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New Hepatitis B Drug Trials Found A Functional Cure In 20% Patients
New Hepatitis B Drug Trials Found A Functional Cure In 20% Patients: Liver Doc Explains
Liver diseases sees no ages, genders or skin colour. In fact, India carries the world’s highest burden of liver disease, contributing to roughly 18% of global liver-related fatalities. It is mainly driven by a massive rise in metabolic conditions like diabetes and obesity.
Now, a new study had found that a six-month course of an experimental hepatitis B virus (HBV) drug, given alongside standard antiviral therapy, can achieve a functional cure in about 20% of participants. The studies were done across two efficacy trials, reports The Indian Express. The drug tested was bepirovirsen, and the results were published in The New England Journal of Medicine and presented at Europe’s largest liver health conference.
Hepatitis B is a serious, highly infectious viral disease that attacks the liver, causing both acute and chronic illness. It is transmitted through contact with infectious blood or bodily fluids, such as via unprotected sex, sharing needles, or from mother to child during childbirth.
A functional cure means patients can naturally keep the virus under control without requiring further treatment.
The search for a cure for chronic hepatitis B has been going on for decades as it is the leading cause of liver cancer with over 240 million people worldwide. In India, as well, hepatitis B is a cause for concern with roughly 10–15% of the world’s HBV carriers are in India.
Dr Cyriac Abby Philips, known as the Liver Doctor, and senior consultant at The Liver Institute, Rajagiri Hospital, Kochi, in conversation with The Indian Express, spoke about how this is a “real milestone" as it is the “first treatment to hit functional cure as its main goal in two large phase 3 trials".
There are some drawbacks to this cure, and Dr Cyriac Abby Philips explains, “But a milestone for science isn’t the same as helping most patients. It suits only a small group — low-antigen, no cirrhosis, already diagnosed and treated with antivirals. The real gap is diagnosis, not cure. Everybody must get tested for Hepatitis B at least once in their lifetime."
With hepatitis B, the virus continues to live in the person’s genes, and no drug can remove it. It can reactivate in later years if the person’s immune system is suppressed. It is important to continue regular checkups throughout one’s life as a cure that clears every trace isn’t possible yet.
The Instagram famous doctor goes on to explain that for now, they’ve only got data of the treatment working for people for 6 months. He said, “Responders stopped their pills at week 48 and only counted as cured if they stayed virus-free for 24 more weeks off everything. The catch is durability: so far we’ve only confirmed about six months off treatment. We don’t know the 3-, 5- or 10-year picture; the hepatitis B virus antigen can return later."
He does share one more piece of good news for people who are living with Hepatitis B: “One encouraging early sign: of the 62 who stopped their pills without a full cure, only five had detectable viral DNA and none became clinically ill. Bottom line: Cured doesn’t mean cured forever, and it doesn’t mean no follow-up — liver cancer surveillance has to continue."
Some highlights to note about this cure is that it suits only a small group that have overlapping conditions — low-antigen, no cirrhosis, already diagnosed and treated with antivirals. Till now there has been no indication of the price of this treatment; however, he states that these drugs are expensive and is estimated to do around $2 billion in sales.
Source: News18
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