The Pharmaceutical Journal Vol 267 No 7176 p767-773
1 December 2001

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New drug hope for hepatitis B

Trial results suggest that adefovir dipivoxil, a nucleoside analogue under development by Gilead Sciences, holds potential for treating chronic hepatitis B infection.

A phase III study found that after 48 weeks, adefovir dipivoxil significantly improved liver function and reduced levels of virus in patients with chronic hepatitis B infection compared with placebo. Improvement in liver histology, a marker of disease activity, was observed in 53 per cent of patients treated with adefovir dipivoxil compared with 25 per cent of those on placebo.

Other trial data suggest that no resistance to adefovir dipivoxil occurs after 48 weeks of therapy.

The data were presented last month at the 52nd annual meeting of the American Association of the Study of Liver Diseases, Dallas.

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