Major pharmaceutical companies are eager to develop drugs that can cure hepatitis B

 According to the current medical level, hepatitis B can be better controlled, including nucleotide analogues (NAs) and interferon (IFN) with indications that can be well controlled under the guidance of clinicians
.
Looking at the hepatitis B drug market, the market size is constantly rising, and data predicts that the compound annual growth rate of the hepatitis B drug market will exceed 20%
.
Take HBV drugs as an example.
HBV infection is an infectious disease caused by hepatitis B virus and characterized by liver infection
.
Data predicts that as more innovative HBV drugs are expected to enter the Chinese market in 2024, and taking into account the increased availability of HBV vaccination in China, the market is expected to grow substantially from USD 1.
6 billion in 2019 to 2025.
Of US$2.
3 billion
.
The industry said that changing the status quo of "hepatitis B cannot be cured" is the driving force for many drug developers to move forward
.
For example, Huahui Anjian, a liver disease drug developer, recently received 500 million financing, and the financing funds will be used for the development of the company's innovative products, including the antibody drug HH-003 for hepatitis B cure
.
It is reported that at present, the first hepatitis B drug candidate developed by Huahui Anjian has been applied for clinical trial in 2018 and entered clinical trials; the remaining multiple related innovative drug candidates are undergoing preclinical research or will be applied for clinical trials
.
Liver disease drug market prospects, the major pharmaceutical companies gearing up on hepatitis B drug research and development, trying to develop drugs to cure hepatitis
.
Another example is Guangshengtang’s recent response to investor’s questions that the company is focused on being an innovative drug R&D and production enterprise in the field of liver health in China.
It has now formed covering hepatitis B, hepatitis C, fatty liver, liver fibrosis, liver cancer, and liver protection.
The product line layout in the field of liver health, and a total of 5 innovative drugs are under development.
Among them, the innovative drugs for hepatitis B treatment GST-HG131 and GST-HG121 are small molecule destabilizers for HBsAg mRNA, but do not involve mRNA technology.
At present, GST- HG131 has completed the administration and tolerability and safety observations of all subjects in the phase Ia clinical trial, and a clinical phase Ia summary report is to be issued
.
In addition, it has been reported recently that Antios Therapeutics and Assembly Biosciences have two new hepatitis B drugs under development, namely ATI-2173 and Vebicorvir.
The two pharmaceutical companies will open a single cohort in the ongoing Antios IIa ANTT201 study.
To evaluate ATI-2173 + Vebicorvir + Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) triple therapy! This is a multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled cohort to evaluate the safety, pharmacokinetics (PK) and antiviral activity of this full oral triple therapy
.
It is expected that this new triple therapy will begin in the first half of 2022, and will include 10 hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) negative or positive patients who have been treated or stopped treatment in the 12-week treatment study
.
The two companies will develop a new treatment with a limited course of treatment to achieve a functional cure and bring hope to HBV patients
.
So what is the main market in the field of hepatitis B drugs? It is understood that entecavir is currently the first-line drug for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B in various countries.
It has the characteristics of good antiviral effect, high safety, and low drug resistance.
It is also a drug with a high market share of anti-hepatitis B drugs in public hospitals in China.
67%
.
According to data, the original research drug of Entecavir was developed by Bristol-Myers Squibb and was approved by the US FDA in 2005.
In the same year, Shanghai Squibb's Entecavir tablets were approved for import by the National Food and Drug Administration and became a domestic hepatitis B drug
.
In recent years, researchers around the world are looking for antiviral drugs with new structures and mechanisms of action for hepatitis B.
At present, in addition to interferon and oral nucleoside drugs, antisense oligonucleotides, immune checkpoint inhibitors, Therapeutic vaccines and other drugs are all under research.
I believe that more anti-hepatitis B drugs will be developed in the near future, which will bring good news to patients
.