# Nobel laureate Houghton launches hepatitis C vaccine programme at Baptist University, Hong Kong

- Published: 2026-11-10 16:16 UTC
- Section: Life & Health › Medicine
- Tags: hepatitis C vaccine, Michael Houghton, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Baptist University Hong Kong, hepatitis C virus, Chinese virus strains, vaccine development programme, Li Ka Shing Applied Virology Institute
- URL: https://realtech.media/news/rt-7a31f5e56debeede3beb66fa_nobel_laureate_houghton/

**Sir Michael Houghton, co-discoverer of the hepatitis C virus, began a vaccine development programme in Hong Kong, saying the US and Europe had cut science funding.**

![Nobel laureate Houghton launches hepatitis C vaccine programme at Baptist University, Hong Kong](https://realtech.media/media/2026/11/25f186ad3f4204d7.jpg)
*Henadz Besarab, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0*

British virologist Sir Michael Houghton, who won the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the co-discovery of the hepatitis C virus, has launched a programme to develop the first hepatitis C vaccine, scmp.com reports. [1] He started it after joining Baptist University in Hong Kong. [1]

Houghton said he moved after more than four decades in North America because the United States and Europe had cut science funding. [1] He said his research grant from the National Institutes of Health was cut, and that economic problems linked to inflation mean less money goes to research in Europe. [1]

The programme draws on Hong Kong's research funding, access to Chinese strains of the virus and partnerships with mainland drug makers. [1] Houghton also leads the Li Ka Shing Applied Virology Institute at the University of Alberta in Canada. [1]

## Sources

1. [scmp.com](https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3373966/nobel-winning-uk-scientist-launches-programme-develop-hepatitis-c-vaccine-hong-kong)

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Source: RealTech, realtech.media — https://realtech.media/news/rt-7a31f5e56debeede3beb66fa_nobel_laureate_houghton/