Title: Hepatitis C: from discovery to cure to elimination in 40 years?

Abstract: One in 12 people on planet earth are chronically infected with either hepatitis B or hepatitis C virus. Hepatitis C virus was characterised in 1989, and by 2014, directly acting antiviral agents targeting key viral proteins were in clinical trials. In 2015, WHO announced plans for the global elimination of viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030. This talk will recount the key moments in this scientific success story, and discuss progress towards achievement of the ambitious WHO goals.