Health Conditions

What is on the horizon?

Many antiviral and immune system-stimulating drugs are being investigated.

• Combinations of interferon, antivirals, and other immune-stimulating drugs show promise but have not yet been approved. Some of the possible combinations include interferon with famciclovir (an antiviral medication that is currently approved for treatment of other viral infections such as herpes).
• Emtricitabine (Coviracil) and Tenofovir DF (Viread), antiviral drugs approved for the treatment of AIDS, are being tested alone and in combination with other drugs for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B.
• Clevudine is an additional antiviral drug that is being evaluated for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B.
• Lobucavir, a new antiviral that blocks reproduction of the hepatitis B virus, is in final stages of clinical study. If approved, it will be taken orally once a day.
• Alkovirs are a new class of drugs in early human trials. While the focus of research for alkovirs is hepatitis C, these agents also appear to be effective against HBV. Studies have shown that alkovirs may activate the body's own defense system to fight the viruses that cause both hepatitis B and hepatitis C.
• Another new class of drugs called "methoxys" is a highly modified version of older drugs called glucovirs that are similar in chemical structure to alkovirs. Glucovirs were not developed because they had too many side effects, but methoxys have been shown to be more effective and much less toxic than glucovirs.

In other research, blood and urine tests for early detection of the liver complications that may be associated with hepatitis B, are very close to being approved. Researchers have already been able to isolate proteins and markers of liver cancer and liver disease in individuals affected by hepatitis B.