Hepatitis C Human Challenge Trial

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) represents a significant public health problem both globally and domestically: an estimated 58 million people around the world are infected with HCV, of which 3.2 million are children or young adults, with 1.5 million new cases annually, and 290,000 resulting fatalities in 2019 alone. Curative direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) have provided a viable path to elimination, but testing and treatment alone will not meet elimination goals. A growing consensus of scientists believes a vaccine is required to achieve elimination. Challenge trials are the only feasible method for testing vaccine candidates.

“1Day Sooner are incredibly dedicated people who do an amazing job as advocates while also pushing the science forward. They truly live up to their name.”

Jordan Feld, MD, MPH

Principal Investigator, Senior Scientist

How We Helped

• Advertising Campaign: Designed digital and physical ads to spur interest in the study, attracting more than 350 potential participants. Created the HCVChallenge.org website for potential participants
• Study Design Focus Groups: Hosted a focus group with 10 potential participants. Their input helped streamline study design and increase trial speed by months
• Flexible Project Management: Served as a stop-gap project manager during hiring, including meeting management, dependency mapping, and operations efforts like vendor assessment. Providing ongoing ad-hoc support as requested
• Participant-Facing Materials: Created easily referenced FAQs, site visit infographics, and reference sheets to support informed consent
• Knowledgeable Chatbot: Trained and hosted a chatbot expert to answer questions on challenge trials and hepatitis C
• Community Advisory Board: Facilitated a community advisory board focused on study-related topics