in the Downtown Eastside. With this new provincial investment and support from the world’s most competitive peer-reviewed granting agencies, Hope to Health will develop 625 Powell Street, which will add an additional 186 square metres (20,000 square feet) to the existing facility.

Hope to Health is a new research clinic of the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE) that enables top Canadian researchers to inform targeted disease elimination strategies. Under the leadership of Dr. Julio Montaner and Dr. Evan Wood, the clinic focuses on HIV/AIDS studies; at-risk youth; gender and sexual health; strategies for viral hepatitis; addictions and other related conditions.

“Addressing addictions and viral hepatitis goes hand-in-hand with the work we’re doing at BC-CfE,” said Montaner. “We’re grateful to the Province for continuing to help us in addressing the needs of some of the most vulnerable populations.”

B.C. is a leader in HIV and AIDS treatment and prevention. Since 1996, HIV/AIDS-related deaths in B.C. have decreased by more than 95%. Newly diagnosed HIV infections have dropped from 850 per year in the mid-1990s to 260 in 2014.

Through the BCCfE Drug Treatment Program, HIV drugs, such as Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) are provided free of charge to any British Columbian living with HIV/AIDS. As well, the STOP HIV/AIDS pilot project to expand HIV testing, treatment, prevention and support was rolled out throughout the province in 2013 thanks to $19.9 million in annual government funding.

In August 2014, the Ministry of Health announced the Provincial Health Services Authority provided $3 million to the St. Paul’s Hospital Foundation to harness new ways to treat substance dependence and related health concerns. As a result of this funding, and under the leadership of Dr. Evan Wood, considerable progress has since been made:

• The Province’s support helped St. Paul’s Hospital Foundation and Dr. Wood secure $2.5 million from the US National Institutes of Health and $1.8 million in funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research for addiction research and care.
• The Vivitrol clinical trial for opioid and alcohol addiction treatment - now being conducted out of the Hope to Health clinic - has finished enrolling patients. Data collection is almost complete and data analysis will begin soon.
• Four physician fellows and one nurse fellow are enrolled in the new residency training for the Canada Addiction Medicine Research Fellowship, now the largest program of its kind in North America. The program will expand to six physician clinical fellows and two nurse fellows in July 2015.
• A rapid access program is helping family doctors provide better treatment care to patients dealing with addiction across the province.
• St. Paul's clinical addiction medicine training program now provides specialized education to 80 physician trainees per year. Related to this, the American Board of Addiction Medicine recently reported that 2014 was an all-time high for the number of B.C. physicians attempting the accreditation exam.

Thanks to a $3-million private-sector donation from Goldcorp Inc. in 2012, St. Paul’s Hospital is also home to the Goldcorp Fellowship in Addiction Medicine - western Canada’s only American Board of Addiction Medicine-accredited clinical training programs.

This provincial investment supports “Setting Priorities for the B.C. Health System”, the Ministry of Health’s overarching strategy to create a more sustainable health system. As part of this, a policy paper on primary and community care was created to help build better supports for all British Columbians, including those affected by addictions.

From July 19-22, IAS 2015 is gathering approximately 6,000 scientists, clinicians, health care providers and community leaders from around the world to explore the latest scientific developments in HIV-related research and how new knowledge can be applied in on-the-ground programs.

The last time an IAS Conference came to Vancouver was in 1996. During that conference ground-breaking research from the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS and elsewhere established highly active antiretroviral therapy or HAART as the international gold standard for HIV treatment— Vancouver is widely considered its birthplace.

Learn more:

To learn more about IAS 2015, visit: www.ias2015.org

To learn more about the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, visit:www.cfenet.ubc.ca/

Media Contacts:

Laura Heinze
Media Relations
Ministry of Health
250 952-1887 (media line)

Caroline Dobuzinskis
Communications Coordinator
BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS
604 682-2344 ext. 66536