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Hep b cure might come sooner than we think?
So I recently got diagnosed with hepatitis B after I randomly decided to screen for STDs. I was devastated! I'm 24 and not sure if I acquired it recently or as a child, although being HBeAg negative already might suggest i acquired it in adulthood ( adults clear Hbeag faster as they don't go through the immune tolerant stage)
Nevertheless, i decided to hop on the internet to see what progress, if any, is being made on the hep b front. Surprise, virtually every pharmaceutical company seems focused on developing curative treatments for this formidable disease. Moreso, drug candidates by companies like arrowhead, replicor and arbutus show the greatest promise to achieve functional cures. Though I'm sure most of you guys would know of these companies and the drugs they offer in their pipeline, I bet you are oblivious to the true curative potential of these drugs combined together than alone!
All liver meetings discussing the roadmap to HBV cure have undisputedly hailed a combo therapy that combats different viral targets. And the HBV cure meeting last year seems confident that a combination therapy of RNAi silencers, and an immunomodulator along with current approved NUCs would provide a high hope for a cure! The good news is that many RNAi silencers and immunomodulators in clinical trials have proven to show they're really good at doing at what they're exactly intended to do. But none of these can offer a cure on their own which is very ok! Here's why:
An rnai silencer like ARB 1467 brings down levels of HBsAG, the protein that suppresses the immune system to mount an attack against HBV. With HbsAg out of the way and viral replication diminished using current therapy, an immunomodulatory therapy like SB 9200 that has already shown it's potent activity, will invigorate exhausted hbv Tcells to finally fight the infection till it's eradication! This strategy clearly works since a conventional immonumodulator like the interferon with standard NUCs does just that to achieve cure, albeit at a really low rate cuz of the presence of a flood of surface antigen.
Now all we have to wait for is a clinical trial that combines an immunomodulor like SB 9200 with a surface antigen inhibitor like ARB 1467 along with a nuc like tenofovir. And that would likely be it!!
But since most companies would want to claim a curative trophy solely to dominate the HBV curative market space, there's a great reluctance in collaboration between companies that have drugs that employ a synergistic strategy as above. Each company would want to expand their own drug pipeline so that they have drugs that complement each other in action and lead to a cure but it's like to take much more time cuz of the research and development and clinical testing for each drug.If companies are to collaborate, which I hope they will, a cure is 5 years away at maximum!
Nevertheless, i decided to hop on the internet to see what progress, if any, is being made on the hep b front. Surprise, virtually every pharmaceutical company seems focused on developing curative treatments for this formidable disease. Moreso, drug candidates by companies like arrowhead, replicor and arbutus show the greatest promise to achieve functional cures. Though I'm sure most of you guys would know of these companies and the drugs they offer in their pipeline, I bet you are oblivious to the true curative potential of these drugs combined together than alone!
All liver meetings discussing the roadmap to HBV cure have undisputedly hailed a combo therapy that combats different viral targets. And the HBV cure meeting last year seems confident that a combination therapy of RNAi silencers, and an immunomodulator along with current approved NUCs would provide a high hope for a cure! The good news is that many RNAi silencers and immunomodulators in clinical trials have proven to show they're really good at doing at what they're exactly intended to do. But none of these can offer a cure on their own which is very ok! Here's why:
An rnai silencer like ARB 1467 brings down levels of HBsAG, the protein that suppresses the immune system to mount an attack against HBV. With HbsAg out of the way and viral replication diminished using current therapy, an immunomodulatory therapy like SB 9200 that has already shown it's potent activity, will invigorate exhausted hbv Tcells to finally fight the infection till it's eradication! This strategy clearly works since a conventional immonumodulator like the interferon with standard NUCs does just that to achieve cure, albeit at a really low rate cuz of the presence of a flood of surface antigen.
Now all we have to wait for is a clinical trial that combines an immunomodulor like SB 9200 with a surface antigen inhibitor like ARB 1467 along with a nuc like tenofovir. And that would likely be it!!
But since most companies would want to claim a curative trophy solely to dominate the HBV curative market space, there's a great reluctance in collaboration between companies that have drugs that employ a synergistic strategy as above. Each company would want to expand their own drug pipeline so that they have drugs that complement each other in action and lead to a cure but it's like to take much more time cuz of the research and development and clinical testing for each drug.If companies are to collaborate, which I hope they will, a cure is 5 years away at maximum!
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