STAT+: Experimental hepatitis B treatment was a ‘functional cure’ for nearly 1 in 5, new data show
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- GSK's experimental drug bepirovirsen (aka “bepi”) achieved functional cure in 20% of participants in one Phase 3 trial and 19% in another, while none of the placebo group were cured.
- Nucleoside analogues currently used for chronic hepatitis B yield functional cures in only about 1–3% of patients.
- Chronic hepatitis B infects roughly 250–300 million people worldwide and causes around 1 million deaths each year.
- Trial data released Thursday highlighted bepirovirsen’s cure rates far exceed those of any approved therapy.
Why it matters: Patients with chronic hepatitis B gain a realistic chance of cure, and the therapy’s 20% functional‑cure rate can slash death rates and lower liver‑cancer costs, saving billions in healthcare spending.
