Hepatitis B patients currently take an antiviral called Hepsera, says Adrian Di Bisceglie, M.D., chief of hepatology at Saint Louis University School of Medicine. The drug under investigation in the study, called Tenofovir, is similar to Hepsera in that it is a "nucleotide analog" that helps stop the virus from propagating. Researchers will study Tenofovir's efficacy compared to Hepsera's in up to 300 patients worldwide.
"We have high hopes that Tenofovir will be more potent than the current drug regimen for hepatitis B patients," Di Bisceglie says.
Hepatitis B is a disease passed down from mother to infant during pregnancy and has reached epidemic levels in China, Vietnam and sub-Saharan Africa.
"It is a terrible disease because it kills people in their prime of their lives – in their 30s, 40s and 50s," Di Bisceglie says. "What makes it even more devastating is that there are mild non-specific symptoms or sometimes no symptoms at all."
Most American women who undergo prenatal screening are also screened for hepatitis B, Di Bisceglie says, and because there is a safe, effective vaccine, hepatitis B is a "controllable" disease.
"But we hope this new antiviral can help improve the lives of patients with hepatitis B," he says.
Established in 1836, Saint Louis University School of Medicine has the distinction of awarding the first M.D. degree west of the Mississippi River. Saint Louis University School of Medicine is a pioneer in geriatric medicine, organ transplantation, chronic disease prevention, cardiovascular disease, neurosciences and vaccine research, among others. The School of Medicine trains physicians and biomedical scientists, conducts medical research, and provides health services on a local, national and international level.