HBV is going to be a huge problem in Asian countries with Vietnam expecting to take a huge financial hit in the next 10 years. The motivation is going to come from those countries most effected.
New cases may decrease in the US and other countries with rising immigrant populations but new diagnoses of people infected prior to widespread vaccination will rise over the next few years if HepB awareness programs are successful. There is a financial interest in these countries to find treatment options.
And, we will continue to benefit from HCV and HIV research.
HBV has always been 2nd banana to HCV and HIV in research. We were always in the backseat. LAM, ADV, TDF all came from HIV research. We got lucky that way. We may get lucky with NTZ which is from HCV research.
The point is we are lucky to have exisitng treatment options. And if managed well, these treatment options are very effective even in the very long term if your doctors knows how to deal with the resistance issue.
My main concerns are those comments coming out from HBF saying that the number of researcher in HBV areas dropped significantly. What is going to happen to all those ~400mil CHB if profitability is their sole focus now?
Viread is Tenofovir. It's shares a similar chemical stucture to ADV, but it's many folds more powerful, better resistance barrier, and less toxic to kidney.
Approval was expected in Europe and the US.
Yes, there's a business side to meds, but this is great news for those with chronic HepB.
It is ranked as potent as Baraclude with very low resistance - Tenofovir.
Wonder how potent this drug is and what is its profile regarding resistance.