Anti-HBV drugs: Progress, unmet needs, and new hope

Abstract

Approximately 240 million people worldwide are chronically infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV), which represents a significant challenge to public health. The current goal in treating chronic HBV infection is to block progression of HBV-related liver injury and inflammation to end-stage liver diseases, including cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, because we are unable to eliminate chronic HBV infection. Available therapies for chronic HBV infection mainly include nucleos/tide analogues (NAs), non-NAs, and immunomodulatory agents. However, none of them is able to clear chronic HBV infection. Thus, a new generation of anti-HBV drugs is urgently needed. Progress has been made in the development and testing of new therapeutics against chronic HBV infection. This review aims to summarize the state of the art in new HBV drug research and development and to forecast research and development trends and directions in the near future.