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Developing a cure for chronic hepatitis B requires a fresh approach

The prevailing dogma for drug development is insufficient; it’s time to recentre efforts around the immune system.
  1. Matteo Iannacone

    1. Matteo Iannacone is an immunologist at the Vita-Salute San Raffaele University in Milan, Italy.

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  2. Luca G. Guidotti

    1. Luca G. Guidotti is a virologist and pathologist at the Vita-Salute San Raffaele University in Milan, Italy.

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Approved treatments for chronic infections of hepatitis B virus (HBV) are currently limited to two main types: injections of interferon, a substance normally produced by the immune system to fight infections, and nucleoside or nucleotide analogues (NUCs). NUCs are well-tolerated drugs that can be taken orally to potently suppress virus replication, and are the main therapy for chronic HBV in most countries. In a similar way to anti-HIV drugs, however, NUCs seldom eradicate the virus, forcing people with HBV to have lifelong treatment to prevent dangerous recurrences of liver disease1.

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Nature 603, S49 (2022)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-00813-0

This article is part of Nature Outlook: Hepatitis B, an editorially independent supplement produced with the financial support of third parties. About this content.

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Competing Interests

M.I. and L.G.G. are co-inventors on several patents (Patent appl. No. 20156716.1; Patent appl. No. 141758; Patent appl. No. 1907493.9; WO2020/234483; WO2020/030781; WO2020/016427; WO2020/016434) covering two potential interventions for the cure of chronic hepatitis B: first, the discovery of novel antivirals and, second, the idea of utilizing gene-therapy-based approaches to deliver a specific immunomodulator (IL-2) to the liver.

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