Meeting report: 30th International Conference on Antiviral Research, in Atlanta, GA, USA

Vere Hodge, R Anthony

The focus switched from HCV to HBV, with Mike describing his recent work at Arbutus. Long-term (many years) therapy with nucleoside/tide analogues has given good control of HBV replication. The preferred therapies have been entecavir and tenofovir -the latter now being replaced by the new prodrug tenofovir alafenamide which provides the same efficacy but improved safety profile. Although the circulating HBV DNA can remain below detectable levels for years, the viral reservoir, i.e. covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA), remains. Preventing the cccDNA from being transcriptionally active would reduce the levels of circulating HBV antigens and thereby may restore the host immune activity. The Arbutus strategy for an HBV cure is to minimise the levels of HBV DNA and antigens and to restore the host immune response.