molecules of the month

Context. GST-HG131 (WuXi AppTec) is an oral hepatitis B virus (HBV) inhibitor which lowers hepatitis B antigen (HBsAg) levels which entered clinical development in Chinese subjects for chronic hepatitis B infection. Despite the significant research strides made in the elucidation of the biology of HBV, chronic HBV infection continues to remain a significant global health challenge, with functional cure rates of current treatments at <30%. Although no current treatment eradicates the virus, there is an effective vaccine available to prevent infection. One potential reason why new HBV therapies are often tested in China is that the adult vaccination rate there is only 26%. HBV antigen loss and seroconversion are key endpoints of chronic HBV treatment, and HBsAg itself can suppress…