Autoimmune & Arthritis

Antisense Drug Achieves Functional Cure in 19% of Chronic Hepatitis B Patients

Chronic hepatitis B affects roughly 300 million people worldwide and currently has no reliable cure. Two large phase 3 trials — B-Well 1 and B-Well 2 — tested bepirovirsen, an antisense oligonucleotide designed to silence the hepatitis B virus. Results showed that 19% of treated patients achieved a functional cure 24 weeks after stopping all HBV therapy, meaning the virus was effectively suppressed without ongoing medication. No patients on placebo achieved functional cure. This is a meaningful breakthrough for a disease that causes chronic liver damage, cirrhosis, and liver cancer. While 19% is not a majority, it represents the first phase 3 evidence of functional cure for chronic hepatitis B and opens the door to combination strategies that could push that rate higher.